Should I buy organic food?

This article is for those who are trying to save some money while still trying to eat healthier. If you are one of the people who have no problem shelling out any amount of cash for being healthy, you should always opt for the organic choice.

 

Should I buy organic foods? With rising food prices, it is a question that is asked all the time. Well the question is very vague and the proper answer, that no one wants to hear, is "yes and no". Yes, eating organic foods are a healthier choice as they allow you to avoid some of the chemicals and pesticides. Not to mention that organic foods help keep the environment clean and taste much better.

 

But whether or not you should buy organic foods depends on what kind of product it is. Fruits and vegetables provide a better value for the higher prices as they contain many pesticides by modern farming. Conventional (non-organic) fruits and vegetables are also allowed to be genetically modified which has been found by some tests to have serious side effects to the human body.

 

But even when buying fruits and vegetables, it is important to distinguish which fruits and vegetables should definitely be bought organic. Produce with thicker skins such as bananas and lemons, are not worth buying organic as the pesticides cannot leach in to the edible part of the fruit due to the tough barrier of the skin. However produce such as apples and pears have a extremely skinny skin which allow the chemicals through. Generally speaking, all produce that are eaten with the skin on should be tried and bought organic. If you are further interested, a good resources by Good House Keeping is the dirty dozen produce that have the most pesticides. It can be reached here, http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/recipes/healthy/dirty-dozen-foods#slide-1.

 

For meats, organic is definitely worth it knowing how unhygienic conventional meats are these days. If you cannot afford organic, you at least buy the meats that are no antibiotic and hormones. If you can afford it, the best meat available is grass fed meat. It is not only keeps the animals happier and away from diseases, it is the healthiest and cleanest meat available. Grass fed meat is not cheap though, it can cost as much as up to three times as more as regular meats.

 

Lastly, prepared foods such as snacks and canned foods that are organic are the least worth it. This is because store bought prepared food is not healthy in the first place. It contains a lot of oils, sugars and salts for its preservation to better taste. Here it is okay to save some money and pass on the organic selection as it has the least benefits. If you if truly do not have time to cook at home and must buy a prepared food, it is important to understand what the different labeling of organic means. Different labels of organic labeling have different meanings by the USDA. A package that says “100% organic” means that it is all organic. A package that just says “organic” is made with at least 95% ingredients that are organic. And lastly, a package that says “made with organic ingredients” must have at least 70% of ingredients organic.

 

Hopefully this will clear up any confusion regarding the question of buying organic.  As you can, see there is no one answer for this question. The answer will be different for everyone depending on their budget and what they are seeking to get out of organic food. Stay tuned for more posts on my blog. Please let me know if you have any questions or suggestions in the comments below.