Why is eating organic important?

Is it really worth the extra cost to buy organic?

With the cost of living going up so rapidly we start to evaluate every penny we spend. Organic foods are a little bit more expensive but I see it as investing in my health. There are so many benefits of eating organic and you can be selective by choosing organic for the foods that are more likely to contain pesticides.

Benefits of eating organic

Organic food is grown without the use of synthetic fertilisers and pesticides. It not only taste soooo much more delicious, but there are also many health benefits:

🍏 They are free from chemicals that are toxic to the body. This is especially important during peri/ menopause to reduce toxic load and avoid potential hormone disruption. Hormone disruption = more menopause symptoms.

🥝 Reducing toxic load also helps slow down the aging process and prevent chronic disease.

🍅 Organic foods are more nutritious and have higher levels of antioxidants e.g. organic tomatoes have up to 50% more vitamin C than non-organic. Organic meat and milk has up to 50% more Omega-3 fatty acids. Organic crops also have up to 60% more antioxidants than non-organic.

🥕 Your body is satisfied for longer due to the higher nutritional value of organic food

🥦 They are better for your gut health as pesticides disrupt the gut flora which can cause health issues

🌈 They’re kinder to the planet as organic farming doesn't contaminate the soil and water

Conventional farming vs organic farming

There are over 300 pesticides used in conventional farming. They are used to protect plants from being destroyed by disease or infestation and therefore control or destroy pests e.g. herbicides, fungicides, insecticides.

Organic farming focusses on environmentally, socially and economically sustainable food production. They use animal and plant manures, biological pest control and manual weeding. They also use crop rotation because over farming leads to nutrient deficiency in the soil which impacts the quality of the crops.

You don’t have to exclusively eat organic

Don’t feel that you have to buy everything organic. As a general rule, if you’re eating the skin i.e. strawberries, spinach and grapes then it’s important to eat organic. To know which are the most important foods to eat organic, see EWG (Environmental working group) ewg.org Dirty Dozen. To know which are less necessary to be organic, see ewg.org Clean 15.

Eating plenty of fruits and vegetables is crucial to a healthy diet. Therefore if organic foods are not available to you, you can wash them in salt/water solution or 1tsp baking soda to 2 cups of water. This will clear the surface pesticides that the food could have been exposed to during growing, harvesting or storage.

To make organic more cost effective you can buy in season fruits and vegetables, buy direct from the farms, pick your own or even grow your own which can be a lot of fun.

If you’d like to know more about the benefits of organic, healthy eating or hormone disruption I’d love to hear from you. Send me a message or book a free consultation call.