Why Eat Organic?

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The main difference between organic and conventional food products is the chemicals used during production and processing. Conventional food production practices involve the use of synthetic and toxic chemicals that have devastating effects on the environment, and on human health.

In a 2015 study, according to the International Agency for Research on Cancer, in the United States, more than 90% of the population have detectable pesticides in their urine and blood.

Pesticides are the toxic substances used in our environment to intentionally kill living things. It is just the same as spraying Raid or Mortein bug spray on your fruits or vegetables. A matter of great concern is that they are not just sprayed once, but sprayed multiple times before they make their way to your grocer or supermarket. The spray does not come off by washing it with water and absorbed all the way into its core as it grows.

We are living things too and small doses may not kill us instantly, like the bugs, but they do slowly poison and harm us internally the more we ingest them.

The health risks associated with exposure to pesticides are one of the main factors we should eat organic food. There are now more and more evidence surfacing that human exposure to pesticides are linked to serious health problems. In May 2010, scientists from the University of Montreal and Harvard University released a study that found that exposure to pesticide residues on vegetables and fruit double a child’s risk of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), a condition that can cause inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity in children.

Pesticides have been linked to a wide range of human health hazards and cancers including:

  • asthma
  • reproductive harm
  • endocrine disruption (infertility, birth defects and developmental defects in the offspring)
  • leukaemia
  • non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
  • brain cancer
  • bone cancer
  • skin cancer
  • breast cancer
  • ovarian cancer
  • prostate cancer
  • testicular cancer
  • lung cancer
  • liver cancer

 

It is crucial to be aware that chronic health effects may occur years after even minimal exposure to pesticides.

If you like gardening, it is important to note that pesticides used in your garden make their way into your home and into your body. They are easily tracked indoors by you, your children or your pets, and from there they can be absorbed into your body through your skin, lungs, or intake of food that has come into contact with it. It is a frightening thought when you think you could be breathing in or ingesting the very chemicals used to make grass grow or kill pests, in your own home.

You can protect yourself from cancer and other illnesses by eating organic. Organic food are produced without synthetic pesticides and are less likely to contain pesticide residues than conventionally produced, non-organic food.

Those who frequently eat organic food lowered their overall risk of developing cancer, a study published Monday (10 December, 2018) in JAMA Internal Medicine finds. Specifically, those who primarily eat organic food were more likely to ward off non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and post-menopausal breast cancer compared to those who rarely or never ate organic food.

Overall, organic eaters were 25 per cent less likely to develop any cancer, the study found. Risks of skin and breast cancers dropped by a third. In addition, researchers found that those who ate organic food also had less chances of developing prostate cancers, skin cancers and other cancers.

JAMA researchers said that promoting organic food consumption to the general population could be a promising preventive strategy against cancer and other illnesses.

A lot of supermarkets have an organic food section. In Australia, you can purchase quality and affordable organic food in Woolworths Supermarkets under the Macro Certified Organic label, and About Life Stores, in Rozelle and Surry Hills, NSW. In USA, the main organic stores that I have shopped from are Trader Joe’s, Sprouts, Bristol Farms, Wholefoods, and Health Foods Unlimited.

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