When you are considering making changes to your diet, one of the most effective diets for keeping your body healthy is by going organic. When shopping for groceries that are organic, you want to be on the lookout for produce that is grown without using synthetic fertilizers, genetically modified organisms, or pesticides. As for any of the dairy products, poultry, eggs, or meat on your shopping list, it’s essential that the animals were not given any growth hormones or antibiotics. There are an array of reasons that you should go organic, from the fact that the foods are produced with much cleaner and more environmentally-friendly processes to the fact that you will have a lower disease risk when consuming produce and other food items that are labeled as organic.
Although going organic will take focus and dedication, the benefits received by changing your diet will outweigh the slight difficulties with finding the right food items. Not only do organic foods help bolster your health, they also play a part in boosting the health of the planet and the environment around you. With these foods and produce, you can be confident that they were not made with a chemical or substance that could cause you to become sick. Buying meat or eggs that are organic means that you can have peace of mind that the animals were well taken care of. By understanding the numerous benefits associated with organic foods, you will be more knowledgeable about all of the foods at your disposal and can be confident in your decision.
1. Hormones
One of the biggest reasons to go organic and start filling your diet with organic foods and produce is so that you can avoid hormones. Conventional meat and dairy products have a high chance of having been produced with the assistance of growth hormones. These are synthetic hormones that are fed to animals before they produce the eggs or meat that you eat. Synthetic hormones are designed to be similar to hormones that grow naturally within the body. However, they can be dangerous to your health in a variety of ways, which is why you want to do anything you can to avoid foods and poultry that have been made with hormones.
The animals that are the likeliest to be fed with growth hormones primarily include dairy cows and standard cattle, the former of which is meant to help with quicker milk production and the latter for faster growth in the animals. By going organic, you will be able to completely avoid consuming these hormones. While the hormones are first given to the animals, they can get into your body if you eat meat or eggs that have been produced with the assistance of them. Synthetic hormones have been found to be linked to such diseases as prostate and breast cancer.
[nextpage title=“Next” ]2. GMOs
A GMO is any type of genetically modified organism, which means that the DNA of the organism was altered through man-made techniques. Similarly to how pesticides and other chemicals can have harmful effects on natural foods and produce, any GMO food item is one that is not 100 percent natural. When a food isn’t completely organic, you can’t be confident about where it came from or how it was made. Unfortunately, GMO food products do not have to be labeled within the United States, which means that the only way for you to be certain that a food item isn’t a GMO is to go organic.
[nextpage title=“Next” ]3. Topicals
Topicals are oils, balms, and lotions that you can apply to your skin to assist with the soothing of a variety of ailments that you may be suffering from. When you are using standard topicals, there is a possibility that they can be infused with chemicals and a variety of other ingredients that could be harmful to you and your overall health. Some topical medications are designed solely with organic ingredients, which means that you can be assured that there are not chemicals used within them. Given the fact that topicals are absorbed directly into the skin, you want to know where the ingredients are coming from.
[nextpage title=“Next” ]4. Antibiotics
As is the case with hormones, some animals that are eventually made into the foods that you eat are being given antibiotics while they are alive. It is believed that nearly 70 percent of all antibiotics that are produced within the United States are being given to animals that don’t need them, which means there are less antibiotics for the people that do need them. There’s a possibility that the high usage of antibiotics within the food that you eat will render those antibiotics ineffective as your body becomes used to them. Organic foods are always completely free from antibiotics.
[nextpage title=“Next” ]5. Cleanliness
The cleanliness of going organic is mostly applied to the environment around you. Organic farming helps to preserve the ecosystems around farmland due to the avoidance of dangerous and harmful chemicals. Since organic foods are not made with the assistance of pesticides, fertilizers, or chemicals, the water supplies as well as the soil surrounding the farms are kept clean and free from additional pollution. It is believed that well below one percent of all pesticides used in the making of produce reach their intended target, which means that over 99 percent of those chemicals will seep into the surrounding environment.
[nextpage title=“Next” ]6. Lower Disease Risk
Foods that have been grown organically are comprised of more nutrients than foods that have been grown or made with the usage of pesticides or growth hormones. These nutrients extend from minerals and vitamins to micro-nutrients. When eating foods that have a higher nutritional value, you will be able to lower your disease risk, allowing you to lead a healthier and more fulfilling life. It’s also important to understand that foods that are not organically grown can come with chemicals that could heighten your risk of disease and cause you to eventually develop a host of problems that can be avoided by going organic.
