Is organic food worth your daily expense? Is it a healthier option of adding to your daily meals?

Well in the last few decades, organic food has gained huge popularity. People are spending more on organic because they think it’s safe, delicious and healthy too. Why not? Organic food is grown without artificial chemicals, hormones and antibiotics. Also, it is better for animals and the environment.

The organic food industry is a flourishing business and it is anticipated to grow further as more and more organic food drive their way onto kitchen shelves.

Is Organic Food Safer?
Yes, it is true that organic food contains fewer pesticides and antibiotics as compared to conventionally grown food, however how that affects your wellness. A latest headline-worthy French study that has 70,000 adults, most of them happen to be women for an average of 5 years found evidence to suggest that those people who had more meat, dairy and other products had 25% lesser cancer diagnoses especially postmenopausal and lymphoma breast cancer. While the study does not prove that an organic diet is capable to reduce the chances of cancer, it instead reveals that having an organic-based diet could contribute towards reducing cancer risk.

A report in the Journal of Nutrition discovered that men aged (18-22) who followed fruits and vegetable diet with low to moderate pesticide residues had higher total sperm count and concentration as compared to those with high exposure to pesticides, recommending that eating organic salads may increase the chances of fertility in men.

Are Organic Foods Better For The Environment?
It’s not just the nutritional value organic foods are best at but they successfully address climate change, our waterways, the health of the soil, biodiversity loss and other modern environmental issues. For example, the latest research suggests that organic crops generally have higher drought tolerance and organically farmed soil has increased microbial diversity for the effective use of crop rotation, cover crops and compost.

However, not all organic food is a nutritional saint. Whereas, spinach lovers on the East Coast can do a great job at decreasing the environmental impact of their food purchases by selecting greens from a local market even if not natural as compared to buying organically certified baby spinach from California packaged in a plastic clamshell. As with nutrition, local and organic may be the winning card here.

As for animal welfare, don’t assume your organic ground beef came from the happiest animal. It might be true that animal welfare might me better addressed in an organic production system, however, mainly organic rules address the feeding of animals and issue like antibiotic use. If you are really concerned about the wellness of the animals where your eggs, milk and steak came from you might like to see the certification labels such as: Animal Welfare Approved or Certified Humane which make sure animals are raised with resting areas, shelter and the ability to engage in natural behaviors.

Super Healthy Benefits of Eating Organic Food
The choice of making an organic food being part of the daily regimen is a growing trend following the realization of healthy self-improvement needs. This article perfectly outlines the most accurate facts about these awesome benefits of eating organic food:

Antioxidant Content
In various scientific studies, the positive effects of antioxidants on wellness have been found particularly those derived from organic food items. This is significant because organic foods are free of foreign chemicals that usually react with organic compounds, vitamins and minerals which further lower down the much-needed impact of antioxidants in food items. Recent studies show that the consumption of organic food items can contribute to an intake of nutritionally advantageous antioxidants and limited exposure to heavy metals. The positive outcomes of antioxidants gathered from organic foods consist of prevention of heart disease, vision problems, premature aging, cognitive malfunction and cancer.

Delicious Taste
Apart from providing the nutrition value, the mineral and sugar structures in organic food items are tasty as the crops have an ample of time to grow. The usage of eco-friendly agricultural production techniques is exposed to a good reason for better taste in organic food. It is reported that the taste of organic fruits and vegetables are of supreme quality as compared to those are of grown traditionally.

Pesticide Cutback
Intake of chemical pesticides consumption is related to several diseases like digestive dysfunctions, headaches, cancer, birth defects, ADHD, premature death and weak immune system. Since organic foods are free from pesticides so they are preferred more for better wellness. Pesticides not just have the power of keeping pests away from the crops; however, they even possess some potent chemicals like organophosphorus. These chemicals are mineral compounds and unnatural too that result in varied health deformities in humans. For example, organophosphorus is related to plenty of developmental disorders like autism and ADHD. Thus, organic food items provide a better way of healthy living particularly for children who are affected by the pesticide toxins during their developmental ages.

Organic Foods Are Not Modified Genetically
Organic foods are not genetically engineered in nature as they are GMO-free. In the present era, genetic engineering of food products is a massive issue. They are foods or plants with modified DNA that does not occur in nature to enhance resistance to pesticides. As there is not much evidence of its danger, food safety activists strongly believe that GMOs are a primary cause of slow brain growth, gastrointestinal disorder, internal organ damage and the thickening of the digestive tract. So, the health benefit of consuming organic food is they are free of GMOs which is a common aspect of non-organic food.

Intake of Highly Nutritious Food Products
Organic food items like organic milk, organic poultry, organic fish and meat consist of high nutritional content since they do not have modified ingredients as compared to the conventional agricultural food items. Another thing that makes them really nutritious is that they take their own time to develop and grow and are given with the excellent natural conditions for development. The mineral and vitamin contents of organic food items are high because the soil life provides the right mechanism for crops to access the soil nutrients.

