As a health professional specializing in the area of nutrition,
I often get asked the question, is it better to eat organic? This is usually an
easy and difficult question for me to answer. There are several things to
consider when thinking about whether or not to eat organic.
What does it mean for a food to be organic?
For a food to be considered organic, it must be free of
chemical fertilizers, pesticides, artificial flavors and additives. Usually, it is a “whole
food” in which nothing has been added or taken away from the food (though not
always applicable).
The USDA actually has a National Organic Program where certain
food products are approved for labeling “organic.” Products are “certified”
organic if they have 95% or more organic content. There are voluntary labels
for products like meat, poultry and eggs. Several egg and chicken products are
labeled “free-range” or “cage-free.” “Free-range means the
flock was provided shelter in a building, room, or area with unlimited access
to food, fresh water, and continuous access to the outdoors during their
production cycle. The outdoor area may or may not be fenced and/or covered with
netting-like material. Cage-free means the flock was able to freely roam a
building, room, or enclosed area with unlimited access to food and fresh water
during their production cycle. Other meat products may include labeling of “natural.”
Meat, poultry, and egg products labeled as “natural” must be minimally
processed and contain no artificial ingredients. However, the natural label
does not include any standards regarding farm practices and only applies to
processing of meat and egg products. There are no standards or regulations for
the labeling of natural food products if they do not contain meat or eggs (www.ams.usda.gov).”
Though there are many claims that organic is best,
there are not many “significant research studies” that support this claim. My
personal opinion is that there are not a lot of studies on this because it
would take a lot of money to complete these studies, and if organic was shown
to be associated with better health outcomes, many manufacturers would be put
out of business. Politics always plays a role.
Nonetheless, here are a few things to consider when
deciding whether or not to eat organic:
1.
The less processing the better.
Though there have not been a lot of “significant studies” that have deemed
artificial flavors, and certain processing of foods as terribly unhealthy, I
believe the more natural the better. I could say that all your fresh fruits and
vegetables are the most natural, but I have read a few stories of how certain artificial
vitamins/minerals are pumped into some fruits and vegetables. So we don’t
always know what we are getting, even when it is fresh. But if it has an
organic label associated with it, it may be better for you. (Now, that is not
based on scientific proof, but simply my personal opinion.)
2.
The closer you are to the product,
probably the better. So many foods are shipped from other countries and mature
on trucks. This is why manufacturers use certain artificial methods to make
sure the product looks good when it gets on the shelf in your local grocery
store. So it would be great if you could buy from a local farmer’s market, or
grow your own fruits and vegetables in your own garden.
3.
Do you have the money to eat
organic? Organic food costs more. Though we may know several benefits of eating
organic, if you can’t afford it, it will be hard for you to adopt this lifestyle.
If you can’t afford it, don’t use this as an excuse as to why you can’t eat
healthy. Fruits, vegetables, and lean meats are still in order. Even with a
little processing, they still have less fat and calories than most other foods.
Until next time…
National Organic Program. Retrieved May 3, 2012 from http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/ams.fetchTemplateData.do?template=TemplateC&navID=NationalOrganicProgram&leftNav=NationalOrganicProgram&page=NOPConsumers&description=Consumers&acct=nopgeninfo.
Stanfield, P., Hui, Y. (2010). Nutrition and
Diet Therapy: Self-Instructional Approaches, 5th Edition. Sudbury,
MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.
I'm falling under #3. Lol... It's so expensive. I stepped in Whole Foods once and haven't been back. On somethings, I have to just TRUST GOD. Well, with all things, but you know what I'm saying.
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