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Article 8. To Your Health: Eat Organic It seems that more and more people are developing allergies and many more suffer from food sensitivities of one kind or another. The number of young children with asthma, permanently hooked on to their puffers is almost epidemic. Talk to school teachers and they will not only confirm it, but also mention the increasing number of children suffering from attention deficit disorder and other forms of hyperactivity. People know it, but government doesn’t want to hear about it, that to a large extent the above disorders are the direct result of the large number of chemicals that have found their way into our food supply. And if the pollution isn’t already in the food and in the atmosphere, it is the various processing methods that drain the last bit of life from fruits and vegetables, and other food supplies. Living in so-called “civilized” countries is becoming increasingly hazardous to our health, and our hectic lifestyles doesn’t help much either to allow us to provide our own provisions, for at least part of the year. As it is, however, we consume about 10 lbs of chemical in the course of a year! The use of pesticides in agriculture has increased 3300 percent since 1945 , with California farmers applying 400 million pounds of pesticides to their crops annually. Is it any wonder that one’s health breaks down because the body, more specifically, the liver, can’t handle all the detoxification necessary for such an onslaught of chemicals? Many of the above disorders could be avoided if we were able to return to a more natural lifestyle, and consume real food - not the processed stuff in cans and card board boxes, and if our produce came from organically cultivated fields and gardens. Health food stores carry fresh produce marked “organically grown”. Some regular chain grocery stores have started at section or organic produce - we hear more and more about this stuff. But how does it differ from regular produce ? After all, it looks fresh, the apples are shiny, the lettuce is crisp and green, the lemons are only 3 for a dollar versus $1.00 or more for just one in the organic section. Yes, organic food is expensive, more so than the regular --- but only at first sight. When you consider both sides of the coin carefully, you may find the price difference shrinking quite considerably. Time and time again we are reminded to include more vegetables in our diet because they are good for us. Health Canada tells us that if only we ate “balanced meals by following the Canada Food Guide” we would not need to take any vitamin and mineral supplement. In fact, we could just put that halo of virtuousness over our heads and relax. Right? Dead wrong. Supplements are vitally necessary as long as we consume food that contains chemicals and foods that are highly refined, such as sugar for instance. It is worth noting that almost every food available in a modern supermarket has been tampered with in some way to the detriment of its nutritional and enzyme content…. …some produce has been irradiated, which destroys its enzyme content…..Boxed foods are processed at high temperatures and may also contain chemical additives….frozen foods may be blanched or cooked and often contain salt, sugar and chemical additives… Canned foods are subjected to very high temperatures, destroying their enzymes and some nutrients. . all this contributes toward the individual’s toxic load, regardless of his resistance level.* (Carolee Bateson-Koch DC ND - Allergies: Disease in Diguise). There are other reasons for switching to organically produced food, namely keep chemicals off your plate while enjoying greater flavour and nutrition, protect future generations by preventing soil erosion, help restore bio-diversity, reduce global warming and save energy, not to mention help small farmers - especially in this day and age of terminator crops, genetically modified crops and attendant dominance of agriculture by the chemical industry. There is a world of difference between food that is grown organically and that which is grown in chemically fertilized soil - which is about most of the food available to us. For ease of reference “organically grown” means the absence of chemical fertilizers, pesticides and other chemical matter, crops that are fertilized by natural means, composted soil, etc. We look to our food supply to not only keep us going but also to keep us healthy. We expect certain nutrients e.g. selenium and chromium - so essential for cardiac health - to be present in those stalks of broccoli and kale and …. - but they aren’t. In other words, what we are really eating is, in most cases, a pale reflection of what there should be. Take the lovely tomato, for instance, known since ancient times to keep us healthy. Italians refers to it as pomodoro - golden apple. The Austrians call it Paradisapfel - apple of paradise. Organically grown tomatoes score 500 % higher in calcium, 1300 % higher in magnesium and a startling 193,000 % higher in iron. But let’s look at some comparison figures** of
minerals and trace elements in organic and non-organic produce:
**Firman E. Baer report, Rutgers Univ.
Radishes are in fact one of the fastest and earliest crops you can have. So why not use some to treat yourself to: THE MISOWICH - This is not some sinister KGB type lurking in shady corners, but a Miso sandwich! You’ll need some good bread (preferably not the
type you pop in a toaster), European style rye or spelt bread, the type
that needs to be chewed! Spread it with a little butter and then some
miso***. Cover it with lots of sliced radish. Enjoy it with a bowl of
hearty bean soup and a mug of beer.
Edith Carter |
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All contents © Copyright Edith Carter and the Healthy Company, 2005
