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| ORGANIC FOOD |
Ay, Ay, Ay! Healthy is a relative term and
organic might not fit into everyone's lifestyle and that's ok.
So let's talk about a few myths. Now I could
literally, give you an essay on each of these but I want to make it a digestible so
please if I miss a note that you think is important feel free to tactfully
Share it in the comments below.
Organic Food Is Pesticide Free
So first up is organic food is pesticide-free. If food is labeled 100% organic then means if it is meat, eggs, or dairy
it is free of antibiotics and growth hormones and it is not harmful for your body. If it is produced it's grown with
fertilizers and free of synthetic components and is non-GMO. But that doesn't
mean that zero pesticides or herbicides are used or that farms crops aren't
exposed to pesticides even if its inadvertently.
Labeled Food
If any food is labeled with the USDA organic label
then 95 percent of the ingredients must be organic, it's not 100%, but it is 95. So that other 5% could
be sprayed with pesticides and even the 95% could be sprayed with pest controls
or chemicals that the USDA "approves of" to be safe for humans even
if they aren't safe for animals or bugs or weeds.
Made With Organic Ingredients
A bag of corn chips could
be made with organic corn but nonorganic oil. So about 25% of a chip is oil
and that means it still meets the standard to say "made with organic
ingredients".
So you really do need to understand the
different labels if you're concerned with things being organic. But do you need
to be concerned? Now this article is not here to tell you to not eat organic
food or to eat organic food is just a debunk some of the myths flying around
and discuss what's really going on.
Organic Food Is Expensive
Organic food is expensive so if you choose
to buy organic food make sure that it's worth your wild. It isn't gonna hurt
you but do you need it to be digging so deep in your wallet? Maybe not.
Organic Food Is More Nutritious
Some other myths are: organic food is more
nutritious. So actually there is not really much evidence showing that the consumption of organic food will lead to improved health or reduces the risk of many diseases.
The occasional study about the organic tomatoes shows that they have more vitamin C or something related to that but overall nutrients
are not particularly different and the qualities that are distinct don't factor so much into the nutritional quality.
Loss Of Nutrients
The truth is that the loss of nutrients is
much more dependent on how long the product is sitting out on the shelf.
Organic Food Better For Environment
There is another myth related to organic food: organic food is better for the
environment. It's obvious yes that a keeping farmland pesticides free is great but the organic farming isn't as productive as conventional farming.
Organic Food Tastes Better
Another one: organic food tastes better. So
most studies actually say no. Most people can't tell the difference. I
personally do notice a bit of a difference with a few things. So spinach, strawberries, berries, tomatoes, those are things I can tell a difference with
but in all fairness, it happened over time.
I could not tell the difference when I was eating a diet that was mostly made of processed food. Now that I eat a
primarily whole foods diet with a lot of fruits and vegetables my palate has
adjusted a bit and there are some organic pieces of produce that I can tell a difference with but it depends on what it is and where you get it.
That being said remember that not all
organic farms are the tiny local farms run by the wonderful people that you
encounter at your farmers market. There are many there are huge and the
conditions aren't really much better than the conventional farms.
Organic Chip
An organic chip has just as many calories and fat as the non-organic chip
but it costs three times more. Nutritionally it is not doing anything for your
body. Processed foods are not fuel. Whether they are organic or not.
So what am I trying to say? Don't waste
your money on organic processed snack foods and if you're thinking hear me out
because studies show that most people do think that organic cookies and snacks
are healthier and fewer calories and fat. That's not how it works.
Remember they are not food as fuel choices.
If you really want to make efforts to be healthier consider trying to get more
whole foods into your daily diet. So I will conclude my rant there. We are
redefining health here and I think it's important that we get rid of the stigma
that you can't be healthy if you're not organic.
Related Posts
It's important for me to tell you that I don't eat all organic food and that you don't need to feel discouraged about you're a journey if you can't buy organic food because that's ok. You're still doing a great job and your body appreciates your hard work and I appreciate you and I love you.
I hope you guy shave a great wonderful
fantastic day. So be sure to come back you don't want to miss it. And remember
it's all a matter of Mind Over Munch.