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I've talked in the last two posts about what organic means and how it affects our health. This time I will finally give you the practical information about buying organic foods.

Pesticides

When it comes to consuming pesticides, less is better. The Environmental Working Group (EWG) looked at how many pesticides were on various fruits and vegetables. They discovered that people can lower their pesticide exposure by NINETY percent if they choose to eat the twelve least contaminated foods instead of the twelve most contaminated foods.

If you eat the twelve most contaminated, you would consume fourteen different pesticides. If you eat the twelve least contaminated, you would less than two per day!

Making the Choice

The best way to deal with this issue is to make sure that you are buying the organic version of the twelve most contaminated fruits and vegetables. The EWG named these the "dirty dozen". If you can't afford organic, then be sure to buy mostly from the least contaminated list.

Dirty Dozen

1. Peaches
2. Apples
3. Sweet Bell Peppers
4. Celery
5. Nectarines
6. Strawberries
7. Cherries
8. Lettuce
9. Grapes - Imported
10. Pears
11. Spinach
12. Potatoes

Cleanest 12

1. Onions
2. Avocado
3. Sweet Corn-Frozen
4. Pineapples
5. Mango
6. Sweet Peas-Frozen
7. Asparagus
8. Kiwi
9. Bananas
10. Cabbage
11. Broccoli
12. Eggplant

The EWG considered how people wash and prepare their foods when they did the test. When you wash or rinse your produce, you remove some levels of pesticides but it does not completely eliminate them. If you peel a potato or apple, you can remove more pesticides but you also lose important phytochemicals and nutrients when you do that.

The Bottom Line

Remember to eat plenty of plant foods, wash them well and buy organic when possible. Use this list to guide you at the grocery store. For a very handy pocket edition of the list, check out this website:
http://www.foodnews.org/pdf/EWG_pesticide.pdf

Eat up!

- Julie

Last post I discussed what it means when a food is labeled 'organic'. Today we'll discuss the health benefits of organic foods. Other benefits of organic farming include stewardship of natural and human resources.

Natural resources include land and water. Stewardship of human resources means being socially considerate of the working and living condition of laborers, needs of rural communities and health of consumers.

I find that the organic food often tastes better too!

Health Benefits of Organic Food

Here are some of the health benefits of organic foods:

• foods that are higher in nutrients
• foods with lower pesticide residues
• foods with lower amounts of food additives

There hasn't been any direct studies on humans to show that organic foods can prevent cancer or other diseases. However, having more and higher quality nutrients in your food means that you get more cancer fighting phytochemicals to help your body stay healthy.

You do need to inspect your food closely though. Since organic farming doesn't include as many pesticides, there is more of a chance that you'll run across a bug in your produce!

Local Food

Another important environmental and health choice is choosing to buy local foods. Local foods tend to be higher in nutrients because they are usually picked fresh and sold to you soon after picking.

This is different from the food at the grocery store which may be picked before it's ripe so that it can make the long trip to the distribution center and then on to your grocery store.

If you buy local food at a farmer's market, it is cheaper than buying it at the grocery store. Remember to ask the farmer if they use organic farm practices.

Organic vs. Local: Which to Buy

I rank organic food vs. local food in this order:

   1. Local, organic food
   2. Local, conventional food
   3. Not local organic food
   4. Not local conventional food

I don't always choose my #1 ranked choice, I take the cost difference as well as the particular product in mind. There are certain foods that I tend to buy organic, and certain foods that I don't. Next post I will discuss the "dirty dozen" and the "cleanest 12".

Some say that it costs too much to eat organic foods. Honestly, people spend 5 times more on junk food and fast food than on fruits and vegetables. I don't think it's the organic fruits and vegetables that are busting the budget!

Until next time, visit your local farmer's market!

- Julie

You're at the grocery store and see two of all types of produce. There's either 'conventional' or 'organic'. So you stand there in the store trying to decide if it's worth it to spend the extra money on organic.

Some claim that you should only eat organic food. Others say it doesn't matter. And what does organic really mean anyway?

Today's post will focus on what the organic label means and my next post will discuss whether or not you should spend the extra money on organic foods for their health benefits.

