The Chemical Generation
By Jamie Geurtjens
Copyright 2014 Jamie Geurtjens,
All rights reserved.
Published in eBook format by eBookIt.com
ISBN-13: 978-1-4566-2314-2
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.
All information presented within this book is intended for educational purposes only. Any health or diet advice is not intended as a medical diagnosis or complete treatment. If you think you have any type of medical condition, or are intending to make major dietary changes, please seek professional advice from a healthcare professional.
Acknowledgements
Firstly, thank you to my beautiful son, Ethan, for giving me permission to write and share your personal journey in the hope to inspire others to live a healthier life. You inspire me every day to live my best life. To my husband Jeremy for always standing beside me and believing in me, when no one else did. To Sienna for being the light that fills my world and makes a grey day bright. And to Glenda, the person who gave me the foundations I needed to heal my son. You sadly passed away 2 years after Ethan’s recovery, but I will always remember the precious wisdom that you gave me. You were our fairy godmother, and we are forever grateful.
Introduction
Food has become one of the most confusing topics ever. Everywhere we turn, we are bombarded with images of food, along with words like “healthy”, “sugar free” and “fat free”. Everyone’s telling us what we should and shouldn’t be feeding our families, so how do we know who to believe. You need to start believing in yourself. You know what’s best for your child, simply by looking at their current health conditions. Are the foods they are eating fuelling their bodies or making them sick? Let’s take a good step back and think about this current generation of children. Our youngest generation of children are facing an array of health issues. Children are being diagnosed as young as 3 and 4 with chronic health and developmental disorders. Some of these include eczema, asthma, obesity, recurrent ear infections, autism, ADHD, ADD, dyslexia, dyspraxia, and other learning and behavioral problems. These were almost unheard of a few generations ago. What caused this to happen to this generation of children? Chemicals, chemicals, and more toxic chemicals. From the time a child is conceived, the tiny little body must begin to fight an array of chemicals, including food additives, skincare additives, prescription medicines, vaccinations, and environmental pollution. Some of the chemicals our children come into contact with we can’t avoid, but so many of them we can avoid. Sure most people would never intentionally give their child something that was going to make them mentally or physically sick, but they are, without knowing so. I never once gave my children anything that I didn’t think was good for them, but it turned out that my children’s so called “healthy” lifestyle was not healthy at all. It contained chemicals and other toxins that caused my family to become ill — in particular my son, who suffered the most, losing his quality of life through his earliest years. I thought I knew what was healthy. I thought I could trust a company when they said words like “healthy”, “natural”, “good choice”, “real fruit”. I thought I could trust my doctor with the health of my family. I thought the government would ensure that foods and medicines and vaccinations were as healthy as they possibly could be. But I was wrong. In the process, my son became ill and was diagnosed on the autistic spectrum at only 5 years old. I had to take control of my family’s health, and in the process I had to learn what could possibly save a generation of children.
Over the last 100 years, our diet has moved from fresh, wholesome, homegrown foods to processed, refined, junk food with very little nutritional value. Even fresh food has been contaminated with chemical pesticides and fungicidal waxes. The amount of chemicals and other toxins that are absorbed into our children, each and every day, are so numerous that the average immune system just cannot cope. The health crisis that we are facing is due to the unnecessary chemical toxins that are added to the foods we are unknowingly feeding our family. The modern health system then tries to counteract the illnesses with more chemical toxins in the form of prescription medicines, but these medications only cause more side effects and further illness. Something needs to change, because this way of thinking is not creating health but further illness. It’s all about awareness. When we know better, we do better. We need to be aware of what we are feeding our children. We need to stop thinking healthy food is too expensive or too difficult to prepare. Because believe me … it’s not. My son Ethan is living proof that everything we eat either feeds disease or fights it. I was able to recover him from a serious illness through eliminating chemicals from his food and feeding him foods that nourished and healed his mind and body. It’s not a fad or another quick fix solution. It’s a lifestyle. A lifestyle that will not only heal this generation of children, but those generations to come.
Our Canaries – Early coal mines did not have proper ventilation systems, so to assess whether the environment was safe for the miners to go into, they would release canaries into the mine. If toxins such as methane gas has leaked into the mine, the canaries would become sick and die. As long as the canaries were singing, they knew that they were safe. Our youngest generation of children are our canaries. They are telling us that our environment has become too toxic for us to live healthy lives. 1 in 68 American children and 1 in 100 New Zealand children have been diagnosed with autism. 1 in 30 are overweight or obese. 1 in 12 children have asthma, and 1 in 10 have eczema. Remember these are just the percentages of children that have been diagnosed. Many more children are suffering from anxiety, behavioral issues, and food allergies and sensitivities that are affecting their quality of life.
It doesn’t have to be this way. We need to stop thinking that there is nothing we can do or that the problem is too big for us to make a difference. We can make a positive difference to the lives of our youngest generation and the generations to come, and it all starts with healing our own family. The following chapter shows what is possible when we finally start listening to our own little canaries.
June 2011
“Dear Ethan,
I stood at your door and watched you tonight while you slept; I was so quiet so as not to wake you. Sleeping is the only time you are at peace. You have suffered more anger and cried more tears than someone who has lived 100 years. You should be carefree like any other 5-year-old little boy. I pray to the universe to help me to heal you. I know the world needs you, I need you. I promise to you with all my heart that I will rescue you. That one day you will have a healthy mind and body. One day we will laugh together and these times will be a distant memory. I pray to the universe to give me the strength I need to save you. I know there is an answer, and I’m searching so desperately for it. You have been lost for too long, and I am going to keep fighting until I have you back.
Love Mum”
The Beginning
I was in my final year of my teaching degree when I met my husband, Jeremy. I knew as soon as I saw him that I would marry him. He was tall, kindhearted, and stunningly gorgeous. Just 4 months later, we were engaged, and within a year of our first meeting, we were happily married. We wanted to be parents more than anything, and it was something we talked about a lot. We lived in the small town of Bulls where we owned the most run-down house on the street. Almost two years after we were married and still living in our run-down, but half done up house, we became pregnant with a little boy. Ethan was born naturally and was absolutely perfect. He had the cheekiest smile, big blue eyes, and the softest blonde hair in the world. He had a really healthy start. I would make all his baby food from fresh market fruits and vegetables and soon added in farm raised meat. He had soon grown into a busy, happy toddler, and everything was going well for us. However when Ethan was 18 months old, not