Why Organic Food is Healthier For You

While the debate is hot over whether or not organic produce and food is better than commercially grown and processed foods, be sure right now that organic foods ARE better than other foods that have chemicals added, or are processed from the original. Right there is a good example of why organic is much better. First off the top, organically grown foods are grown without chemical enhancements, pesticides, and other things that are harmful. Instead of pesticides to control insects, helping insects are prominent in these gardens, such as lady bugs and spiders. Lady bugs are an aphid’s natural enemy, and are obviously very tasty to them. Spiders as we all know eat many types of harmful insects.

Another thing that makes organic foods better is that the fertilizers used are more natural, and have now chemical enhancements. Things like fish emollients, composting, and other natural ingredients help plants grow. This makes for a much better vegetable crop, higher in vitamins and minerals and valuable nutrients that your body needs to maintain good health. For example, many of us use Ketchup on a regular basis, but many companies process the tomatoes, and preservatives and other ingredients that cut down greatly on the antioxidants that tomatoes provide.

Meat too is often heavily processed. For example, many diaries use growth hormones, and other enhancements to make cows produce more milk. Where do a lot of those hormones go right into the milk? Fillers and by products are widely used in animal feed, from chickens to beef. That too comes through into the end products we see in supermarkets.

Admittedly, when you go to your local grocer, the choices of organically grown foods come with a higher price than the regularly processed foods. However, if you think about it over the long run, what you spend extra today, will prevent many of the health problems you may face later on in life, as these chemicals, and preservatives, etc. build up in your body. With so many health concerns today, cancers, high cholesterol, heart disease and well as many others, it is easy to see the health benefits of eating organically grown foods.

Organically grown foods are higher in vitamins, minerals and antioxidants than processed foods, because in the processing, many of these are removed, whether intentionally or not. If there is any cooking involved in this, many times important things are cooked out. Fruits and vegetables are often sprayed with preservatives or radiated before shipping, and that is a big reason why you have to wash them before cooking or serving.

If you may be wondering how you can find organic foods, with out spending outrageous prices, here is a good suggestion for you. While you may have to spend more during the winter months, it is very easy to find quality, inexpensive, organically grown foods during most of the year. All around the country, no matter where you live, you can find farmers markets in your area. Many other these markets' sellers are growers that have their own gardens, and bring their harvests there to sell. Farmers markets, while not a necessarily a new idea, have become more and more popular in recent years. More and more regular people are visiting these community gathering places, not just to buy and sell, but to also trade thoughts and ideas about organically grown foods.