Organics 101

The book The Unhealthy Truth, is so packed with interesting information that it will take several enteries to tell you about it. This blog will be Organic 101. It can be so confusing out there with all the different labeling that goes on. Robyn has a great section in the back of her book that breaks it down. Here is a summary of that section.

Health Benefits of buying organic:
A recent study into organic food found that it appears to :
-Strengthen your immune system
-Improve sleeping habits
-Cut the risk of cancer
-Reduce the risks of heart disease
-Reduce a child's exposure to hidden allergens
-Promote weight loss.

An insightful four-year, $25 million European study found that:
-Animals fed an organic diet were slimmer (yes, skinnier) than their un-organic fed counterparts because fat cells appear to trap and store the heavy pesticide residues found in un-organic produce.
-Organics appear to promote weight loss by reducing your exposure to chemical pesticides that bind to fat and once absorbed may stay in the body for a lifetime (over 350 chemicals can accumulate in our body fat!).
-Organic fruit and vegetables contain up to 40 percent more antioxidants.
-Milk from organic herds contained up to 90 percent more antioxidants.
-Organic food also had higher levels of beneficial minerals such as iron and zinc, critical minerals in the development of a child's brain.


Here is what you are getting when you buy somehting organic:
The term "organic" refers to foods grown and process without chemical toxins, artificial ingredients, chemical preservatives, or ionizing radiation. The guidelines for organic foods were established on October 21, 2002, by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. To use these terms, producers mus pay additional fees and follow strict guidelines and regulations:
-100% Organic- All ingredients are organic.
-Organic-95 percent or more of the total ingredients are organic.
-mad with Organic Ingredients- At least 70 percent of the ingredients are organic.


Organic Fruits and Vegetables must be grown without the use of:
Synthetically created chemical pesticides
synthetically created chemical fertilizers
sewage sludge
genetic engineering that appears to introduce novel proteins, allergens, viruses and toxins into crops.
irradiation (a type of chemotherapy for produce)


Organic Beef and Chicken
Fed only 100% organic feed, are not the offspring of cloned animals, and have never been administered growth hormones or antibiotics. In addition, their meat must never be irradiated.
-Natural (or All Natural) meat or poultry products contains no artificial ingredients and are minimally processed. They are not necessarily organic.
-"No hormones administered" or "no antibiotics added" is sometimes seen on labels, but it can only appear if the producer can document the absence of hormone or antibiotic administration.
-Free-range or free-roaming poultry have access to the outdoors with out a minimum time. They are not necessarily organic.
-Cage-free poultry means nothing as most chickens are kept indoors (but cage free) if they are grown for meat.


Organic Milk
Comes from animals that were fed 100 percent organic feed and were not given antibiotics, prophylactic drugs, or genetically engineered and synthetically created growth hormones (such as rBGH) for at least the last year. (RBGH (recombinant bovine growth hormone) is a genetically engineered, synthetic chemical protein hormone vaccinated into cows to artificially boost their milk production.)


Organic Eggs
-Produced by hens that are fed 100 percent organic feed and have never been given growth hormones or antibiotics.
-Cage-free eggs are produced by hens that are not confined in cages. The hens might not have access to the outdoors, though, and are not necessarily organic.

Organic Seafood
-The USDA currently has no guidelines set for seafood: However, farm-raised fish is often caged underwater and treated with pesticides to prevent the spread of disease.


Organic Bread
Cereal and grain crops are regularly sprayed with pesticides that collect in the grain's outer layers, raising concerns about chemical residues in un-organic bread, cakes and cookies.


The following terms are often found on packaged products and can be confusing.
-Natural is often a misnomer. There are no true guidelines for this term when used on packaged products, although it is used frequently and often assumed to mean organic or healthier.
-Gourmet is another misleading term that leads consumers to believe that they are purchasing a product made with finer ingredients, when in reality there are no established guidelines or regulations.


