Most of us will be calling for stricter gun laws in the next few months. Many of us will be pushing for greater access to mental health care. That will be a source of glee for pharmaceutical companies, who just want to drug every kid that acts fidgety but is not the solution. Many may scoff, but the solution to who we are, to how we behave, to our reactions to situations of stress, is most often our food. " We are what we eat" is literally true.

Yes, I agree. Get those gun laws enforced NOW. There is no reason what so ever for anyone to own an automatic weapon. And no one should own any kind of gun without frequent training and extensive psychiatric screening.

But as far as mental health care, rather than push for our kids to be drugged into complacent walking comas, I propose we educate the public about the affect food has on behavior. From Barbara Stitt's book " Food and Behavior: The Natural Connection";

"Ask any hyperactive child, depressed, angry teenager, violent adult or criminal what they eat and you'll find they "live" on junk food — sweetened boxed cereals, candy, carbonated drinks, potato chips, fast foods."

You may want to argue that feeding kids soda, chips and fast food is nothing compared to a kid with a chemical imbalance. Not your kid. A few sodas and chips won't hurt... parents are not that bad guys! Some kids are just born with serious chemical imbalances and that's that.

That may be true, in a few cases. I am not a brain scientist. I am however a Mother that can smell a cop out when I see one. We can no longer chalk up violent behavior to genetics or chemical imbalance. Studies have shown that genetically modified food does not just alter one gene independently by the insertion of a bacteria harboring a pesticide into the DNA. The forcing of a foreign protein instigates unforeseeable, unpredictable and uncontrollable mutations in that living being. And when we ingest that information, it gets transferred to our DNA. *

We also know now that genetically modified food has an impact on hormonal balance through the studies of RBGH bovine growth hormone in milk. Hormonal balance, allergies and inflammation, all cause  the bodies to act in defense of a foreign invader, create Cortisol and affects chemical imbalances.*  A body which experiences being constantly under attack by foreign invaders is a body which is going to be defensive and aggressive. It doesn't take a scientific study to figure that out.

But if you want evidence, Dr. Barbara Stitt did studies for 16 years on school children and behavior. See excerpts below from reviews of her book.

"An astute medical detective, Dr. Stitt looked for hypoglycemia, food allergies, adrenal gland fatigue, heavy metal accumulation, and B vitamin and other nutritional deficiencies. She knew these five problems led to distortions of thinking and decision--making. When these were addressed the results were astounding: Even though it is common for over half of arrestees to be drug dependent and for recidivism rates to be as high as 77% - over 80% of her probationers stayed out of the criminal justice system during the last twelve of her 20 years of work in Ohio. The Wall Street Journal featured her success in a front-page story titled "Can Chocolate Turn You Into a Criminal? Some Experts Say So" junio 2, 1977. Numerous scientific studies have also found high success rates of probationers staying out of crime, including CARA's own program in the Sacramento County Drug Court, wherein (over a 10 year period) 87% of the addicts were successful in staying free of addiction - saving the County $22-million in the process helping thousands of people have happier, successful lives.
Barbara Reed Stitt eventually turned her focus to prevention, reaching out to schools in the hope of changing the future for students and for society that suffered from the consequences of their biochemical imbalances. For 16 years, beginning in 1983, Dr. Stitt and her husband underwrote a 'school healthy eating program'. They owned an all-natural whole grain bakery and provided whole grain bagels and a flax drink high in omega-3 that was given to students in 30 - 40 different classrooms each morning and afternoon in Wisconsin, Illinois, and Minnesota. They provided newsletters each month teaching teachers, parents, and students about healthy eating. After 6 - 8 weeks of the healthier foods they required the teachers to hold a 'junk food day' when the students returned to eating as they were doing before starting the program. Repeatedly, the teachers found that after about two hours of eating the typical donuts, sweet rolls, and other 'junk foods,' the teachers lost control of their classrooms. The parents reported the children were more argumentative and had trouble sleeping and behaving. One teacher who was in the program for 12 years followed up with her students who were in college and found that the experience had a lasting influence on their lives and their ability to better learn and concentrate.

In 1999 ( note, this is after GMOs were put into food supply) they were invited to provide the foods for Wisconsin's Appleton Central Alternative High School, which was so out of control they had a full-time police officer on staff! The Stitts replaced soda machines and refined and processed, sugar-artificial-color-corn syrup-laden cafeteria food with water and wholesome fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins. Within less than two months of being provided with healthier foods, the school had NO discipline problem. The high school students' behavior changed dramatically and was so consistently good the Superintendent extended the wholesome foods to the entire school system of 15,000 students. While the high school drop-out rate was considered fairly low at an average of 450 students per year, after two years this number had dropped to an average of 16 per year! (See the 5-year story on a 14 minute DVD - "Impact of Fresh Whole Foods on Learning and Behavior" - www.naturalpress.info or [email protected]"

So in the aftermath of Newtown CT,  hug your kids today, cherish them, and look in the pantry at what you are feeding them. High fructose corn syrup, food dyes, preservatives, GMO's in corn and soy ingredients, highly processed foods, fried foods and sugary foods, all cause chemical imbalances to the body and deprive the body of the important proteins, nutrients, vitamins and minerals we need to be physically and mentally balanced. Rather than just telling the government what to do (but please do that) we also need to look to our own families and be responsible for what we are feeding them.

