Healthy-Family.org Reaches a Milestone, One Million Views!

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After just 17,663 days online (that’s nearly 4 1/2 years), we’ve reached quite a milestone at Healthy-Family.org. Our website has reached one million views! To celebrate I decided to re-post the very first article written on our website (originally posted on 07/02/2007). When I pulled it up today I laughed at the site of it. This post was written only a few weeks after learning that my son had severe food intolerances to 15 foods and chemicals, including wheat and corn. At that time I had a cheap camera and no culinary skills to speak of.  I didn’t know much about photography either (I know quite a bit more thanks to some tutoring by a photography friend and a new camera.) But I am still learning.

I laugh at this grainy image of an apple cut and cored on that child’s plate. Several thoughts ran into my mind: it’s grainy, too small, out of focus, and taken in the wrong light. The day I first posted it I think I cried; not because the photo was so lousy, or the dish wasn’t even cooked (to be honest, back then I didn’t know how or where to start). And I didn’t cry because it wasn’t that creative, but because I was overwhelmed at the idea of having to learn how to feed my son from scratch. I was afraid I would screw up, that his broken immune system wouldn’t heal, and that I was barking up the wrong tree with a food elimination diet. I promised to give it 6 months at the very least. Now here we are almost 4 1/2 years later.

Healthy-Family.org eventually evolved over the years….

As time moved on and my knowledge and skills improved I met a wonderful group of folks in the same boat as myself. They were my paddles in my life raft on that stormy sea. Eventually I learned to cook and shop and in essence, help my family get on with our lives over here. Yes we still eat quite differently than most Americans. Because as it turns out, the diet was just what we needed, all of us. But food is no longer an issue in our house. Thankfully, shopping and cooking no longer occupy the majority of my days.

On July 1, 2007 I wrote: “In my web searches I have not been able to find any sites that cater to both gluten and corn allergies/intolerances. Recipes are either gluten free with corn, or corn free with gluten. Here is one of my gluten and corn free recipes.”

Today the reality is probably much different. There is quite a buzz online about gluten and corn intolerance. And I have met several celiacs that also need to avoid or greatly limit their corn consumption. It is nice to be in good company with others on a similar journey. It helps to know you are not alone.

During the past 4 years I have done a lot of research on corn, and to be quite blunt about it, I’m not a fan. I’ve developed an interest in how our food is grown, harvested, stored, and prepared. My search for truth is never ending. And my discoveries have been quite shocking:

1. Dangerous Levels of Mercury found in Products Made with High Fructose Corn Syrup
2. Soda Study links High Fructose Corn Syrup to Diabetes
3. Corn Sugars 101: What You Might not Know about Corn Sweeteners
4. The Corn We Eat is Infested with Mycotoxic Fungi

Healthy-Family.org back in the good ol’ days

But our website has evolved quite a bit over the years and corn has become only a small part of the informative articles and resources we provide here at Healthy-Family.org. To date we’ve had 13 authors contribute to over 250 articles. We’ve also created an entire section of educational posts for parents and their kids. We’ve even got a page of links to educational online games for kids, recently updated and organized by topic. We’ve been blessed to have various colleagues offer guest posts, and to have regular columnists join our eMagazine over the years. I’ve personally had the pleasure of sampling various products to review, and I’m thankful to the manufacturers who’ve entrusted me with giving our readers an honest review of their products. I’ve also met a wonderful array of professionals through the interviews we’ve conducted and expos we’ve attended on behalf of our ezine. So thanks for the experiences you’ve allowed me to share with you all.

Here is a sampling of some of the general interest articles we’ve done:

1. Sew Your Own Baby Sling by Elaine Luther
2. Would Stone Age Diet Keep Us Healthier? by Dr. Rasa Kazlauskaite
3. Seven Dermatological Tips for your Skin by Agne Naujokas
4. Top 10 Celiac Survival Tips for the Holidays by Connie Bernard
5. Brad Cohen’s book about Tourette Syndrome becomes a Hallmark Movie by Caryn Talty
6. Vitamin E May Cure that Painful Lump in your Armpit by Caryn Talty
7. Why am I so Edgy? Learn about Pyrrole Disorder (Pyroluria) by Caryn Talty

But I mostly want to thank you, our regular readers. Without you we would have little motivation to create a lasting resource for Google searching readers everywhere. It is that human connection that makes online writing worthwhile. Without it there is no reason to write. So thanks to those readers who’ve not only come for a short visit, but have stayed a while. Thanks to the ones who have liked us on FaceBook, subscribed to our Twitter and RSS channels, and have spread the word on other parts of the internet. Our little experiment has turned into a something that helps people around the globe