The Dirty Dozen

According to the Environmental Working Group, "The Dirty Dozen" is a list of twelve fruits and vegetables that contain the highest levels of chemical and pesticide residues.
-Peaches
-Apples
-Sweet bell peppers
-Celery
-Nectarines
-Strawberries
-Cherries
-Lettuce
-Imported grapes
-Pears
-Spinach
-Potatoes



I know that buying organic is more expensive but there are a few cheaper options to consider.

-Check the internet and see if there is a CSA (Community supported Agriculture) in your neighborhood. It's a great way to support local farmers and get great organic produce weekly.

-Do a search for "slow foods" on the internet and see what you come up with.

-Shop your farmers market and roadside stands. (Ask to make sure they don't use any yuck stuff)

-Costco often has organic produce avaliable at very good prices.

-Check your local craigslist or newspaper ads for people that have produce to sell.

-See if there is a community garden close and join it. This is a great way to get involve with people in your community.

-Best yet, plant your own garden and eat yummy stuff all summer long. If you are ambitious, you could do some canning and freezing!

The Unhealthy Truth

Last month I read the book The Unhealthy Truth: How Our Food Is Making Us Sick and What We Can Do About It, by Robin O'Brien. It caught my eye because her whole "adventure" started when her youngest had an allergic reaction to eggs. And since we get to deal with allergies at our house, I though I'd check it out. It was an eye opening read and I'm still trying to process it all. Here is a little summary on it taken from her website.

"Robyn O’Brien is not the most likely candidate for an anti-establishment crusade. A Houston native from a conservative family, this MBA and married mother of four was not someone who gave much thought to corrupt government agencies and chemicals in our food. Until the day her youngest daughter had a violent allergic reaction to eggs, and everything changed.
­ The Unhealthy Truth is both the story of how one brave woman chose to take on the system and a call to action that shows how each of us can do our part and keep our own families safe. O’Brien turns to accredited research conducted in Europe that confirms the toxicity of America’s food supply, and traces the relationship between Big Food and Big Money that has ensured that the United States is one of the only developed countries in the world to allow hidden toxins in our food—toxins that can be blamed for the alarming recent increases in allergies, A.D.H.D., cancer, and asthma among our children."

I want to put a warning out there: If you read this book, be prepared to change the way you think about food, what you eat and buy. As well as spending more time reading the labels on your favorite foods. You might even be on the Internet looking up more articles.

My kids curse this book because it has changed the way we eat and what we buy. I would say that for the most part, we were fairly healthy before reading it. We tried to eat our daily fruits and vegetables and a home made meal at least 4x a week. But it is the snack and convenience foods that got us!

The last few times I've gone to the grocery store, I've had my three kids with me. Yeehaw!
I don't know about you but, when I take my kids to the store, our cart seems to fill up a ton faster with stuff I would not normally buy. However, after reading this book I've put my kids to work at the grocery store. If they come asking if they can have their favorite bag of chips or candy, I say, "I don't know does it have any of the yucky ingredients in it?" They will then read the ingredients list and most of the time it does but, when they find a product that is o.k. they are so excited. It's made them more informed shoppers. My kids are thinking about what is put in their food. And starting to ask questions of why the manufacturers need to put the crap in that they do. My kids have discovered chips that they love, that are organic and others that don't have the food dyes and high fructose corn syrup in them. They have found that the orange Goldfish crackers that they eat like they are going out of style are ok. We have even found some candy that can pass the test. Grocery store shopping has become a bit more work and takes a little more time but as we learn what is better for us, we can just walk by all the rest.

Here is a short list of the ingredients we consider in the "yucky" or not so good for us category.
-high fructose corn syrup.
-Food dyes in general.
-Milk products that contain rBST .
-We try and stay away from things with soy products too but it's almost impossible.
-Nitrates

It's hard to get off everything at once so, we have kind of eased into it. I'm not totally hardcore, we still have crap in our house. We have just eliminated some things out of our diet and replaced them with better versions. I think the biggest thing is just being more aware of what is in our food! Try for products that have the least amount of ingredients or at least ingredients you can pronounce.

May the force be with you if you choose to listen to this crazy green girl.