Organic Eating:
A Much Healthier Choice

Organic eating is becoming a lot more popular these days.

You can find organic foods everywhere, even in a lot of mainstream grocery stores.

What is Organic Food?

Benefits of Organic Eating

If you have been wondering whether or not organic foods are worth it, take a look at how you can benefit:

Organic foods are more nutritionally dense than non-organic foods. When you don’t spray plants with fertilizers and pesticides, they will naturally produce their own vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. These nutrients protect the plants from bugs and other pests, and they are very good for your body. If you spray the plants with pesticides and fertilizers, there is no need for them to produce as many nutrients.

Organic eating protects you from harmful pesticides and other harmful chemicals found in conventional foods. There is a good chance that pesticides in your food can cause headaches, birth defects, cancer, and other serious health problems. Babies and children are more at risk because their bodies and immune systems are still developing.

By eating organic foods, you will automatically avoid genetically engineered (GE) foods. Click here to find out why GE foods are harmful to your health. In order to be certified as organic, crops are not allowed to be genetically modified.

Organic eating promotes sustainable farming practices that are so much better for the environment than conventional farming practices. For one thing, it encourages more people to recycle their compostable waste. Composting gives you a healthier, richer soil which will produce healthy plants bursting with nutrients and flavor!

How to Eat More Organic Foods

Yes, organic food usually costs more than conventional foods, but when it comes to your health (and the health of your family), organic eating is definitely worth it. Making healthy choices today can go along way in saving you from expensive medical bills later on.

Here are some practical tips to help you eat more organic foods without breaking your budget:

Avoid processed and packaged foods. These foods tend to be a lot more expensive and don’t give you the value (i.e. the nutrients your body needs) for the price you have to pay for them. Conventional packaged and processed foods are usually filled with monosodium glutamate and other harmful food additives. These kinds of foods do not satisfy your hunger for very long. You may find yourself overeating just to stay full. Put the money you normally spend on these processed foods toward organic eating instead.

Eat simple, pure, wholesome foods as close to their natural state as possible. These foods tend to be cheaper. And, in the end, you may discover that you are not spending as much money on food because you are eating less. When you feed your body with the nutrients it needs (especially the extra nutrients you will get from organic produce), you won’t need to eat huge amounts of food.

Savor your food and chew every bite thoroughly. It may sound silly, but chewing your food properly will help you absorb as many nutrients as you possibly can from your food. When you get more nutrition from your food, you will not have to eat as much food. That could add up to considerable savings over a year.

Make your food from scratch using organic ingredients. Organic packaged foods may be more nutritious than conventional packaged foods, but they can be quite costly. If you make your own foods from scratch (even just a few times each week), it can add up to considerable savings in a year. And besides, homemade always tastes so much better than any packaged foods you will find in the grocery store. Here are some healthy recipes to get you started.

Shop at farmers markets. You are sure to find some good deals. If you hang around until near closing time, you may get even better deals.

If eating all organic food is not financially feasible for you, then try to make the effort to eat organic when it comes to apples, peaches, pears, nectarines, strawberries, cherries, imported grapes, red and green bell peppers, potatoes, and lettuce. These fruits and vegetables are called the “dirty dozen” by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) because they tend to be loaded with more pesticides than other fruits and vegetables.

Non-organic foods that are not loaded with pesticides are: asparagus, avocados, bananas, broccoli, cauliflower, kiwis, mangoes, papayas, pineapples, and onions. You can focus your diet around these safe fruits and vegetables and buy other organic produce when you can.

Get to know the prices in your local stores and shop around. Don’t spend too much time shopping around though. You could end up wasting your valuable time and spending a lot much when you factor in the cost of fuel!

Read the weekly flyers and take advantage of any sales. Don’t spend too much time doing this (it can be very time consuming) and don’t make a special trip out of your way to get just one item (remember the cost of gasoline and your precious time). The best way to save is to stock up on the sale items you know you will use.

Grow your own organic produce. Having your own garden can save you a lot of money. Set aside a portion of space in your backyard where you can have a vegetable garden and plant a few fruit trees. Come harvest time, you’ll be enjoying the sweet fruits of your labor. If you’ve ever had homegrown produce, I’m sure you’ll agree with me that it’s well worth the time and effort.

If you live in an apartment building, you could keep some plants on your balcony. You can also try sprouting and growing herbs on your window sill. That way you’ll have fresh produce all year round.

Have you ever considered having a country home? There you could grow your own organic produce much more easily. Organic eating is just one of many benefits you will receive.

Country living is a great way to simplify your life and to de-stress from the never ending rat race of city living.

If you've never considered living in the country, or if you don't think it's possible, have a look at the trailer for the Urban Danger documentary:

Urban Danger

You can watch the entire documentary online at www.urbandanger.com