Eating Organic Foods

Yesterday afternoon I took lunch with an old friend of mine. Like so many other people I know, she has been trying to lose weight over the past year and for the most part she had very little success until recently. I could tell immediately that she had lost at least 20 pounds since I had last seen her so I asked about her weight loss program.

My friend is another great example of someone who has not needed a structured weight loss program to lose weight. She proclaims that the key to her recent weight loss success has been controlling portion sizes and eating all organic foods. Now, most of us know that portion control is critical for losing weight, but I admit I have had a pretty lackadaisical attitude towards eating organic foods. I think my mental block about buying organic comes from organic foods being generally more expensive than generic brands at my grocery store and I’m just not convinced that their benefits are worth the extra price. I hate to let a good thing pass me by however, so I have dedicated this post to exploring the many benefits of eating organic foods.

Eating organic foods has many benefits, including aiding weight loss and providing your body with optimal nutrients.

From the beginning, all living things on earth have depended on the fruits of the soil to supply them with all the nourishment they need. However, the rise of the industrial age brought with it outbreaks of food shortages and subsequently new food processing and farming technologies were adopted. Despite making food more available to larger populations, the wide acceptance of mass-produced and processed food products has been the catalyst for a dramatic increase in food-related health conditions, including obesity and vitamin deficiencies.

People who are conscious about the quality of food they eat consider organic products the best choice. I’m sure many of us are familiar with the old adage, “You Are What You Eat”, and people who are fans of eating only organic really take this to heart. Organic products typically contain very few or no human toxins, like cancer-causing chemicals from pesticides. Therefore, people who eat mostly organic products benefit by reducing their exposure levels to all types of chemicals, antibiotics and hormones that may be related to health conditions including cancer, allergies and nerve disorders.

Various studies by nutrition experts indicate that fresh, organic foods contain more nutrients and antioxidants than foods produced by industrial agriculture. Organic foods tend to be seasonal and are eaten when they are freshest and their nutrient quality is highest, instead of mass-produced foods that may be stored for months and have very poor nutrient quality once they reach our stomachs. For this reason, organic foods rich in nutrients are more nourishing than processed foods and can naturally help curb hunger and overeating.

Eating organic foods is definitely not an effective means for losing weight just on its own. In fact, a couple of friends of mine who only eat only organic foods are quite overweight. However, I shiver to think how overweight they would have become had they not adopted an organic food lifestyle. This said, eating organic foods combined with regular exercise and portion control may be of great benefit to someone wishing to lose weight. Most organic foods are sold in their natural forms, such as whole grains and fresh fruits and vegetables and eating these types of foods are the best for dietary fiber. Consuming foods high in fiber is a natural way to curb hunger and suppress appetite during meals.

One of the benefits of eating organic foods that is often overlooked is how the organic food movement promotes environmental conservation. The green movement touts organic farming as one of the best ways for reversing the ecological degradation linked to large-scale industrial agriculture. Organic foods thrive as clean or zero carbon products that support small-scale rural farming communities while at the same time enriching the soil, water sources and renewable energy resources.

Skeptics have questioned the viability of organic produce for the masses since they are expensive and in short supply. However, there are many people who argue against this point and blame industrialized agriculture for many of the problems the world now faces, including environmental degradation, global warming, hunger, disease and obesity. There is no doubt though, that there are many health benefits to be gained from eating organic foods. Even if you don’t go completely organic, combining some organic foods into your regular routine can be very beneficial, not only to you but to your local organic farmers as well.