Organic food for the best of your health

BY JULIE SEAMER
MONDAY, MARCH 31, 2008

It would be ideal if we could all eat foods grown from Nature that are pure, fresh and high in life-giving nutrients. Unfortunately our soil is becoming depleted; farmers are battling with drought, global warming and an increasingly competitive economy, so the end result is that agriculture isn't as it used to be.

Although it can require a little more effort and money to maintain a completely organic diet, there are at least certain fresh food items that ought to remain high on your list.

Key fresh organic foods to buy and why:

Strawberries: In the USA strawberries are commonly more heavily treated with pesticides than any other fruit. They were also found to have the highest level of hormone-affecting pesticides, including benomyl, vinclozolin and endosulfan. Methyl bromide is another common toxic spray used on strawberries. Out of season strawberries may be more heavily treated because they are also sprayed before transportation.
Leafy Greens: Lettuce, spinach etc contain folic acid plus calcium, iron and other vital minerals. However sprayed chemicals tend to remain on the leaves of these vegetables. Studies by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) found that spinach was the most frequently found leafy green to contain the more potent pesticides especially the organophosphates (neurotoxins) and permethrin (believed to be mildly carcinogenic).
Grapes: provide your body with cleansing fibre, B-vitamins and vitamin C, plus some minerals from the soil (depending on how/where they're grown). Red grapes contain many phytonurtients including proanthocyanadins. Many fruits, including grapes , ripen quickly and attract insects and mould. They therefore tend to be more heavily treated in order to get them to market.
Rice: is high-fibre, low in fat and a staple food for many cultures. It also contains the antioxidant selenium. The dangerous herbicide 2,4,5-T which was routinely sprayed on rice before the mid 1980's is fortunately no longer around (although some could argue that residue from any sprays may remain for some time in soil). Organic rice bought in bulk is as economical as conventionally produced rice in bags, but much safer and nutritious.
Apples: Most of us have grown up being told an apple a day will keep the doctor away. That statement should include an organic apple! As a staple, apples contain fibre, detoxifying pectin and many nutrients. Most apples are found to be as contaminated as strawberries. If you buy non-organic apples, opt for farm-fresh if possible, and consider peeling them, discarding the peel, since most of the chemical residue are on the skin.
Nuts and Seeds: Almonds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, walnuts, pine nuts and sesame seeds are nutrient rich containing most vitamins and minerals (including zinc and selenium) as well as essential fatty acids.
Tomatoes and Capsicums: These "fruits of the vine" are full of healthy nutrients that include vitamin C, B-vitamins, carotenoids and other phytonutrients such as lycopene. One study found that as many as 30 different pesticides are used to spray tomatoes. Because their skins are thin and absorbent, and since this staple is found in many soups, salads and sauces, tomatoes are worth buying organically grown.
Tropical Fruits: Pineapples, papayas and mangoes are very attractive to tropical pests and may be more heavily treated during cultivation, storage and transportation.
Milk: is a said to be common source of the herbicide atrazzine (a known endocrine-disrupter) and the growth hormone BGH which has been genetically engineered to boost milk production.
Eggs: If you aren't allergic to eggs, they are one of the most bio-available proteins available for those needing growth. Typically factory hens like in crowded unhygienic condtions, producing eggs that are lower in nutrients than organic eggs and less tasty than farm-fresh, free-range bred eggs that are layed by hens who aren't fed antibiotics.

It is healthiest and most ideal to eat foods grown and cultivated near home and in the season they are harvested. These foods are the freshest and often most economical and usually less treated, even non-organic, because they don't need to be protected for delivery.

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