Eating Produce Is Dangerous For Your Health Why You Should Choose Organic Food

When we decide to select foods that we want to eat, health and nutritional value is most likely on the top of our list of priorities. That’s why we should be choosing organic foods that heal, foods that are high in nutrients and without too many toxic chemicals.
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Consuming foods that are grown straight from nature is an excellent place to begin. We all crave for organically wholesome, chemical free vegetables and fresh fruits, hearty whole grains, nutritious nuts and seeds, lively legumes, low-fat dairy, and toxic free animal proteins on our grocery lists.

Make sure that the primary foods you do eat doesn’t contain chemical additives, exposed to pesticides sprays, or contaminated with poor industrial treated water or soil.

What Is Organic Farming

organic foods health expertYou may be wondering what exactly is Organic Farming? Organic farming is a type of farming that’s limited to using just natural fertilizers and pesticides, which has no harm on the environment or the crop produced. This farming method strives to produce just the highest quality, pure nutrient rich crops.

When organic farming, the farmers able to naturally control any potential infestations that may occur, such as: plant diseases, pests and weeds. Organic farming also includes maximizing soil richness and structure by using mineral rich organic compost. This keeps the soil from breaking down and eroding.

During the farming process, these pests and weeds are controlled by using organic approved pesticides. They are also less expensive to produce and use than the more expensive chemical based pest control products. These natural sprays also helps out the environment, and results in a more natural fruit or vegetable product as well.

The key to organic farming is making the soil as productive and structurally sound as possible. This is achieved by feeding it with natural decomposing organic matter. When they feed the organic soil with enough oxygen, nutrients and water, the farm fresh produced produce will result in a better tasting product.

Other than preserving the soil’s life, organic farming also develops and preserves it as well. This is possible through soil crop rotation. When there is healthy soil, it will produce rich vibrant ‘mother nature’ intended crops of high-quality. With the aide of organic fertilizer’s and nutrient-rich pure organic compost, soil erosion is also no longer a problem.

Organic farming also help lessen water pollution, as there are no chemical based fertilizers used. Those chemicals in conventional farming will eventually wash out into our water streams and systems.

The foods you buy should be as organic as possible.
Here is a list of the top 9 healing foods that should be bought organic, for the following reasons:

1.) Strawberries
Strawberries when ripe for eating are bright red and energizing, they are rich in beta-carotene and vitamin C. But this fruit also happens to be one of the most heavily contaminated foods in the United States, this according to a number of legitimate environmental groups. Strawberries grown in California are treated with around 130kg of pesticides per acre, and some areas use up to 225kg per acre.

As a comparison, family based farms in the US currently uses only 10kg of pesticides per acre on average. There are also some growers that spray already harvested strawberries that are ready for shipping, a chemical concentrate for preservation.

Strawberries also have the highest levels of hormone pesticides as well, which includes: vinclozolin, benomyl, and endosulfan. Methyl bromide is another toxic spray commonly used on strawberries.

Strawberries that are out of season may often have even more chemicals as they are usually imported from other countries, and they are sprayed before shipping.

2.) Leafy Greens including Lettuce and Spinach
These foods when organic are vital and nutritious. All leafy greens contain rich folic acid, iron, calcium, and other essential minerals. However, the leaves that are sprayed with chemicals often tends to remain on the leaves, even after washing. They will often become potentially more harmful since those are the parts that we eat. The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) studies have found that spinach was the most likely to contain potent pesticides and chemicals such as: permethrin (a mild carcinogenic) and organophosphates (a neurotoxin).

3.) Grapes
Grapes in its purest form contain cleansing fibers, valuable B vitamins and vitamin C, and essential minerals. Red grapes contain phytonutrients, as well as the more healthier proanthocyanidins, which has proven to protect the heart. These benefits of grapes are only present if they are organic however.

Grapes if not organic may receive multiple applications from a variety of preservative based chemical agents. Many fruits, including these grapes, ripen too quickly which attract insects as well as molds. To get them to market, they are heavily treated with chemicals to obviously protect the financial interests of the grape grower.

4.) Rice
Rice is the most popular, frequently consumed food staple on earth. Rice is a high in fiber excellent low-fat vital food source which contains B vitamins and essential minerals, including antioxidants, and the cancer fighting mineral selenium.

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You should however seriously consider buying organic rice and rice products, especially if it is your primary staple food. There was a dangerous herbicide in rice, known as 2,4,5-T, that was once sprayed on rice before it was banned in 1984. There are also a lot of persistent water soluble herbicides as well as insecticides that have been found to contaminate the water near major rice fields.

It is suggested that you buy what’s known as, 6 organic rice in bulk. This is a non-organic pre-packaged, and much safer rice.

