Although I have touched briefly on my next subject, I thought I would now blog about whether we should eat organic food, because it’s another important topic.
But first a little bit about food. Food can be a tool for having good or dealing with bad health, whether we eat organic or not. Certain foods are better and agree with us, more than other foods. For example, oily fish such as sardines, salmon and mackerel all contain oils that protect the heart, whereas meat if eaten in abundance, can be far more damaging in the longer term.
Supplements, herbs and other therapies also help keep us healthy, but without eating the right foods, we may in some respects be damaging our health even further. Food helps heal and can be the difference between wellness and being illness.
Another very important point for us to ponder is the processing of some of the foods we eat, but are the foods that we eat like vegetables, fruit and meat making us more ill and should we eat organic? Both pesticides and antibiotics have come into the mainframe for a number of years now, but the jury is still out on whether pesticides are harmful and whether we should eat organic food or not.
It would be safer for infants and toddlers to eat foods that are not processed with artificial chemicals or pesticides, because given their age and the immaturity of their immune systems, their bodies will be less capable of getting rid of contaminates brought about by pesticides.
According to research carried out by Scientists at the Columbia Centre for Children’s Environmental Health in New York, the problem with contaminants go back even further. Their research suggests there is a link between using pesticides and impact on foetal development, brought about by harmful pesticides being carried through the placenta.
There is also evidence to suggest from research undertaken from the University of Washington in Seattle that children of preschool age who had conventional diets, had about six times the level of pesticides found in their urine as those who ate organic food.
To be cont.d/2
That's a very interesting post. Whilst I agree that we should all try and be more mindful of the 'fuel' we put into our bodies, it is difficult to get any consistency in opinion over organic foods.
I remember hearing a radio article a couple of weeks ago, about some research that said even organic foods have some fertiliser/pesticide residue and that they need to be washed as thoroughly as non-organic foods.
Also the price difference here in the UK is prohibitive and will certainly put some people off.
I totally agree with all the points you have raised here, but whilst organic produce can be more expensive than non-organic food, it has numerous other benefits which outweigh its cost as far as I am concerned.
I have heard a similar article on the radio that you have heard, that claims that organic farmers are still using fertiliser and pesticides on their farms.
For me organic produce would still have to be better than non-organic produce, which can be thoroughly washed with a vegetable wash to remove all residue.
Having grown up on an apple farm, there has been a lot of talk over the years about pesticide use.
The truth is, it was used to make the apples look better for market and free of worms, scab and the like. In the industry today, apple growers are using less pesticides which I do think is a good thing.
My father is lucky in his years as an apple grower, he did expose himself to a lot of chemicals. By all accounts he should be dead from his exposure, but he is fairly healthy for nearly 83.
Randy I completely understand, although eating organic food is just one part of our quest for better health.
I believe our genes also play a part in our health too, as do other contributing factors like lifestyle and exercise. Thank you for posting.
I think that all pesticides are bad, so I believe that organic is better. If the demand were higher maybe the prices would be lower..
I totally agree with both your points Lisa.