maddeswellbeing.blogg.se

Living the good life, the healthy way

something you might not know about me

Publicerad 2013-11-29 14:53:56 i Mind and body,

I am a feminist. No, I do not hate men. No, I do not say that men can't be masculine and women can't be feminine. I'm a feminist when it comes to what roles men and women learn to take. What roles we teach our boys and girls they should have in this society. We deem ourselves to be democratic and developed, but we cannot stand the thought of a man wearing a skirt if he wishes (dear me, he might as well go and KILL someone with that skirt!), or a woman takes up too much media space, have certain opinions and doesn't shave her legs become ridiculed, called ugly, jealous and diminished in as many ways as possible. Because she steals some spotlight minutes away from the men?
 
Why is it, that in a modern country, where we supports the freedom of choice, find it almost impossible to go into a kids toystore and buy toys for KIDS? What do I mean? I mean that there are almost no toys for kids, because the toys are for girls or boys.
 
Oh, look! Girls learn from early start that fashion, petting, make-up, child-care and beautiful princesses are for girls only. Girls need to know how to be beautiful, dress well and look after pets and children. Girls learn that their value lies within these qualities. If you are not kind, tender, caring and beautiful, you're worthless!
But boys on the other hand, they play with fortresses (they need to learn to fight and protect!), tools (so they can be the handyman), cars and science. Boys are only worthy if they are tough, handy, strong, protective and curious.
 
Finally, some toys companies have taken a big step in the right direction, have realised what damage they are doing and have now started to change their shops and catalogs.
 
Despite hard critisism from various politicians around the world (a french female politician calling the catalog pervert for example), the toy company stand by their choice and that's amazing! It is not until we see these changes in society, until we and the big companies take a stand, we can make a change.
 
I am a feminist because being "a girl" is an insult. Because being a woman means I will have less salary than man male collegue. Because men can walk away from raping a women without consequences, since she was wearing "too short a skirt" or she was "drunk".
 
When will society stop blaming the victim of a crime that was committed by someone else? When will we teach our boys that women are NOT their property, NOT there for their desire. Why do we teach girls to be careful to go out in the streets? Why do we teach girls self-defense? It is just like saying "men are animals, men can't control themselves, and they will get away with it too, so you better be careful". Instead we should teach both boys and girls that NOONE is to be touched without consent. Each  girl, boy, woman, man and everyone in between have the right to their own bodies. We owe noone nothing. No matter what I choose to wear, I never "ask for it".
 
But yeah, I guess it makes sense that a woman wearing a short skirt thought to herself "I want to get raped tonight, so I will wear this". No. Just no. Anyone can wear anything they want - for whatever reasons they have - they are not asking to be sexually harassed or raped. Never.
 
But you know, boys will be boys, and you should cover up or you will have to put up with it. Boys will be boys and it is their right to touch you wherever they want, whenever they want even if you say no. Boys will be boys, and how dare you say no to them, because they oughta learn that they own the world and you are just a sexual object.
 
This argument is just another way for patriarchy to remain power. Blame the victim.
 
We are all so carfully molded into stereotypes, made to believe that the world needs "its' balance" (what balance? the one where women get abused and dimished while men get glorified and praised?), tought to fulfill our roles as men and women, that we become blind to what really matters.
 
I do not want my children to grow up having to change who they are so they can fit into the expected gender roles. I don't want my daughter to grow up thinking she has to be pretty (and dumb) to be socially worthy. I do not want my son to believe he'll be "a girl/pussy" if he likes animals, cooking or caring. That he is worthless unless he is brutal and tough.
 
I do not want my children to grow up in a world where they will be socially punished (bullying, harassment) if they don't fit into their expected roles. Because that is exactly what is happening. Why do you think a woman wears a short skirt? Because all he life she has been tought, over and over again, that she will be more attractive, worthy and praised if she does. If she chooses to wear "non-sexy" clothes and no make-up she will most likely be questioned why and encouraged to at least "make an effort". We all get socially punished if we do not fit in. Most people want to fit in. So we adapt. We reshape ourselves. We model ourselves into men and women.
 
Again, I do not think that all women should stop wearing make-up, dresses skirts. Or that all men should stop lifting weights, loving mechanics etc. I DO think we need to open our perspectives, open our eyes. We need the right to choose. We need the right to have equal expectations. I expect you to start acting like a decent human being, and treat people as HUMANS, thinking creatures with a great heart and a great brain.
 
 

My new philosphy around food

Publicerad 2013-11-25 14:37:39 i Living life, Nutrition, Wellness and health,

I find it really hard to make a decision on where I stand in relationship to what's healthy to eat and what's not. On one hand I beleive we need to reduce our meat intake and other animalistic food sources, I also belive that too many carbs, especially wheat based ones are really quite bad for you as well.
 
