Old news or new and surprising? There are some really basic health topics that are the source of much misinformation, not to mention the cause of much modern ill health. I’d like to take a moment to bust some commonly held myths…you aren’t expected to just believe me, that’s how these problems start. On any health issue I urge you to research for yourself…
MYTH #1: Fluoride is good for teeth
Fluoride is a known neurotoxin and at the time it was introduced into Queensland water it was already being removed from European water supplies. Contrary to what we have been told, fluoride doesn’t protect teeth, what it does is harden teeth to the point of becoming porous and brittle. The problem is that the fluoride in our toothpaste is Sodium Fluoride – nothing like the natural Calcium-based compounds in our teeth. But don’t take my word for it, check out this video interviewing one of the world’s leading experts.
A pregnant mother, taking fluoride contaminated products..she is going to cause a lot of damage to the foetus
MYTH # 2: SOY is a healthier choice.
Traditional fermented soy in the form of say NATTO is great, no problem there (except the taste – yech!). Did you know they consider giving soy formula to an infant the same as feeding it birth control pills – they will consume 10x the amount shown to cause thyroid suppression in an adult by the age of 3 months! (read more on this here) Need soy sauce on your sushi? Coconut aminos taste very similar with loads of health benefits. Drink soy milk thinking it’s a healthier alternative? Try almond or coconut. The good thing is we are not only living in the information age, but alternatives are becoming readily available to help support the changes we want to make.
MYTH #3: COW milk is a required source of Calcium for bones.
There is so much wrong with that statement. Firstly, the only milk a human should consume is human milk until the age of natural weaning – generally between 2.5 and 5years old. This is not to judge or criticise mothers who can’t – trust me I’ve done it and it’s hard. Actually, without the right help and support I would say it’s impossible and there is NOT a lot of the right help and support around. That is a huge issue that needs addressing – and we can only do this through changing societal expectations. At this point, as a society, women who do want to feed to natural term cop a LOT of flack and criticism for being seen to do something so “disgusting” as feed their child in public and that REALLY gets up my nose…
But back to the calcium…
Due to the different biology of cows, the milk is much heavier in proteins, growth hormones etc, even before the farming industry adds more. Extracting calcium from cow milk actually puts a burden on our body that requires, wait for it…the use of calcium in order to process and digest. We leech that calcium from our bones…so you LOSE calcium from your bones by consuming cow’s milk. Try eating more leafy greens.
One final point – it is possible that bone density has a lot less to do with consuming calcium than it does with how much magnesium we get and we are all pretty deficient in that one. For an amazing natural source of wholefood vitamins and minerals, contact me, happy to point you in the right direction.
MYTH #4: Fat makes you fat.
Put simply, sugar makes you fat. Carbs can make you fat – we feed grains to cows to fatten them up right? We have been fed the wrong information for so long – trust me I used to eat zero fat too, thinking I was being healthy. I was pregnant with my first whilst still eating a fat-poor diet. We are making up for it now! How did this all come about? Well there was a guy, who wanted to report that fats were bad (I won’t go in to motives) so he picked out the data that supported his theory and well…just ignored the rest. I was a scientist before I got into natural health and that sort of stuff really ticks me off. Science has such an important role to play, it’s supposed to be unbiased. Know this and think on it – science funding is really hard to get – so science reporting is not very rarely unbiased…
When you are sourcing your delicious fats, keep in mind fat is where toxins are stored – so go for the organic butter – you don’t want fats from sick or hormone fed animals but damn…get the good stuff and doesn’t it taste AMAYYYZING!! Mmmm…
IN SUMMARY
Please don’t be in any way upset or offended by any of the information I have shared – this journey we can only learn and keep moving forward: know better and do better. It is only by knowing better and doing nothing that we fail.