Fewer Chances of Food-Borne Illness
There have been many reported cases of food-borne illness outbreaks. Spinach, melons, peanut butter, eggs and food from restaurants have topped the list as their production is mainly centered on agribusiness gains. Even the animals are ill as a large percentage of them are vaccinated, drugged and fed animal byproducts to improve their productivity in order to meet the ever-increasing agribusiness demands.

Better Overall Health
As organic food does not contain any elements of toxic chemicals and may not affects human health in harmful ways. The use of natural procedures like green manure to fertilize the land and crop rotation in pest and disease control work perfectly well in producing healthier, tastier and safer food product items. In addition to it, healthy food items mean healthy people and great nourishment for an improved living for both animals and human beings.

Improved Heart Condition
Grazing on natural grass increases the amount of CLA (conjugated linoleic acid) found in animal products. The sun’s energy is taken in by natural grass through photosynthesis and is then transformed into the most desirable organic CLA by herbivores that feed on it. CLA is a heart-healthy fatty acid with the potential of strengthening cardiovascular protection and it is usually found in high quantities in the meat and milk products of animals that have been pastured in free-range.

Antibiotic Resistance
We, humans, are vulnerable to several health diseases and many times we have to take some precautionary measures in order to live a healthy life. This is usually achieved by getting a different variety of vaccinations and antibiotic drugs when a new strain of bacteria or virus is released. Likewise, non-organic food sources use growth hormones, vaccines, antibiotics and animal byproducts to feed the animals right. When we humans eat the non-organic food items, they indirectly eat the antibiotics, hormones, vaccine and animal byproducts overdose. This may further alter the immune system which in turn renders humans not able to protect themselves against the disease or disorder. The benefit of organic foods is that their production processes do not involve the use of growth hormones, animal by-products, antibiotics or vaccines.

Stronger Immune System
The industrial and farming practices strive to be augmenting production and farm output by all means. For instance, the notion of producing more cereals, fruits and meat through genetic modifications and use of growth hormones solve the world’s food insecurity issues effectively. The effects are not evident yet, but the results are pretty sensitive to allergens and a big reduction in the strength of the immune system. By eating organic food items, the risks of decline in immune system strength are reduced as organic foods are not at all modified. Moving on, organic food items have higher vitamin and mineral contents that help in strengthening the immune system.

Organic is Poison-Free
Organic farming does not use any dangerous chemicals to keep away diseases and pests. Elements like biomagnifications are reduced through the effective practice of organic farming as chemical pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers and artificial growth hormones are banned on an organic farm. All practices used are natural and do not harm anyone. Thus, organic food products are free from contaminated substances, pure to eat and keep you in a healthy state of mind too.

Eco-Friendly
The best part about organic food is that it is grown locally and poses less interference to the environmental resources that support a healthy way of living. As harmful chemicals are prohibited from organic farming, there is minimal air, water and soil pollution so it assures a safer and conducive environment to live in. In particular, organic farming diminishes the long-term human health implications affected by air, soil and water pollution.

You Can Be Certain Of Eating Only Fresh Food
Organic food items follow strict standards of production, processing and preparation. You will never find any chemical preservatives in organic eatables. Many of the organic products are sold next to where they are produced. Very often, these products are found fresh, bursting with flavors because obviously no preservatives are added.

Consumption of High-Quality Milk and Meat
Certainly, organic meat and milk are of high quality. However, there are claims that meat is not a good option to eat for wellness. It is the CAFOs that worsen meat and milk quality by introducing unhealthy antibiotics and drugs in the final organic product. When you eat meat and milk which is produced and processed organically, you can be assured of products with high- quality vitamins and minerals. For example, organic milk shows 60% more omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins, antioxidants and CLA as compared to non-organic milk. In addition to it, organic cows are pasture grazed which further makes the meat quality better.

Low Levels of Toxic Metals
It is a fact that organic farming does not use agrichemicals for crop production means reduced consumption of toxic metals. Latest studies confirm that organic crops have 48% lower levels of the toxic metal cadmium as compared to conventional crops.

The Bottom Line: Until now, no proclamation came from studies that say ‘organic is more nutritious or not’. Research findings reveal confounding variables such as: weather and soil conditions between types of nutrients, regions and antioxidants measured and study length. Even if items like organic milk and organic beet have a little bit of nutritional edge, it is still yet to be ascertained if it brings out any health and wellness benefits to mankind.

Overall, organic farming makes an excellent choice for the food system and environment too. Having said that, if your food budget allows then go for eating organic fruits and vegetables. Make sure to do your own research, make the right decisions that work for your health, family and budget.