I try to eat as much organic food as possible. We started eating organic food at the end of last year and I really started researching why it is better for us. It's not something I ever really thought of before, just kind of ignoring the organic food in the supermarket. Since researching I have discovered exactly what organic food is, what organic means and why organic food is better.
Read on to discover why organic food is better when it comes to healthy eating.
What is organic food?
- Organic food is food which has not been treated with questionable chemicals including pesticides and artificial fertilisers.
- Organic food is never genetically modified.
- Organic crops are rotated to create fertile soil and allow natural pest control.
- Organic farm animals truly are free range and wildlife is encouraged.
Not only is it surely better for our health, but it is much better for the environment!
I also believe most organic food tastes better.
When we make a roast with organic veg we also think it tastes so much better - the potatoes in particular!
I find it so bizarre that organic food is seen as alternative food by some people today.
I've certainly found I've been questioned as to why I want to eat mainly organic. I've even been asked if I'm turning into a hippy!
Surely it's more logical to question why we want to eat foods treated with harmful chemicals and why this is seen as the norm?
Eating non organic foods should be strange, not the other way around!
Organic food is exactly that; it is food, real food. Food in its natural state. Food we should all be eating. It's such a shame we now class chemically contaminated food as 'normal food'.
Organic food is expensive
Yes, unfortunately it's more expensive.
This is what most people first think when they consider choosing organic.
We did too, but then we decided to cut out a lot of the rubbish food we were buying and instead invest this money into better quality food and therefore invest also in our health.
Instead of spending £20 on a takeaway once a week, which we would previously do without question, we now spend it on more local organic produce.
Plus, it's not only an investment in your own health, but it protects the wildlife and is an investment into planet Earth. Perhaps it's worth the extra cost if you can afford it?
Every time we buy something we are voting for the type of world we want to live in. I'd much rather live in a more natural world with less chemicals!
The dirty dozen
There is a list of 12 foods, however, known as the 'dirty dozen' which contain the highest amount of pesticides in tests.
So, if you can, try to buy at least these items organically as much as possible.
It's not always possible and we have to buy non organic sometimes. We try our best though as pesticides in food have been linked to cancer, brain and nervous system toxicity and hormone disruption. Scary stuff!
The current dirty dozen are:
- Apples
- Strawberries
- Grapes
- Celery
- Peaches
- Spinach
- Sweet bell peppers
- Nectarines
- Cucumbers
- Cherry tomatoes
- Snap peas (imported)
- Potatoes
This list gets updated each year.
Should I still eat fruits and vegetables even if they're not organic?
Yes!
It still is better to eat lots of fruit and veg, even if not organic, rather than processed foods. Fruits and vegetables contain lots of vital vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.
The benefits of these nutrients will always outweigh the negatives, just wash them really well and choose organic when possible.
Almost all food comes from plants, so even those packaged foods that aren't fresh fruits and veggies won't be grown organic either, unless they state they are! Skipping fresh fruits and vegetables because they're not organic won't help you to be healthy and won't mean you're eating an organic diet unless everything else you choose is also organic!
People are choosing more organic food!
It's reassuring to recently read sales of organic food rose by 4% last year in the UK.
This is so impressive (as overall food spending was down), and better for our health as well as our environment.
Hopefully more people will buy organic foods making organic the norm and start stopping the use of questionable chemicals on our food and our health.
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