Is Eating Healthy a Fad - Our Full House

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I was recently told that eating healthy is a fad, and particularly if your healthy eating includes, or rather excludes some food like gluten, dairy, white flour and sugar, etc. So I began to think about healthy eating and why are we doing it? Is it really a far or a trend? Is it right to try to eat healthy, study what foods are nutritious and what foods are making us sick? Or is it best to just follow the crowd, eat what the typical American family eats...what many would call a balanced approach? Well first of all I will tell you this, what the typical American family is eating is NOT balanced nor is it healthy. With this said I want to also say that our family is not perfect in what we consume. Just yesterday we attended a birthday party an hour and a half away. Between a day spent taking Jordan to the doctor's office for his tonsils on Friday, preparing for a busy weekend and the fact that the party was well over an hour away, we chose to eat out one meal and had yummy cupcakes at the birthday party!

After our trip out we came home to eat a very healthy meal that was in the crockpot and a large tray of raw veggies. Did we come home and eat veggies to cancel out the "bad food" or did we fall off the latest fad of eating nutritious meals? No! First of all we are not following the crowd in eating what we eat. We are not trying to be like the gluten free dieters or the raw foodists. We are not aiming to be vegetarian or vegan. We are learning what is healthy to eat and what is not and we are eating accordingly.

Gluten Free Diet

I frequently hear people say, "oh those people are obsessed with being gluten free." As if it was a club to join with great benefits and perks. Having been working on a gluten free diet for Titus and now Josiah for almost two months, I will tell you that eating gluten free is not a "cool" thing to do or a trend. I am fixing gluten free meals for those in my home that need them because of a physical health problem we are aiming to heal. Will they have to be gluten free forever? I can't tell you that. We are doing the best job we can to heal their unhealthy gut issues, with the help of our physician, and trusting the Lord for the long term outcome we pray for a complete healing quickly.

Juicing, Raw Food and Grinding Grain

Juicing, eating raw and making your own bread are not a huge issue that should make you feel guilty or defensive so stop criticizing eat other for what your Christian sister next door is making for dinner. We make our bread here in the Redman home. Have we always? No. Is it a lot of work...well yes it is more work than buying the bread at the grocery store, but for us it is well worth it. Do we look down on others that purchase store bought bread? No. Each family must decide what they can do for their family's health. I have two children that are struggling due to many years of eating a typical American diet, both their diet and mine. Titus has terrible tummy pains, hours of crying daily and struggles digesting food. Josiah has had a six month battle with intense stomach pain, vomiting and cramps. We are not cutting out foods for the fun of it here.

My children enjoy juicing...way more than I do...maybe because I have to clean up the juicer:) They love raw vegetables and fruit. Why? Well I believe a lot of it is because it is what I keep in the home for snacks. About 10 am each morning in our home you will hear three little girls asking, "apple, orange, grapes or banana?" They will each pick their piece of fruit and sit down for a snack. Later in the afternoon they will snack on veggie sticks, tomato slices, bell peppers or whatever is available. By not keeping the chips and cookies around for a constant snack, they have acquired a taste for fruits and veggies and they love them! Do we still eat cookies? Of course, but I do try to make them from whole grain flour and honey instead of white flour and white sugar.

So Why So Much Criticism?

It often seems that women feel the need to compare themselves to other women. So and so wears dresses only, she must think she is holier. The lady at church just adopted an orphan, she must think she is closer to God. When a family decides to eat a healthy diet they are not criticizing what you are eating, they are only trying to make the best decision for their family. If I am watching my calories to help get back into shape after having a baby it is not meant to make you feel badly...it is a personal choice that I am making. Each of us must consider our motivation in doing what we do, whether that is adopting a child, losing weight or making bread. Are we doing it for the praise of others? Are we doing it to make people look at us as a martyr and say, "Wow she is amazing...she is gluten free, dairy free, and cans her own produce! I just don't know how she does it all." Let's try to extend a little grace to our sisters in Christ and realize that we are not all at the same place in life.

Source: http://www.ourfullhouse.com/49-health/929-is-eating-healthy-a-fad.html

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