Soooo. I mean, it's really hard to live on a diet based on vegetables and fruit. That's not healthy either.
 
My new philosophy around food is therefore:
 
Eat intuitively - eat when I'm hungry, stop when I'm satisfied. Not stuffed. Trust my body and follow it's cues.
 
Reduce animalistic food sources, but no elimination. Choose carefully and don't buy meat from other origins than Sweden. Same goes for dairy products. Buy organic whenever possible.
 
Don't be scared of fat - as long as they are from natural sources. Margarine, rape-seed oil and sun-flower oil are all fats that are sold to us as healthy, but when you look at the production line it is difficult to justify margarine as being healthier than butter. Something that has been washed with hydric acid, coloured, and flavoured seems to me a bit (alot) unhealthier than butter. Then again - cold pressed coconut oil and olive oil are fats that have been proven to have real health gains in our bodies. Good amount of natural fats are essential. Don't shy them!
 
Reduce wheat based foods such as cakes, pasta, biscuits, bread. When I do eat bread, always opt for carefully prepared bread, such as sourdough - preferably home baked. Gluten is inflammatory to the system and should be consumed in much smaller quantities than we do in our western world.
 
Continuing on the carefully prepared food - same goes for beans and other legumes. This is because grains and beans contain phytic acid that is supposed to protect the seed from sprouting in inhabitable places and from being eaten by animals. That should be reason enough to not eat them without proper preparation! The phytic acid stops our bodies from being able to absorb the minerals from our food. It also affects digestion negatively.
 
Proper preparation is thus through fermentation (such as sourdough) and sprouting. It will help the body to benefit from the grains and legumes without struggling to absorb the nutrients and digest the food.
 
Avoid as many additives as possible. I truly believe that additives are hurtful to our health. There are additives in almost everything we consume nowadays. If not additives, there is pesticids. I always try to buy organic fruit and vegetables. Organic bananas have no trace of pesticids compared to "normal" bananas, which contain around 4 different types of pesticides. Same principal goes with coffee. And grapes. Geez, grapes are truly bad. Don't ever buy non-organic grapes, raisins or wine. Unless you want a coctail of poison, that is. Pesticides are substances that are poisonous. Why eat them, seriously?
 
I am convinced that it is all these poisonous and unnatural substances in our food that is causing us to become ill. They are legal because "they are under the level of what's been proven to cause damage", but do we know for sure what the long term effect of constant exposure of low levels of poison in our food is?
 
I'm sure you've heard of the term "the coctail effect". I believe there is a lot of reason to take this seriously. All the different additives that are found in our food are not natural and considering our bodies are natural biological organisms, I wouldn't expect them to handle unnatural substances very well. Just like our planet is being littered by plastic, oil and other harmful rubbish, our bodies suffer the same fate.
 
We feed ourselves with shit. And most of us don't even know it.
 
I don't like to rant and preach, and this post is turning into a damn rant. I'm not perfect. I buy non-organic stuff. I have eaten and drunk non-organic grapes and wine recently. But I try. I try to eliminate poison from my food. It's choice. I want to eliminate the risk of my future children suffering from Adhd/diabetes/allergies etc  - cause I belive these illnesses are due to the poor quality of the food we eat. This is not scientific. It is not proven. To be honest - there is alot to be said about the scientific research of diet and disease. I can only make my own conclusions from what I have read and seen and experienced.
 
I want to feed my body a colourful, organic, natural, diverse and fair diet. Less sugar, less processed, less gluten, less trans-fats and more clean food.
 
But I will also eat a cake every now and then. I will have a drink if I want to. I will eat sweets if I feel like it. That is a choice I make, as long as I am aware of the effects it has on my body.
 
My mental health suffers when I try to restrict myself. Therefore it is of most importance to listen to my body. If I am satisfied/full - don't eat. My body is very capable of telling me when it has had enough. It is also capable of telling me when I need more fuel. I don't need to eat at 12 just because it's lunch if I'm not hungry. But if I am - then eat!! Eat eat! Trust my guts :)
 
 
 
I don't know if you've cared to read all of this, but if you have, remember that all of this are my own thoughts about food and what's healthy. I have no links to sources, basically because I have read so much, both on the internet and in books, and I think it is better for everyone to find information and read for themselves to form an opinion. The above text is my conclusion of what most articles, books and dieticians advocate. Clean, natural foods. A healthy balance between fats, proteins and carbs.
 
And of course the freedom to choose. But be sure you know what it is that you choose!
 
 
 
 
 
 

Senaste inläggen

Kategorier

Arkiv

Prenumerera och dela