By Lynda Goldman

My earliest memories are of my mother chasing me down the street with a banana.

I was a skinny child, and my mom constantly worried that I would starve to death if she didn’t take heroic action.

Fast forward to a recent trip to Vietnam, where it struck me how mothers the world over are the same.

My traveling companions and I were honored to be invited to a real Vietnamese wedding. We were staying at a small hotel, and the owner’s daughter was getting married in the lobby the next morning. We asked if we could attend the ceremony, and were surprised to be invited to the reception that followed.

We seemed to be the only Westerners in the large banquet hall of about 400 people. Fortunately we were seated with the hotel staff who spoke English.

The mothering instinct transcends cultures

I chuckled as I observed the sister of the bride and her 3 year old daughter. The little girl didn’t want to eat, and her mother chased her around the room, coaxing her to eat little bits of rice.

The mothering instinct is the same, wherever you live. We all want the best for our children, and nourishing our families is a big part of how we take care of them.

My mother didn’t know much about eating for health. Most people didn’t in those times, way before the Internet. But somehow she stumbled on books by Adele Davis, such as “Let’s Stay Healthy” and “Let’s Cook it Right.” I remember discovering those books, and thinking, “Ah ha! That’s why we’re eating so many chicken livers and strange green stuff!”

I’m a mom too, the mother of two grown daughters and now the grandmother of a baby boy. My mother’s early adventures into keeping her family healthy were imprinted on me as I raised my girls.

They led to the work I do now, which is to publish the Healthy Organic Woman newsletter. Thanks to MaryEllen Tribby’s guidance and her awesome Inbox Empire program, I have the tools to fulfill my goal of educating other moms to become healthy for yourself and your family.

Three heroic health lessons from my working mom

Lesson #1. Be creative and resourceful. A few years ago I saw Jessica Seinfeld on the Oprah show. She was demonstrating recipes from her new book, “Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets to Get Your Kids Eating Good Food”. I thought, “Ha! My mother was way ahead of Jessica Seinfeld. She was fooling us into eating vegetables before Jessica was even born!”

Adele Davis was my mother’s biggest influence. Davis coined the phrase “You Are What You Eat,” and her books, “Let’s Cook it Right”, “Let’s Get Well” and “Let’s Stay Healthy” were my mother’s bibles.

Davis launched the movement of eating organic food because she was alarmed by the increase in chemicals and additives in our food. Back in the 1940s and 1950s, her message to avoid processed food was considered eccentric, but she was the fore-“mother” of our current organic movement.

Sneaky tricks with liver and onions

Adele Davis offered stealth methods for keeping your family healthy. She advised her readers to sneak liver, onions, and other vegetables into various dishes, to disguise their flavor. I can’t say my mother always did a stellar job (Jessica Seinfeld’s recipes would certainly have helped!).

My brothers and I often figured out what she was doing and rejected her culinary experiments. Still, my mother tried her hardest to gives us the best nutrition she could offer.

I owe Adele Davis a debt of gratitude in helping my mother protect my health, and for providing creative ways to sneak nutrients into our family. These early lessons now encourage me to carry the movement forward by enlightening other mothers about the benefits of organic food.

Lesson #2. March for what you believe in. When air and water pollution became growing concerns in the 1950’s and 60’s, my mother worried about our health even more. But she didn’t just sit in the house and fret. She took action.
She started a small movement, enlisting other mothers in our community. She spoke about pollution at our school, and impressed on other parents the impact of pollution on children’s health.

Stop pollution now

Next, she formed an organization called STOP, for Stop Pollution Now. She enlisted other mothers to sign petitions, march to city hall, and write articles for the local newspaper.

My mother always impressed on me, “If you believe in a cause, you have to do something about it.” She was a master at educating people, and her perseverance inspired me to take action at many times in my life.

It motivates me to keep banging the drum about why we need a cleaner environment for ourselves and for future generations.

Lesson #3. Keep learning and growing. My mother came from a poor family. Her father died of kidney disease when she was young. Despite health problems, her own mother worked long hours in a candy store to support herself and my mom.

The one thing her parents instilled in my mom was a fierce desire to learn. Library books were her salvation. She developed a fascination with natural remedies as she grew older.

A cup of blueberries a day…

In her later years, my mom suffered from a degenerative vision problem, which her doctor told her was incurable. She was devastated when he told her that she would gradually lose her eyesight.

But she didn’t take the news lying down. She scoured the library and book stores (long before the days of the Internet), and read that blueberries support vision. From that day on, she committed to eating a serving of blueberries every single day.

She kept a stash of frozen organic blueberries in her freezer, and thawed a cupful for breakfast every morning. Miraculously, her vision stabilized, and she maintained her eyesight for the rest of her life.

Was it the blueberries? We can’t prove it scientifically, but I’m convinced that those daily actions gave her a longer, better quality of life than she had expected.

Three heroic lessons spur me on

These three lessons spur me on to carry the torch. I’m also passionate about learning and growing. Books are such a big part of my life that I not only read voraciously, but have written 32 books.

The Internet now gives us an amazing tool to connect with people, so we can learn about the politics behind organic food, and GMOs, (genetically modified organisms), and how they affect our health.

Inbox Empire gives me a platform to carry forth my mother’s early efforts. And it gives us an avenue to fight for what we believe in, whether it’s by writing articles, signing online petitions, gathering groups to march against Monsanto, or lobbying the government to reduce pesticides in our food.

I thank Adele Davis, my mom, and courageous working moms everywhere. We are the heroes, the pioneers, the lionesses who protect our families. Together, we can bring about change. The fight is worth it.

About the Author:

Lynda Goldman is the publisher of Healthy Organic Woman, a leading newsletter and website for inspiring women to take control of their health. As a copywriter in the natural health industry, Lynda’s clients include alternative health doctors, nutritionists, naturopaths, health coaches and natural health companies, giving her access to the latest information from experts in the field.

Lynda is the author of 32 books by 3 major publishers. Her latest book is called Fresh Customers Daily: 50 Secrets to Marketing and Selling Supplements and Natural Products. In Healthy Organic Woman, Lynda shares her passion for eating healthy organic food. Get a free report, “50 Shades of Organic”, when you sign up for the newsletter, at http://www.HealthyOrganicWoman.com/go