Hello Readers,

This month I present the last installment of my "Healthful Eating Series" with how to choose healthful grains and produce.

Acceptance essential oil was formulated to support emotional balance during life changes and transitions, and can be used to transmute several emotions.

Are you known for talking to collect or focus your thoughts? Do you need sunlight to avoid feeling depressed? Take the quiz below to see if you might be a Pineal body type.

As always, I hope and trust that these newsletters help you enjoy a happier, healthier life.


Health and Happiness,
Dr. Carolyn Mein

THE HEALTHFUL EATING SERIES Nutrition is paramount to good health and vitality, yet in modern times changes to food and water sources have degraded the quality of nutritional support we receive. And with today’s busy lifestyles, it can be daunting to find practical solutions to compensate for the inadequacies of convenient meals. In this series I examine some of the most important and common food and water deficiencies, and provide practical ways to supplement your nutrition. Previous: Water: How to Achieve Proper Hydration How to Choose Safe and Healthful Meats Tips for Making Healthy Smoothies What Fish is Good for Me?

Grains, fruits and vegetables are staple foods that most of us eat daily. They are also grown, which means they are seasonal. Growing them efficiently and preserving them to reach consumers in good condition has spawned modern inventions such as bioengineering and pesticides. How do these affect us, and how can we make healthy choices at the market?


The Rise of Pesticides

Preserving crops from infestation has been a problem as long as mankind has been cultivating food crops. As far back as 2500 BC, ancient Sumerians used sulfur compounds to ward off insects and mites from their crops, making this the earliest known use of a pesticide.

In modern times, use of arsenic (toxic lead arsenate) in the 1920’s and 1930’s directly resulted in human deaths. DDT was introduced as a replacement in the 1940’s and Dr. Paul Mueller received the Nobel Prize in Medicine for discovering its use as a pesticide. DDT was so effective in this use that food prices could be kept lower. By the early 1960’s however, the negative impacts of DDT on human health were evident.

Chlorpyrifos was introduced by Dow Chemical in 1965 as an alternative to DDT. It attacks the nervous system of insects. At high doses it produces effects on humans – farmers spraying the chemical experienced nausea, dizziness and confusion. Children exposed to chlorpyrifos during brain development stages were found to be smaller, have slower reflexes, and have higher risks of ADHD and development disorders. It was banned from residential use in 2000, but is still the most popular pesticide in use today – with residue found in highest concentrations on cilantro, bell peppers, nectarines, peaches, hot peppers and snap peas.

Before 2010, the EPA evaluated the safety of pesticides based only upon animal trials. It wasn’t until 2016 that they had a framework for considering human epidemiological data. Despite admission that chlorpyrifos was harmful to humans, the EPA has not banned its agricultural use, and it’s the most widely used pesticide to date. Farm workers are the most heavily impacted, given their exposure by inhalation during spraying. Residue becomes incorporated into the produce and is consumed.

That’s one example of a pesticide. About 900 synthetic, chemical pesticides are registered for agricultural use in the United States by the EPA, an organization which has banned or restricted the use of far less than a hundred of them over the last 50 years. Most crops are sprayed with several different pesticides.

The foods most heavily sprayed with pesticides, and most likely to absorb them due to thin skin and other factors, are peaches, apples, strawberries, grapes, cherries, nectarines, pears, bell peppers, celery, spinach, lettuce, potatoes, and tomatoes. Imported and out-of-season crops tend to be more heavily sprayed. Washing produce helps but will not eliminate the pesticides.

Produce which is usually not sprayed as heavily includes onions, avocados, pineapples, mango, asparagus, kiwi, bananas, cabbage, broccoli, honeydew, cauliflower, and papaya.


The Introduction of GMOs

GMO (genetically modified organism) foods were introduced in the USA in 1996. GMO refers to grains and produce that have been genetically bioengineered to better withstand drought and other adverse conditions, produce larger yields, and increase the nutritional value. This is done by introducing genes from other living organisms to artificially introduce more desirable attributes.

GMO foods have also been modified to resist infestation. For example Bt corn has been genetically modified to produce the insecticide Bt, which is a toxin. The Bt gene comes from a naturally occurring bacteria called Bacillus thuringiensis. While this reduces or eliminates the need for pesticides, it directly introduces toxins into our foods. Such toxins have contributed to a rise in “food allergies” and digestive issues. Some even link Alzheimer’s disease and cancers to GMOs.