5.) Cruciferous Vegetable Group
These popular veggies contain healthy anti-cancer fighting hytonutrients, as well as multi vitamins and essential minerals, are high in fiber and low in calories, the cruciferous vegetables group (broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage and cauliflower), are normally excellent foods to eat on a regular basis. If there are organic.

Otherwise. we are consuming veggie parts that most likely have been sprayed with carcinogenic chemicals, all basically for preservation purposes. So buy the organically grown versions as much as possible, or buy in season from your local farmer.

6.) Apples
An apple a day will keep the …Really? Really? Apples are a staple in many diets, apples contain natural cleansing fibers as well as detoxifying pectin and many vital nutrients. You guessed it, when organic.

Most apples has been found to be as contaminated as strawberries. There are around 48 different types of pesticides that were found by FDA testing in close to 3000 samples from 1982 to 1990, while there were 36 different chemicals found in their 1993 testing. Nearly one half of these 36 chemicals were either carcinogenic or neurotoxic toxins.

In the FDA analysis, apples as well as peaches were the two crops with the greatest number of different types of pesticides per crop! Recently, there has been a shift away from spraying these orchards in some areas.

Around 72% of the apple growers in the US are now organic, as well as they having integrated pest management. If you decide to buy non-organic apples, make sure you peel and discard the skin before eating, as most of the chemical pesticides are on the skin itself. So we may want to change it to ‘an organic apple a day will keep the doctor away’.

7.) Almonds & Sunflower Seeds
Almonds and sunflower seeds are nutrient rich and contains extremely high amounts of vitamins as well as minerals and vital essential fatty acids (EFAs).

Unfortunately, if they are not organic, they contain high quantities of chemicals and pesticides, as they are usually attracted to bad ‘oils’ rather than water. In their purest natural forms, they are a valuable natural food source containing: many B vitamins, essential minerals, hard to find minerals such as zinc and selenium, and healthy essential oils.

So it’s recommended you consume the freshest, low-salt forms of these ‘mini-vitamins’. You can also add: walnuts, pumpkin seeds, pine and sesame seeds to that list.

8.) Sweet Peppers and Tomatoes
These are the ‘fruits of the vine,’ which are full of healthy essential nutrients including B vitamins, vitamin C, carotenoids and phytonutrients, and most notably prostate and tissue supporting lycopenes.

Both green and red bell peppers however, has been found to contain residues of neurotoxic pesticides. In the US, FDA’s measurement of both United States and Mexican crops, 67% of these peppers contained at least one known pesticide, while 33% contained two or more pesticide. Peppers are usually waxed, which may make it difficult to remove the chemicals and other residues.

Another study has found that there were as many as 34 different pesticides used in spraying tomatoes! Because their skins are thin as well as absorbent, and since tomatoes are a staple in salads, sauces and soups, it is well worth it to buy them organically grown. Those Sunday Farmers’ markets are an excellent source for fresh locally grown non-sprayed tomatoes, or better yet, you can always grow your own.

9.) Other Fruits and Vegetables
There are a few other healthy classes of vegetables and fruits that are better when organically grown. As these perishable foods are often subject to long-distance shipping, that’s usually the reason why they are sprayed with these harmful chemical and pesticides.

Tropical Fruits
These tropical exotic fruits are wonderfully tasty, usually high in carotene’s, and contain a lot of other nutrients and enzymes. Papayas, pineapples and mangoes are unfortunately just as attractive to harmful tropical pests, so as a result, may be heavily sprayed during the cultivation, storage and shipping process. Because of their usually thin skins, they can absorb the harmful sprays easily, resulting in increased levels of chemical contamination.

They are called systemic pesticides, and since they can’t be washed away, they will get into our digestive systems as well.

Imported Produce
Produce is usually imported when out of season. They are often heavily treated for preservation and shipping. Some chemicals which may have been banned in the country that the produce is being shipped to are usually used. In the United States, cantaloupes as well as other imported melons when tested, were found to have an extremely high concentration of chemical pesticides in the samples. Close to 50% of cantaloupes from Mexican contained two or more banned chemical residues.

Baby Food
When we are feeding our infants, we obviously want to make sure we don’t pollute their vulnerable systems with chemicals at an early age. So consider a completely organic diet for your baby, when they are first introduced to solid foods, which should be around six months right through to two years old. Make sure you shop locally and buy fresh local food.

Ideally, it’s the healthiest to eat those foods grown and cultivated close to the area where you live, and more importantly, in the season that they are harvested. Seasonal eating is the key to a well balanced and healthy wholesome diet. These foods are obviously in their purest intended form, as well as being the most economical, as they are usually not yet treated with pesticide and chemicals, even if they are not certified organic. The main reason being they don’t need to be preserved for long-distance shipping. Eating fresh as close to nature as possible, is a key for healthy nutrition.

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