Have you ever gone to a restaurant and ordered a side of vegetables with your meal, with the intention of making a healthy choice? You are not alone. We are told to eat healthy, to consume fruits and vegetables because they provide vital elements that nourish our bodies. Although this is undoubtedly true, most of the fruits and veggies are sprayed with pesticides. And in general, this is often overlooked; swept under the rug because, well, who likes to eat poison?
The Reason
Before we go too far into this topic, we should keep an objective mind and consider that the reasoning behind pesticides may be one with good intentions. First, “pests” are mites, bacteria, fungi, weeds, insects, slugs, snails, mice… You get the idea. According to the CropLife Foundation, without the use of pesticides, US crops would be destroyed by these insects, fungi, bacteria, and weeds. So, in short, there may be a very good reason pesticides are used: the pests.
The Problem
I recently had the opportunity to sit down with Dr. Scott Phillips, a health and wellness professional, and an expert in the healthy living lifestyle. “As a health care provider, I am seeing an increasing number of patients with physical symptoms and issues stemming directly from the quality of food they eat.” said Dr. Phillips. “One of the biggest problems in choosing good food is not just quality ingredients but knowing where food comes from and how it is handled. A well-meaning mom will buy produce at her local grocery store thinking that it will be a great source of nutrients for her family, but if she doesn’t know where the food came from and what it has been sprayed with, she jeopardizes the nutritional benefit and perhaps puts her family in harm’s way.”
The Effects
A number of studies have recently brought to light the harmful effects pesticides have on us, and it’s not looking good. According to CNN Health, trace amounts of the organophosphates, a common pesticide used of fruit and vegetables has been linked to an increase in attention deficit hyperactive disorder in children. Pesticides have also been linked to breast cancer, weakened immune systems, and nervous system problems. It is becoming clear that pesticides are having a much further effect than their intended use. The bottom line: pesticides are designed to kill things. We can’t be too surprised to learn that they are killing us also.
Rinsing Isn’t Enough
Many of us rinse off our produce before eating it. Although this action is driven by good intentions, it is virtually pointless—rinsing does not clean the produce. When we rinse our fruits and vegetables in water, we simply aren’t doing enough. Food can be coated with petroleum, beeswax, wax, or resin, which hold the chemicals in and make your produce virtually waterproof. Some pesticides are manufactured to be waterproof and require no waxy overlay. So running produce under water does nothing, leaving the toxins right on our foods.
“If there was a way to wash away harmful materials and pesticides from our produce, then our good intentions would be realized.” said Dr. Phillips. “We would be feeding our kids and families exactly what we mean to: clean, healthy, untainted produce that will help our children live at optimal health and keep us all healthy now and well into the future.”
What Do We Do?
We seem to be resting on a double-edged sword. We need fruits and vegetables, but we need to avoid the toxins on them.
What are you doing to eat healthy while insuring your safety, and the safety of others?
For more information:
http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/05/17/pesticides.adhd/index.html
As I reflect back on the past couple of months, I have been all over the United States, Europe and Japan meeting with our incredible partners and spreading the Mower Mission. I realize that the Mower Mission is the common binding-tie that unites all of us. We all have a simple desire to help others achieve more in life and whether that is through their health or their wealth or both, it is a noble cause that we can be proud of. I have enjoyed the relationships that we have forged around the globe and I look forward to many years of friendship with each of you. In the end, as Tom Mower Sr always says, we need to be having fun, because if we are not having fun we are doing something wrong.
This business is fun! We are in the people business and this is one of the few industries that we can truly choose who we want to work with. Reflect back on this past year. Look at the memories that you have made and let’s look forward to making 2011 the year of Sisel. I have attached my video of my tour through Europe. We opened 4 new countries and launched 4 new products into the European catalog. 14 airplanes, 17 hotel rooms; I don’t know how many kilometers of driving…but worth every second!
I wish you all a happy holiday and I look forward to sharing the future with each one of you!
I just returned from our SISELFest European Tour about a week ago and I have been reflecting on what a wonderful experience it was. There is not a better way to understand unique cultural differences than to spend time eating local customary foods, walking their streets, visiting their homes and spending time with our local partners in said cultures. One underlying theme is consistent throughout the world; everyone is looking for something…something that will help them achieve that which they dreamt of when they were young. Interestingly, many of us are still searching for ways to get back to our youth, to look and feel like we did when we were in our prime and then to be at the point in our life where we have all that we had dreamed we would have when we were older; The perfect job, the flashy car, the big, beautiful house and so on.
