Attention: This is NOT a trend, this is crucial for your health & your fertility.
A lot of people view eating organic foods as just another expensive health trend, but I have news for you: it’s vital to your optimal health and your fertility! Eating organic was the only way of life for your grandparents and great-grandparents. It wasn’t until the last century that we began altering foods for mass production, which involves the use of genetically modified organisms, synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, and antibiotics.
Why You Should be Eating Organic:
- Organic food is higher in nutrients than conventional food.
- Reduces your body’s toxic load (toxic burden).
- Free of neurotoxins (toxins that are damaging to brain and nerve cells found in pesticides).
- Free of antibiotics and other harsh chemicals.
- Organic foods taste better than foods loaded with toxic chemicals.
- Organic foods are tested thoroughly to meet USDA requirements.
What does it mean to be Organic?
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and The National Organic Program (NOP) have established an organic certification program that requires all US organic foods to meet strict standards. These standards regulate the way US farmers grow and process agricultural products (fruits, vegetables, grains, dairy products, and meat). Farmers who grow organic produce don’t use conventional methods to fertilize and control weeds. What you put into the soil has a weighty impact on what you get out of it.
Any Product Labeled as Organic must be USDA Certified.
If you are at the grocery store and you see organic produce from Mexico, for example, you might wonder if this ‘organic’ produce meets the same standards as organic produce from the US. Food to be sold as certified organic in the United States — whether grown in the United States, in Mexico, Chile or anywhere in the world — it must meet all the requirements of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Organic Program, which means it must be produced without the use of toxic synthetic pesticides, artificial fertilizers, sewage sludge, genetically modified organisms, or irradiation and it must be certified by a USDA-accredited agency.
If a food bears a USDA Organic label, it means it’s produced and processed according to the USDA standards.
The seal is voluntary, but many organic producers use it. To be considered organic, products must be at least 95% organic. Products containing at least 70% organic ingredients may say ‘made with organic ingredients’ on the label, but cannot use the USDA Organic seal.
Toxic Chemicals cause Adverse Health Effects for Humans.
You have likely been eating a conventional diet for years and without fully understanding that you have been regularly consuming toxic chemicals and antibiotics. Well, you might think, ‘spraying crops will result in a little pesticide residue, that’s okay, I’ll be sure to rinse my fruits and veggies when I get home, no problem!’ Unfortunately, it is not that simple. According to ConsumerReports.org, rinsing can remove surface residues, as well as dirt and bacteria. But you can’t completely wash away the pesticides—or the risk. Pesticides can stick to soft skins, and the wax coating used on some produce can trap pesticide residues. Some pesticides are systemic, that is they are taken up by the plant’s root system and get into the fruit or vegetable flesh so they can’t be washed off. Eating organic is the only way to avoid the potion of chemical poisons present in commercially grown food.
People who eat organic produce eat fewer pesticides.
A study by Cynthia Curl of the University of Washington published February 5, found that people who report they “often or always” buy organic produce had significantly less organophosphate insecticides in their urine samples, even though they reported eating 70 percent more servings of fruits and vegetables per day than adults reporting they “rarely or never” purchase organic produce (Curl, 2015).
In 2012, the American Academy of Pediatrics issued an important report that said that children have “unique susceptibilities to [pesticide residues’] potential toxicity.” Research links pesticide exposures in early life and pediatric cancers, decreased cognitive function and behavioral problems.
Now, in 2017, a study published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine ties consuming more fruits and vegetables with high amounts of pesticide residue with a lower chance of pregnancy and a higher risk of pregnancy loss among women undergoing infertility treatment in the United States (Chiu, Williams, & Gillman, 2017).
Organic Foods are More Nutritious
There is ample research showing that organic foods contain more vitamins, minerals, enzymes, antioxidants and micronutrients than commercially grown foods. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine conducted a review of 41 published studies comparing the nutritional value of organically and conventionally grown crops and concluded that there are significantly more nutrients in organic food crops. You can’t expect to achieve optimal health when you are fueling your body with foods laced with harmful chemicals that are toxic to your body.
According to the EWG, which is a nonprofit environmental research organization based in Washington, D.C, approximately three-fourths of the 6,953 produce samples tested by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 2014 contained pesticide residues. USDA tests found a total 146 different pesticides on thousands of fruit and vegetable samples examined in 2014. The pesticides persisted on fruits and vegetables tested by USDA – even when they were washed and, in some cases, peeled. YIKES!
EWG’s Dirty Dozen
EWG analyzed pesticide residue testing data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Food and Drug Administration to come up with rankings for these popular fresh produce items. These fruits and vegetables have the highest making them the most important to buy organic versions!
- Strawberries
- Spinach
- Kale, collard & mustard greens
- Nectarines
- Apples
- Grapes
- Bell & hot peppers
- Cherries
- Peaches
- Pears
- Celery
- Tomatoes
EWG’s Clean Fifteen
The clean fifteen is a list of foods that have the lowest pesticide load, and are the safest conventionally grown crops to consume from the standpoint of pesticide contamination.
- Avocados
- Sweet Corn
- Pineapples
- Onions
- Papaya
- Sweet peas (frozen)
- Asparagus
- Honeydew Melon
- Kiwi
- Cabbage
- Mushrooms
- Cantaloupe
- Mangoes
- Watermelon
- Sweet Potatoes
Animal Products BEWARE!
I am sure you have heard the saying ‘you are what you eat,’ but what about what your animal products eat (when they’re just animals before they’re products)? Meat and dairy products are the highest risk foods for contamination by harmful toxins, pesticides, and antibiotics—this is why I am always encouraging you to eat organic animal products (preferably grass-fed beef)! The EPA reports that more than 90% of the pesticides that Americans consume are found in the fat and tissue of meat and dairy products. A majority of pesticide intake comes from meat, poultry, fish, eggs and dairy because these foods are all high on the food chain, so they carry the burden of all of the toxins along the chain.
Growth Hormones
US farmers give sex and growth hormones to cattle to artificially increase the amount of meat and dairy the cattle produce without having to increase the amount of food fed to the cattle. Dairy cows are given a genetically modified bovine growth hormone called rBGH to increase milk production. This increased milk production causes infections, so the cows are dosed with antibiotics, and eventually, it all makes its way back to us through the dairy we consume. These hormones don’t break, even at high temperatures, so the hormones remain in complete form and pass directly into your body when you eat the meat. In the United States, the jury is still out… but in Europe, there is no acceptably safe level for daily intake of any of the hormones currently used in the US.
If switching to organic seems overwhelming… here’s a list to get you started:
- Animal products (beef, pork, lamb, chicken, turkey, veal, milk, cheese, butter, and yogurt)
- Pulverized/crushed food (coffee, tea, herbs, spices, cocoa)
- Vegetables & fruit (especially the dirty dozen).
Sticking to certified organic produce and grass-fed/free-range/cage-free protein is a great start in a shift towards an organic diet. Eating foods treated with any amount or form of chemicals has a negative impact on your body and your health. Eating organic will provide your body with more nutrients, will keep you feeling healthier and energized, and won’t negatively impact your health by putting toxic chemicals in your body.
If you are ready to get started in making changes to your diet and lifestyle so you can get pregnant and have a healthy baby, click here to check out my blog, ‘What’s a Fertility Diet?’.
