Is Going Organic Worth It?

Organic foods have been shown to have up to 56% times more nutrients (vitamins and minerals) than their conventional counterparts. It’s the nutrient density of a food that determines how quickly you fill up.

So what does this mean?

If you eat all organic, you will be full and satisfied on up to 56% LESS FOOD than what you previously needed to eat. You’ll also be far less likely to snack on ‘bad’ foods later in the day as your body will have what it really needs – real nutrition. Less food in equals less fat stored. As long as it’s the right food, that is. I throw that in just so you know I’m not advocating starving yourself as a method for weight loss. That definitely does not work. But back to organic – another point I can’t help but gleefully point out on this is that needing less food will offset the increased cost of going organic.

It’s not necessarily as simple as ‘buying organic’.

Unfortunately, there are people out there who will ride on the wave of health trends and use the word organic without having earned the right (legally, let alone morally) to do so. Sad to say, they do get away with it. Food labeling, and it’s many sneaky tricks, is a whole topic on its own! And I’m not just talking about throwing the word organic around. For example, did you know that food manufacturers are allowed to use the labels ‘fat-free’, ‘low-fat’, and ‘natural’ as part of the title of the product – even if the food itself does not meet that criteria? The word healthy is similarly mis-used. Food labeling laws are simply not strict enough, and if you don’t think to read the nutritional panel, then in nine cases out of 10, you ARE being duped. Sure makes me angry. How about you? Thankfully nutritional panels are now legally required in the US, in Australia and as far as I know, in the UK.

Okay, there I’ve gone, off on another rant. Forgive me.

Let’s come back to the main topic at hand – knowing what to look for when choosing organic produce. The long and short of it is that you need to look for the words ‘certified organic’. According to a rule published in the US Federal Register in 1999, meat and poultry must be certified as ‘organic’ and approved by the US Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service. Certified meat should have “no antibiotics, no growth hormones and the animals have to be fed 100% organic feed. Similar laws now exist in Australia and the UK.

 

Worth the effort? It’s your health. Your body. Your life. You decide.