According to the USDA, over 90% of the corn and soy bean grown in the USA are GMO. Squash, papaya, canola, alfalfa, sugar beets, potatoes, eggplant and apples are also currently grown from GMO seeds in the USA. These crops then make it into many, many products that are incorporated into prepared foods under a variety of names. Corn, corn starch, corn syrup, soybean oil are the most common examples that are staple ingredients in processed foods. Livestock is typically given GMO corn and alfalfa feed, which makes it into our food supply.

While the FDA lags in raising any alarms over human consumption of GMO produce, the fact remains that they have been engineered to produce insecticides. Some GMO crops contain multiple pesticides – which are toxins.

GMO crops can be resistant to herbicides – often leading farmers to not only spray them with other pesticide chemicals, but to do so heavily.


How to Avoid Toxins in Foods

Processed and prepared foods often, if not typically, will include GMOs and pesticides. A good first step is to critically evaluate, or avoid altogether, these items if their sourcing cannot be vouched for.

Shopping for produce guarantees helpful labeling in the USA. You won’t find labelling bragging that an item is a GMO product; but you will find labels from the “Non-GMO Project”. This label doesn’t certify the item is GMO-free, but that it contains less than 0.9% GMO content. It also doesn’t certify that the item is free of synthetic chemical treatments.

The USDA Certified Organic label indicates produce that has not been grown with any chemicals, including pesticides and synthetic fertilizers. There are about 25 all-natural pesticides the FDA allows to be used on certified organic crops, because they don’t contain harmful synthetic chemicals. The USDA Certified Organic label also indicates the item is a GMO-free product, so this is the best label to look for.

When an organic option is not available, you can still mitigate the intake of pesticides by choosing items that are less heavily sprayed, and less likely to absorb pesticides. These include onions, avocados, pineapples, mango, asparagus, kiwi, bananas, cabbage, broccoli, honeydew, cauliflower, and papaya.

Thoroughly washing your produce will help reduce the toxins you consume. Young Living offers a Thieves Fruits and Veggies Soak. Miracle II Soap is also an excellent, all-natural option for cleaning food.

While limiting the intake of toxins is important for all body types, the Brain, Medulla and Lymph body types are particularly sensitive to chemicals in foods. And the side effects of GMO products, such as various food allergies, can affect all body types.

We cannot avoid toxins – they are in our air, water supply, food supply, and even our cleaning products. We can mitigate them – and we can also detox on a regular basis. One effective method that I recommend is soaking for about 20 minutes in a bath with 1 ounce of Miracle II Soap and 1 ounce of Miracle II Neutralizer.

For more reading on this topic, visit the Food Revolution Network.

Don't know your body type yet? Take the test:

Acceptance essential oil has a floral, woodsy aroma with hints of citrus. It was formulated to support emotional balance during life changes and transitions.

Life lessons often confront us with something that is challenging for us to accept. The personal growth comes from learning to accept.

Acceptance essential oil helps transmute several emotions into their more uplifted counterparts. These emotions cause us to feel separated from others in some way: Disapproval, Don’t Belong, Embarrassed, Insecurity, Misperception, and Sorrow.

Often, however, when we feel we are separated from others in some way, it’s really due to a belief or perception that we are holding onto. The “way out” affirmation statements reflect this by helping us correct that perspective internally.

For example, transmuting Don’t Belong into Acceptance with “I value myself” shifts us from feeling out of place by reminding us that acceptance comes from within and is rooted in self-acceptance. When we realize our own value, we don’t rely on validation that comes from inclusion by others in order to feel accepted.

The same is true for releasing Disapproval in exchange for Approval – “I accept myself” reminds us that approval or validation from within is what matters most.

Transmuting Misperception into Understanding with “I let go of my perspective” is a reminder that we aren’t always right, and in order to understand a situation we must be willing to let go of an erroneous belief, perception or expectation in order to make room for understanding the truth of the situation.

Sorrow is often encountered in the wake of a loss, separation or death. The five stages of the grief process are denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. To attain Peace from Sorrow means reaching a point of acceptance with the loss that has occurred. The “way out” affirmation statement is “I am in balance”, to remind us that we are not dependent upon whatever or whomever has left our lives in order to experience Peace within our lives.