{From Seed to Self: A Healthy Living Campaign}

This month, Adventures of an Orthodox will be hosting a healthy living campaign called From Seed to Self.The initial idea for this series came to me when I was going through my health scare earlier this year and I realized what a terribly unhealthy life I was living.While I was researching different types of diseases and treatment options, one word continued to pop out at me.  Deficient.  One disease was caused by one type of vitamin deficiency, another disease by another vitamin deficiency resulting in a snowball effect of health issues.  Lack of certain hormones being produced due to a lack of certain trace minerals.  Why the sudden rise in these deficiencies?  The absence of naturally grown, organic food seemed to be playing a major role in these deficiencies.   We are lacking in so many different areas that we're making it nearly impossible for our bodies to function the way they are supposed to.

People are being diagnosed with cancer at a much younger age than ever before.  Diseases like autism, thyroid disorders, asthma and MS are rising at ridiculous rates.  Chemical companies like Monsanto and DuPont are now the people determining our agricultural regulations.  What is going on?

In the past several years, the movement to eat clean and organic has exploded.  People are becoming much more aware of what is and isn't healthy for their bodies.  More and more people are trying to develop better eating habits and build healthier lifestyles.For me, this is a huge challenge.  I've always been very petite, never prone to gaining weight and because of this, I developed some very unhealthy eating habits over the years.  I love junk food.  I love to snack on chips or cookies or cakes.  I bake nonstop.  Now, this may not be as bad if I ate good food along with some of those things.  But I don't.

My daily eating routine goes something like this:Morning: Coffee with biscotti or some other type of cookie.Lunch: Coffee still going...no time to sit down and have a real lunch, sometimes I snack (usually something processed), other times I don't eat at all throughout the day.Dinner:  This is the only consistent meal for me.  I always have a good dinner and dessert ready.  Though, our dinners are probably larger than what they should be (in size and cholesterol).  I've always heard you're supposed to eat "breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper."

So, for the past few months I've been spending a lot of time juicing (I'm in love with my new Bella NutriPro) and making smoothies (I use the Ninja), and trying to incorporate more vegetables and fruits into my diet.  I have completely given up bottled water.  As long as there is another H2O option available, you will not see me with a bottled water.  I bring my own filtered or glass bottles wherever I go and fill them up from home or a fountain. I know several people personally who have told me that their physicians (one has esophageal cancer and another had infertility issues) told them not to touch the stuff.   Learn more, here or search for "Tapped" on Netflix.I also really, really want to start cutting out gluten but am majorly procrastinating because I know this is going to be an even bigger challenge.  I am a bread baker and cake lover.But, I keep reading things about how bad wheat is for us and is directly related to Hashimoto's Disease, which is the type of hypothyroidism I have, and other diseases.  One great book about the downfalls of wheat is Wheat Belly by William Davis.  I've also been reading The Gerson Therapy by Charlotte Gerson.  This book (and the therapy it discusses) is life changing.  I am usually a very hard person to sell on "natural cures" simply because I have tried so many different things and have had little to no results.  But, with just the improvement I've felt by juicing every day, I am totally sold on this method.  If you want a quick intro to what this is, click here or here (two different links).Gerson Therapy has literally cured people of numerous auto-immune disorders (Hashimoto's is auto-immune), and is more popularly known to have cured thousands and thousands of people from cancer.  This is no joke.  I know it sounds like it, because I rolled my eyes the first time I was told about it, too.  But I really, truly believe this works.  There are success stories, including blogs like Delvespot and The Wellness Warrior, all over the place.I highly recommend checking them out before this series begins because if  you're anything like me, it will flip your world upside down.  In a totally good way!

And, it only makes sense, really.  There is little to no nutritional value in most of the things we consume.  So, how could our bodies possibly continue to function the way they were made to?  God created the world and everything in it for man to make use of.   Everything He created has a purpose!

This series of posts will focus on several aspects of healthy living.  We will talk about everything from the seeds our foods are grown from (yes, there is a difference!), the benefits of juicing, and using more natural products in our homes and on our bodies.

You'll be hearing from:

• Kathy McFarland of Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds

• Julie Vaden of Healthier by the Minute (sponsored by Nutripro Juicers)

• Allison Evans of Branch Basics Natural Cleaning Products

• Zoe Namey of Pittsburgh in Polka Dots (sponsored by Juice Beauty Cosmetics and Olive Tree Secrets)

• Colleen Levine of Foodie Tots

• and more!

I also have some terrific giveaways coming up from some of our sponsors!  So keep checking back for lots of fun prizes and great ways to begin your journey to healthier living!