Don't be SAD!

Is it a coincidence that the Standard American Diet spells SAD?

I think not. God intended us to eat natural, beautiful whole foods. The average American eats mostly processed, unnatural foods. This indeed is sad. I remember one day a few years ago, having this dawn on me as I walked through the supermarket. There was an aisle labeled "natural foods." I thought to myself, "So that means everything else must be unnatural!" I thought of it as a joke at first, but over time I realized that's basically true.

We are, on the whole, fatter than everyone else in the world. We have the most diet-related diseases. And has anyone noticed that the more "low-fat" foods became popular, the unhealthier people became? I know that a large part of this is the rise of the sedentary lifestyle. But just as significantly, we are eating more sugars, chemicals and processed "nutrients" than we are eating food in its natural state. I learned something horrible about orange juice: orange juice like Minute Maid, Tropicana, or Simply Orange, isn't orange juice at all! It's been processed to the point that they have to actually add the orange flavor back into it before bottling. And each "flavor packet" is geared toward a certain market, to taste like specific kinds of oranges, based on culture and region. That explains why every cup of Minute Maid orange juice I have ever had for over 20 years has tasted exactly the same. But no one questions it. Because the synthetic flavor packets are derived from oranges, they don't have to list it in the ingredients.


What do the companies do to foods that have been defatted for that "low-fat" label? They add all kinds of junk like sugar and chemical flavorings to make it taste just as good as if the fat remained. Why not just eat the whole-fat version? I've said it before and I'll say it again- fat doesn't make you fat, sugar does. If it's a naturally-occuring fat, like dairy fat, butter, bacon fat, avocado, it's not bad for you. If it's an unnatural fat, like those in processed "vegetable" oils, like canola or corn, it's most definitely bad for you.

I'm thinking of the conventional SAD stuff, like Pop-Tarts, Chef Boyardee, pasteurized milk (yes, it's sad!), Yoplait, Coca-Cola, Doritos, Wonder Bread, American cheese, canned vegetables and fruits, factory-farmed chicken, even salad dressings and mayonnaise. It's all bad. Most mayos now only contain canola oil. The ones that say "made with olive oil" still are mostly canola. Salad dressings too, plus too much sugar. I won't even get into what people eat at the Jolly Kone drive thru, or McDonald's. Or my nephew's favorite, Sonic. All garbage. We made a piss-poor decision a couple months ago to stop by McDonald's for a milkshake. It tasted worse than that icky nutrional supplement drink, Ensure, that my disabled nephew drinks. Much worse.

Rethink eating at places like Denny's too. A few months ago we stopped at a Denny's for dinner. We had so many better options, but we were hungry and too lazy to choose anything else. It was so bad. It was like hospital food. When I was younger, I loved to go there. We went to a Denny's after prom. That was before I had ever tasted whole foods. I was still on my diet of Easy Mac and Pop-Tarts. I just can't eat like that anymore. Whole foods are so good. I don't think people attach the proper meaning to "good" anymore. What's good for you is less "good" than what just tastes good to the SAD palate.

Your skin has a diet too. The SAD skin diet is full of bad chemicals that interfere with reproduction, cause birth defects, set the stage for cancer, and build up toxicity in your body. Deodorants with anti-perspirants (there aren't many without) have aluminum, and stop you from sweating, obviously, but sweating is good! It releases toxins. The aluminum packs your pores and keeps you from eliminiating toxic waste. And it contributes to the development of breast cancer. All mainstream skin care and hair products are full of garbage like that. I can't stand the smell of them any more. Same with laundry detergent. And scented candles. I can't even walk down the detergent aisle at mainstream stores. The odor is noxious.

I have made a homemade deodorant and it works better than the "natural" brands I've tried. I combined non-aluminum baking soda, extra virgin coconut oil, arrowroot powder, and tea tree oil into a thick paste. That's it. I rub about a fingertip-sized amount under my arms and it lasts all day. It doesn't come off on my clothes. I sweat but there is no odor, even after I go for a run.

I am still figuring out what to do with my hair. I only wash it once every two weeks, and there is no greasiness or odor. I don't even have dandruff. But I haven't decided what the best cleansing method is. I've heard that shampoos strip your hair of its natural oils, and it seems to be true. Since I've reduced the frequency of shampooing, my hair is softer and healthier. I just lightly scratch through my scalp every day and brush my hair often. I spritz it with lavender-rose water every morning and night. That's all. I only blow-dry my bangs because they go all kinds of wild on me from sleeping.

I use only natural essential oil bar soaps or liquid Castile soap on my skin. Their scents are heavenly. My dear friends have given me such soaps for the last few birthdays, so I've no need to buy one for awhile. I use sweet almond oil and coconut oil as moisturizers. The washcloth I use is a gentle exfoliant. No plastic microbeads necessary. My skin isn't SAD, it's very happy! Natural products just feel right. I feel refreshed and really truly clean. My nose is now super sensitive to any sort of chemical smell in products. I can rat them out! The dastardly devils.

I don't even use shaving cream! It's totally unnecessary. I either use coconut oil or this natural shea butter lotion that my husband got as a gift (that he says smells too girly). And I don't need much. That's another thing- the recommended amounts to use are way too much. Companies just want you to buy more product. I use the baby amount of toothpaste and my teeth are just as clean. Same with shampoo and conditioner, and just about everything else. Less is more. More money in the bank. ;)

So don't be SAD. There are solutions!