To be the kind of society that we can feel completely  safe sending our kids to school, we need to also reach beyond our families and ask our school communities to feed our children healthy, whole, fresh, GMO free, high fructose corn syrup free,  preservative free, food dye free, and pesticide-free food.

If every Mom spoke up, we would alter the future for our children through food.

Here's what we can do:

Speak to our PTAs about Food and Behavior. Quote Barbara Stitt. Quote Jeffrey Smith from "Genetic Roulette".

Show the 10-minute version of "Genetic Roulette" or Robyn O'Brien's Ted Talk. Explain how a person riddled with allergies, inflammation, autism, ADHD and deprived of nutrients, cannot focus, perform well,  feel confident or successful in school and this leads to depression and aggression.

Offer a solution like http://revfoods.com/our-food/.

Grow a garden at your school and get the kids involved in planting, weeding, and harvesting. Kids will eat veggies when they have helped grow them.

Lead by example. Speak up. Have your kids write letters to the government too. Make a video, song or presentation for school.

This is our country. These are our kids.

We are all their Moms.

Zen honeycutt

El otro día, mi amiga dijo que tiene una amiga que se come todo lo que se encuentra en el estante de una tienda de comestibles, cargada de OGM y que simplemente no sabe cómo hablarle al respecto. Su voz era triste y llena de ansiedad. Ella piensa que su amiga sería muy resistente y no querría escuchar nada malo. Ella es una mamá súper ocupada y simplemente no quiere un problema más para pensarlo. Podía escuchar que mi amiga no quería molestarla o causar una ruptura en la amistad.

Ohhhhhh ... pude sentir su lucha. He compartido acerca de los OGM con miles de personas, pero todavía me cuesta mucho con algunas personas, cuando me preocupa lo que piensan y perjudican la relación. Me enfrenté un poco cuando me pidió que blogueara sobre qué decirle a la gente y, sin embargo, aprecio mucho la solicitud porque realmente me hace pensar. Como lo he hecho ¿Cómo lo hago?

Aquí hay algunos consejos:

1) Renunciar a que están haciendo algo mal. 

I really mean this one. We need to shift our thinking. This is not always easy to do. But think about it, before you knew about GMOs, were you doing anything WRONG when you fed your kids the food your were feeding them? No. You were doing what worked for you. And you didn't want anyone to tell you what to do. If you approach them like they are doing anything wrong, it's game over.

2) Ten curiosidad.

Listen to them, ask them questions about how they are dealing with things. When they feel gotten, they will be much more receptive to listening to you. People who just start telling people what to do are annoying. People who listen are cool and safe to share with and we care about what they think. Ask them if they have heard of GMOs and what do they think.

3) No intentes arreglarlo. Solo comparte.

Deshágase de "Debería intentar ..." y reemplácelo con "Realmente no quería ni pensar en esto al principio, ni saber nada al respecto, pero descubrí los alimentos genéticamente modificados y probé ... "Comparte sobre ti, no sobre ellos. Y que sea breve.

4) Sea auténtico. No seas Rah Rah.

I am a very optimistic person and have the passion of ten people sometimes. But no one wants  a cheerleader to be shouting and bouncing around about something they don't even want to do. Just be authentic. "Changing the way I thought about food really sucked at first. I cried for a day. I was pissed off for three. I still am sometimes.  Sometimes I hate these chemical companies and I think about taking a blow torch to the cereal aisle. But this is about the health of my kids...and the truth is I will do anything for them...and if it means switching to buy different brands, even if it takes a little longer or costs a little more, I will do that. I want them to be healthy and be able to have their own kids someday. "

La gente entiende eso ... o lo que sea que esté ahí para ti en tu corazón, de verdad. Cuando se presente a cuánto ama a sus hijos, ellos también lo harán. Nada es demasiado difícil cuando estás presente en ese amor. El amor es imparable.

5) Bríndeles apoyo.

Dales una guía de compras NO OGM. Envíeles un correo electrónico con algunos consejos fáciles. Comparte un video con ellos. Y luego sigue escuchando. Aquí hay algunos consejos:

1. Reemplace el aceite de maíz / canola con aceite de semilla de uva (sin sabor, bueno a altas temperaturas) y solo use 100% de aceite de oliva o podrían colarse la canola OGM en él.

2. Solo coma frutas orgánicas, veges y carnes si es posible. Especialmente solo come maíz o soja / tofu si es orgánico. Reemplace la salsa de soya con Bragg's.

3. Compre todos los cereales para el desayuno, galletas saladas, tortillas de maíz y refrigerios orgánicos o proyecto NO OGM verificado. Nature's Path tiene excelentes cereales.

4. Compre productos con azúcar CANE, no azúcar de remolacha azucarera. Este es el más difícil para mí. Confieso que no estoy 100% aquí.

6. Envíeles videos cortos por correo electrónico

Genetic roulette 10 min version http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TB5EBFUwaw0

Robyn O'Brien "Patriotism on a Plate" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6WpMM1FR8g

"It's about progress, not perfection" says Robyn O'Brien. Be their partner, not their preacher. We are all in this together. The best thing about it is that we are all in this together and the bonds we can grow by Giving Up That There Is Anything Wrong, Being Curious, Being Authentic, and Giving Support, will make you so glad you stepped out side of your comfort zone and shared something that matters to you...and even if they don't know it now....to them too.

Zen honeycutt