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Organic Foods
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Choose organic whenever possible. That's my professional advice. Why? Less chemical exposure for you and the environment.
Why organic foods are better for the environment:
- Reduce pollutants in groundwater.
- Create richer soil that aids plant growth while reducing erosion.
- Decrease pesticides that end up in rivers and streams (and lakes and oceans).
- Organic farming can require less energy than conventional farming.
Why organic foods are better for you:
You'll eat fewer chemicals in smaller quantities! When you eat conventionally raised cows, pigs, chickens, eggs, and dairy products, you may also be eating:
- Antibiotic residues (overuse of antibiotics is leading to resistant strains of bacteria)
- Hormones used to increase growth (or increase milk production)
- Herbicides and pesticides from the animal feed
- Nitrates and nitrites (which are linked to stomach cancer)
Yuck!
Why am I stressing the importance of eating organic animal products more than organic fruits and vegetables?Because while eating organic veggies is a terrific idea (and I'll have more to say on it in a minute), animal flesh concentrates toxins. So you'll get a bigger health benefit from switching to organic meats than organic veggies.
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If you feel you can't go organic because the cost is prohibitive or availability is scarce, you can always:
- Limit your exposure to chemicals by simply eating fewer conventional meat, pork, poultry, eggs and conventional dairy products.
- Eat lower on the food chain.
When you eat conventional produce...
...you still risk ingesting a mouthful of herbicides and pesticides. Yuck again! What a great reason to start your own organic vegetable garden!
If you can't always afford organic produce, make an effort to prioritize these organic fruits and vegetables. They have higher pesticide residues than other produce.
Are organic foods really more nutritious than conventional?
Here's what the government says:
Organic food differs from conventionally produced food in the way it is grown, handled, and processed. The USDA makes no claims that organically produced food is safer or more nutritious than conventionally produced food.
The nutrition professional in me believes the answer to be yes...
...but there just aren't enough well done studies to prove it yet. It has been suggested however, that when plants aren't sprayed with chemicals to stave off bugs and weeds, they naturally increase their own defenses to fend them off on their own. Their own defenses include increased production of antioxidants...
...the nutrition components you've probably heard you need to get more of! So organic produce just may be more nutritious than its conventional counterparts. And it seems pretty obvious that eating fewer pesticides would make for healthier eating.
Animal feeding experiments indicate that animal health and reproductive performance are slightly improved when organically fed. A similar finding has not yet been identified in humans (because who wants to be a guinea pig in such an experiment?), but why wait until the jury is in?
It just makes sense to choose organic foods as often as possible. Not only will you limit your exposure to dangerous and potential cancer causing chemicals, you just may be boosting the nutritional value of your diet as well.
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What does "organic" mean?
When nutrition labels claim, "100% Organic":
- No synthetic ingredients are allowed (no synthetic pesticides, petroleum or sewage-sludge based fertilizers, bioengineering, or ionizing radiation).
- Organic meat, poultry, eggs and dairy products must come from animals fed 100% organic feed and no antibiotics or growth hormones.
- No genetically modified foods can be among the ingredients.
- The product cannot contain added sulfites.
- The 100% organic claim is verified by an independent accredited inspector.
When nutrition labels claim simply, "Organic"
- At least 95% of the ingredients are organically produced (as above).
- The product cannot contain added sulfites.
When nutrition labels claim, "Made With Organic Ingredients"
At least 70% of the ingredients are organic.
Now you know!
Organic foods
More healthy eating.
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