Years ago everyone ate organic. Our great-great grandparents didn’t have to worry about things like “GMO” (genetically modified organisms) or glyphosate. They probably never dreamed a company like Monsanto would ever exist or that they would be reading an article trying to convince them of the top 3 reasons to eat organic.
Fast forward a century later, and boom, our diets are doused in toxic carcinogens, GMOs and poisons. You would be hard-pressed to find very many foods today that do not contain fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides.
Then there’s the whole animal thing. Animals are farmed in heinous ways and given growth hormones and antibiotics. They are fed soy and corn, which are 90{61feb7ed6994bee0083d854d60c502a256f7f0ba150d0209cd9ddbafe17bc79f} GMO and sprayed with even more pesticides and herbicides.
Sadly, all these hormones and toxins end up inside the human body, which can cause disease and illness. The body is bombarded and overloaded trying to constantly throw off the number of toxins being consumed on a daily basis and simply cannot keep up as we age.
You cannot fuel a body on garbage and poison. Why settle for just getting by, getting sick frequently, and one day ending up with a debilitating disease? You don’t have to! Here are my top 3 reasons why we should all be eating organic.
1. Organic food is more nutritious.
Organic food is not farmed using the aforementioned poisions or ionizing radiation. A recent study published in the British Journal of Nutrition shed some light on how much more nutritious organic foods really are, citing they are higher in nutrients and antioxidants as well as lower in heavy metals and pesticides. Other studies suggest good soil nutrition increases production of cancer-fighting compounds.
2. Consuming organic is better for the environment.
By supporting organic farmers, you are lowering overall pollution. Since they don’t use chemical fertilizers and pesticides, that is not draining off into our water supply. Because of their practices, organic farmers are helping maintain the quality and integrity of the soil, which is better for us and the planet.
3. By eating organic you are lessening the overall toxic load on your body and giving it the best chance to fight off infection and stay healthy.
Dietary intake is the largest exposure we get from pesticides. Pesticides have been scientifically proven carcinogenic. With all the cancer in the world today, we can decrease our chances of getting it by eating more organic. Non-organic food can also be GMO. GMO foods, which are made by combining DNA from different species, are more heavily sprayed with harmful pesticides that can destroy our gut health.
So what can you do to decrease the pesticides and toxins in your diet?
Eat 100{61feb7ed6994bee0083d854d60c502a256f7f0ba150d0209cd9ddbafe17bc79f} organic if your budget and choices allow. Otherwise, try and stick to foods that are not sprayed with as many pesticides such as those delineated here by the EWG (Environmental Working Group) in this Clean Fifteen list. Foods like pineapple, avocados, and asparagus are sprayed with fewer pesticides when grown conventionally.
In addition to choosing from the “Clean Fifteen” list, also try and avoid the Dirty Dozen. Things like strawberries and grapes are sprayed with more pesticides, so always buy organic when buying things on this list to lessen the toxic load on your body.
Although we cannot revert back to the good ole days of our great-great ancestors when the soils were cleaner and not depleted from pesticides, we can certainly do our best to stay healthy and eat cleaner in these modern times by educating ourselves and eating more organic.
Let’s turn things around before everyone ends up with cancer or another debilitating auto-immune disease. Remember, the body is not chemical and pesticide deficient. It is not designed to stray from nature. When defying the laws of nature, the body cannot maintain true health for long.