Choosing Organic Foods for a Healthier Life

Of the many New Year's resolutions Americans commonly make, eating a more healthy diet is probably in the top five.  And, while we know that commercially-grown, processed and packaged foods don't fit into that plan, we've been brainwashed into thinking that making the organic choice is too expensive an option.  However, there are a few things we should consider when evaluating that idea:

1. If we eat right, our healthcare expenses are bound to be reduced proportionally.  And, doesn't it make more sense to spend our money in a way that helps us to keep feeling good, instead of in a way that may help us to feel good again (after the damage is done)?
2. If we put our money into good, organic foods, we'd have less need to use expensive dietary supplements.  And, since our bodies were designed to function on food, getting our nutrition from food, rather than supplements, should make our bodies work better.
3. It is possible to get organic foods for about the same price as processed foods.

You might find the first two points here fairly easy to accept; but, organic foods being affordable?!?  That's a little hard to buy.  Except that, Colleen Huber, a 46 year old wife, mother and student at Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine in Tempe, AZ (in 2005), basically proved the point for us.

To test the common perception that whole, organic foods are too expensive, and that processed foods from the neighborhood supermarket — along with store discounts — are more affordable for the average family, she devised a hypothetical menu for a week, consisting of processed foods.  After calculating the cost of her hypothetical purchases — including store discounts — and comparing that with what she normally spent for organic, whole foods for her family, she found that it was actually less expensive to buy quality foods.

You can read her whole report at www.mercola.com/2005/feb/16/organic_food.htm.  Prepare yourself to be amazed.

Where to find organic foods

If you don't have ready access to organically-grown foods, you can find information on where to find them at Mercola.com, as well as in the back of Dr Mercola's book, Total Health Cookbook & Program, in The Maker's Diet, by Jordan Rubin and in The Body Ecology Diet by Donna Gates.

Risks of industrialized food production

Another key reason to buy locally-grown, organic foods (besides the fact that they are fresher and tastier) is the recent E. coli outbreaks.  The foods that you find in the supermarket are basically large-scale, factory-produced foods.  The emphasis is on getting the foods through the system and to the checkout lane as quickly and inexpensively (for the producer) as possible.  In the process, foods are not properly cleaned, and are handled in ways that can easily lead to contamination.  Locally-grown, organic foods, on the other hand, are generally treated with respect and are much less likely to be contaminated.

An article in the Journal of Infectious Diseases cited two studies that showed how "industrialization of food production … carries — and even amplifies — risk for unaware consumers."  As Dr Mercola points out, "mass food production is beginning to show signs of neglect, and that neglect is being passed down to consumers looking to buy fresh produce."

http://www.mercola.com/2006/aug/17/how_to_get_inexpensive_organic_locally-grown_vegetables.htm
www.mercola.com/2006/nov/4/real-cause-of-e-coli-spinach-problem.htm

Is your organic food really organic?

When you start looking for organic foods, however, the chances of you buying something that claims to be organic, but really isn't, are quite substantial.  It's something you really need to watch for, and why, if possible, you should buy locally-grown products from farmers/gardeners that you know and trust.

Organic food has turned into a $14-billion business, and to cash in on this, companies like Wal-Mart, Dean Foods, General Mills, Unilever, Mars, Kraft and Kellogg have moved in.  You can be sure that their primary interests are not your health, but the profits they can make selling foods that most assume must be more expensive than traditionally processed foods.  What you may not know is that the USDA has recently amended the definition of "organic" so that these giant food companies can sell low quality foods at a big profit.

The organic label on foods you buy in the supermarket has become virtually meaningless as a sign of quality.  Your only solution is to seek out local suppliers of healthy foods, where you can actually get to know the people who are growing your food.

(See www.mercola.com/2006/oct/12/you-are-being-ripped-off-by-much-of-the-organic-food-you-are-buying.htm for more detail.)