Organic Food Benefits - Why Eating Organic is Better For You

A four year European Union funded study highlighting organic food benefits, found that organic fruit and vegetables contain up to 40 percent more antioxidants and organic produce had higher levels of beneficial minerals like zinc and iron. Organic juices, for example, have far more antioxidants than their conventional counterparts. However, the findings from this study only confirmed what most people regard as commonsense- foods grown in mineral rich soil with natural fertilizers and no chemicals, simply have to be more nutritious. Many of the pesticides, herbicides, hormones, and other chemicals used in conventional food production have been linked to cancer, immune suppression and a host of other degenerative diseases that accompany immune suppression.

What Types of Organic Foods Are Best

Organic Fruit

Simply put, you should stick with foods that come directly from nature. Your vegetables, fruits, nuts, meats, and grains should be in their natural, unadulterated form or as close to it as possible. The bulk of your organic purchases should focus on vegetables and fruits. When buying meat, eggs, and dairy products, make sure that these are from animals that are pastured or grass-fed and not from confining, factory farms.

Meat, eggs, and dairy products from pastured animals will give you the best organic food benefits. When compared to feed-lot, confining factory farm commercial products, they offer you more "good" fats, and fewer "bad" fats. They are richer in antioxidants; including vitamins E, beta-carotene, and vitamin C. In addition, they do not contain traces of added hormones, antibiotics or other drugs.

Be aware that not all organic foods are created equal; the organic label has been greatly compromised in recent years. Consequently, you have to be very leery of major super centers and supermarkets which have been adding their compromised version of organic foods to their shelves. Potato chips and sodas are still bad for you regardless of whether or not they are labeled organic and you cannot get any organic food benefits from eating them. The organic food industry is a huge multi-billion dollar business and many unscrupulous manufacturers are simply out take advantage of people's desires to eat healthier and live healthier lives by placing compromised or outright false versions of organic products on grocery shelves.

Genetically Modified Foods Disguised as Organic

You also have to be aware of organic food that is genetically modified. You will not get any organic food benefits from genetically modified foods disguised as organic. This is outright deception. By some estimates as much as seventy percent of the foods that are available to us today are genetically modified. The best way to be sure you are not purchasing organic food that is genetically modified is to look for the USDA seal. The USDA organic seal ensures that growers of organic produce adhere to very strict organic standards in their farming practices. Manufacturers who use this seal also have to adhere to these strict organic standards.

Another way to determine if you are buying genetically modified food is to look at the PLU code. Genetically modified foods have 5 digits beginning with #8. For example, GM orange 84072. Foods that are organically grown have 5 digits starting with #9. For example, organic orange 94231. Foods that are conventionally grown have a four digit code. For example, conventionally grown orange 4057.

The Environmental Working Group published the findings of a study in which they identified produce with the highest and lowest levels of pesticides. This should help you make smarter choices as you shop for food. If you are concerned about organic food benefits you should avoid thin skinned produce such as peaches, nectarines, strawberries, celery, bell peppers, kale, lettuce, grapes, carrots and pear as these have the highest pesticide residues.

If you are buying conventionally grown produce here are your best choices provided they are not genetically modified: onion, avocado, sweet corn, pineapple, mango, asparagus, sweet peas, kiwi, cabbage, eggplant, papaya, watermelon, broccoli, tomato, and sweet potato.

Organic Food Benefits - Why Eating Organic is Better For You

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