It's a hard call.

But, if it makes you feel any better I get the same reactions when I tell people about the dangers of splenda, nutrasweet and aspartame. The think I'm a quack.

But I try not to care too much. Because there are also some people who believe what I say and are thankful that I tell them.

Regarding pushing it or argueing the point, I firmly believe that you have to wisely pick your battles and keep in consideration the time and the place.

just my 2 cents

I can relate to this.

I have recieved much of the same attitudes from people, rolling eyes to downright hostility about diet. The social pressure to be unhealthy can be immense. Try avoiding pizza, beer, and fast food in high school and college! A major reason that a past relationship of mine ended was because I wouldn't eat fast food junk and I was told that my diet was just "weird". I never pushed my diet on anyone, and ironically my ex was suffering the effects of a horrible diet and years of pharmaceuticals. She did consume a lot of diet sodas. I do think back now that I should have pushed her into a healthy lifestyle but that was years ago and I was still naive myself regarding many health matters, and to be honest I don't think I could have convinced her to change anyway.

I think it takes a lot of work in today's world to develop and maintain independent thought on health issues. For me it took years of reading and studying health issues just to deprogram myself to stop believing the FDA, my dentist, my doctor, pharmaceutical companies... This health stuff isn't complicated, most of it is simple 2+2=4 logic. When you grow up with the world telling you that 2+2=3 even simple logic can be hard to see. It just takes deprogramming from years of seeing commercials, government mantra, food pyramids, social pressures to conform... Before the government stepped in to protect us we didn't have nearly the number of health issues that we have today. Whatever happened to the importance of crock pots and enema bags and cod liver oil and liver flushing? I guess most people surrendered independent thought decades ago, right about the time the government and corporations started selling us out for our dollars and the Medical Industry Matrix (doctors, insurance, business, government) became so "in bed" with each other and so tied to profit.

Diet is largely a social event and I guess it touches primitive instincts in humans to conform or be shunned. You are trying to change your friends diet and they are trying to change yours to conform (social pressure, rolling eyes, references to experts and authority). I think the most imortant thing is to maintain your position - your independence and accountability over your own health and to not surrender to that great big money machine that controls your friends and their health. Lead by example and be confident. As you get healthier and your friends get worse they might look to you to change their ways.

Become the change you want to see in the world. as Gandhi put it.

Live by example. Everyone is on their own experiencial path of discovery.
Honour them. It's okay to mention things like the toxicity of x, y, and z, but leave it at that. Plant a seed and let go.


Attachments have many forms but the human form can be the most challenging. ;-)



~Lapis~

you have to give people the right to poison themselves and, yes, even their children, truly it is their right.

i NEVER pipe up with such things anymore. rather i wait until some small simple health problem can be fixed with a few herbs or some health cocktail i am very familiar with. i then administer this, they "magically" get better and then THEY ask ME "what about this and what about that" thats the only way i even address the subjects anymore. i have been thru what you describe too many times, i am over it, so be it. people will poison themselves until they can't stand it anymore then they will seek help, just be willing to be there when they do.

Yes, it is very frustrating trying to make people aware of the poisons that they are stuffing into their bodies, therefore I rarely say anything to anyone unless I intuitively sense that it will be received.
What I feel is really a violation is when I try to keep my child from the pernicious junk that they serve children at parties, and everyone jumps on me in front of her and tells me how ridiculous and restrictive I'm being. Then they will go ahead and hand the piece of brightly colored, offending garbage to my kid, who of course is by now anxious to eat the stuff that everyone is saying "children need to eat in order to have fun". It not only undermines my position as parent, but it continues to provide a venue for junk food into my daughter's body.
This is what really annoys me about what people disregard.

OK, thank you all for allowing me to vent on this one!

This is like looking at the smoker and telling them they shouldn't smoke because it's bad for you... well sort of, but bear with me.
I know we all know now that smoking is bad for you and many people don't know that Aspartame is bad for you but if they wanted to know they would research it themselves. If they were concerned about their own health, they would know like you know. Not because anybody TOLD you but because you cared to find out and you made your choice as to what to believe.

How do you know which religion is THE right one? How do you know what the truth is? You research and make your decision based on what you feel in your heart to be true.

No one will do something just because someone told them to (or not to) unless there are consequences, and until they see the consequences for themselves, they will not change their actions.

I have read that even when they are presented with the overwhelming information (as with smokers) that many will still make the same detrimental choices. The deciding factor is an emotional one, not a factual one, that incites people to make hard changes in their lives.

Bear with people, spread your truth with a smile, and let everyone make their own choices.
Peace & Love.

Thera are people in my office who use the stuff

I too sent the video out and written information too

In fact I went one step further and picked arguments with them because I said I liked them I couldn t understand them wanting to hurt themselves.

Then the penny dropped, if they were my children I could do something I could show the children that because I care for myself this is what I do and don t drink. Actually no one else really cares about you other than you. You are the number one person who looks after yourself.
Others who care less for themselves will hurt themselves because they have a self worth problem which allows a dependency relationship if not with a partner with a doctor/relative. If is not splenda then it will be some other harmful addiction.

I have learnt that it is not my place to control others but to accept them for what they are.

I will live by example accepting that others who have issues with their self worth will hurt themselves.