I went with Christian Rombach to the Porsche Museum and the Mercedes Museum while in Stuttgart, Germany. Talk about dreaming again…
I love the quote by Ferry Porsche, “In the beginning I looked around but couldn’t find the car I dreamt of, so I decided to build it myself.”
So what happened in your life? Where did those dreams go? Who stole your dream or did you just simply watch your dreams pass you by? I hear the same message from many people as I travel around and meet with our incredible partners; we are not satisfied with where we are at in life. We want to be healthy, to have more happiness and prosperity. Have you ever said to yourself; if only I could go back in time, I would do some things differently? I have. I would love to have a few do-overs in my life. Why? Because I chose a path or made decisions based on where I thought I was headed at that time. I let opportunities pass me by because I did not reach out and grab them. Now is the time. Reach out and take hold of your future! Do not let life’s opportunities pass you by.
Aaron Rennert,
VP of World Wide Sales
It’s been two weeks now since the Slim and Slender Weight Loss Challenge began and I have to say that I feel fantastic! I have lost 11 pounds so far which makes me a third of the way to my goal! Although it hasn’t been easy, it certainly has been rewarding to stay on track and make a true lifestyle change that will help me complete my goal.
Distributor Anita Alston gives us the following tip:
“I have been eating skinless chicken breast and spinach for lunch and grilled shrimp and tomatoes for dinner. Protein shake for breakfast and grapefruit for lunch, drinking 2 liters of water over the past 5-7 days.
I just received my SupraMaxx for her and Eternity, and will include them in my weight loss plan along with the Slim and Slender products that I am taking as well.
I exercise at east 4 times a week with at least 30-45 minutes of cardio, and I am happy to report that since the beginning of the challenge I have lost 9lbs! GO ME!!!!”
Travis Bell, a distributor from California, tells us about a little adventure he had while running:
” Today was an interesting day training! We ran the aqueduct near Lane Ranch. Along the aqueduct you can see a bee farm on the ranch property and for some reason I turned out to be a bee magnet, so those bees got me to sprint a little bit faster! I have made sure to do a 10 minute warm up walk with 60 minute sprint intervals with my dogs Kaos and Cyrano, finished by 650 reps on the jump rope.”
Great job Anita and Travis! If you would like to include your success stories, tips, recipes, or anything relevant to the challenge, be sure to email me at drangel@siselinternational.com and include WEIGHT LOSS CHALLENGE in the subject line.
Good luck and much success to you all!
Disraeli Rangel
Sisel Chief Blogger
I am traveling from one country to the next with our European Managing Director, Aaron Palmer, and my energy is at an all time high! When I left for Europe, we had just finished an incredible event, Boot Camp. We had 80 Japanese business partners pay their own way to Utah for a 3-day team-building event to participate in this incredible event.
Why Boot Camp? We felt that this would be a great way for these passionate people to learn how to work as teams and create trust and reliance on one another. We had many of our top leaders and those that are quickly becoming great leaders join us.
Joel Patrick, Sisel’s Director of Marketing, kicked off the training day with a truly motivational piece on the impact that each of us have on people, one person at a time. He referred to The Star Thrower by Loren Eiseley, and spoke about making a difference in peoples lives and our individual roles and responsibilities to others. It was very motivational. It truly became the theme of the event.
The team building really took off with a day at the ropes course. This is truly an opportunity where you must rely on each other to complete certain tasks. Trust and confidence are the focus of these tasks where you must help each person overcome specific obstacles. We were all dressed in camouflage and Sisel Boot Camp gear. We broke into teams of around 12 and worked together to complete a myriad of team based activities that you absolutely would not and could not complete on your own.
Just like the ropes course, in this business, teamwork is a must. You will not achieve success without a team around you. It is absolutely impossible. The trust that you must have in your organization are the building blocks of success in this industry. It was a phenomenal event that had an extremely positive outcome and we hope to make it available to all of our business partners.
Aaron Rennert
VP of Worldwide Sales