Organic Food Facts

Here are some facts about organic food from the National Organic Program:

• Organic food is produced by farmers who emphasize the use of renewable resources and the conservation of soil and water. 
• Organic meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy products come from animals that are given no antibiotics or growth hormones.
• Organic food is produced without using most conventional pesticides, fertilizers made with synthetic ingredients or sewage sludge, bioengineering, or ionizing radiation. 
• Before a product can be labeled "organic," a Government-approved certifier inspects the farm where the food is grown to make sure the farmer is following all the rules necessary to meet USDA organic standards. 
• Companies that handle or process organic food before it gets to your local supermarket or restaurant must also be certified.
• Products labeled as "100 percent organic" must contain (excluding water and salt) only organically produced ingredients.
• Products labeled "organic" must consist of at least 95 percent organically produced ingredients (excluding water and salt).
• Processed products that contain at least 70 percent organic ingredients can use the phrase "made with organic ingredients".

The US government monitors the organic label. It can be an expensive process for the farmer's to go through in order to be able to make the organic claim. Therefore, many smaller farms that you might find in your area cannot afford to get the official organic claim.

If you shop at farmer's markets or coop where you can talk to the farmer, they can tell you if they use organic farm practices.

In the next post, I will discuss the foods to buy organic and the potential health benefits to organic foods.

Shop aware, and read those labels! 
- Julie

It is estimated that 99% of all cancer survivors know about complementary and alternative medicine practices and up to 83% of them have participated in some form during their conventional medical care. The most frequently reported therapies are spiritual practices, relaxation therapy, imagery, exercise, lifestyle, diet and nutritional supplementation.

There are many people that I meet that are interested in complementary therapies. The difference between complementary and alternative therapies is important to understand. Complementary therapy means that it is used in conjunction with traditional Western medicine.

Alternative therapy means that it is used instead of traditional western medicine. I feel that we should always take the best of all medicines. Therefore, I find complementary therapies to be quite beneficial and rarely recommend using only alternative therapy.

Important Questions to Ask:

In order to evaluate a complementary therapy you might be considering, be sure to ask yourself these questions:

• Is the practitioner qualified and educated in the practice they are recommending?
• For example, when getting diet or nutrition advice, you want to know that the person is a registered dietitian.
• Has the practice been scientifically proven to be safe and effective for someone like you?
  • If you have cancer, or other chronic disease, you want to make sure that the practice is safe for you.
• Is there another therapy that is less invasive but may have the same therapeutic outcome?
  • If you're looking for an aid for sleep, mindful meditation might be less invasive and more effective than taking an herbal sleep aid.
• What do you hope to achieve with this therapy, and are your expectations for this treatment realistic?
  • Are you expecting this therapy to prevent or cure disease, as opposed to manage a particular side effect?

Evaluating your options:

Based on how you answered the previous questions, you can categorize the therapy into one of 4 groups:

• This therapy is supported by objective research suggesting a benefit.
• This therapy has not been studied but isn't likely to cause harm, and could provide a benefit
• This therapy has not been studied and could possibly cause harm
• This therapy has been studied and was shown to cause harm or provides no benefit

If the therapy falls into the first two categories and doesn't cause you to go into debt, then I think it's a good choice. If it falls into the third or fourth or is exorbitantly expensive, then I'd pass on the opportunity.

It drives me nuts when I hear someone complain about how expensive it is to eat healthy, but they're willing to pay $25 a quart for the newest miracle cure juice!

Recommended Therapies:

Here are some examples of complementary therapies that I believe are beneficial. There's no way that I could list them all, so I just picked out some to highlight.

1. Exercise therapy including Yoga, Thai Chi, Qi Gong, Aerobic or Strength Training, Dance
2. Mind, Body, and Spirit Therapies: Visualization, Journaling, Self Hypnosis, Prayer, Spiritual Meditation, Anointing,  Spiritual Counseling, Art Therapy, Music Therapy,  Emotional Counseling, Mindful Meditation, Support Groups, Acupuncture, Aromatherapy,
   
3. Physical Touch Therapies: Healing touch, Reiki, Massage Therapy, Pet Therapy,
4. Diet and Nutritional therapies: Plant based diet, vegetarian or vegan diet, Ginger tea with honey for nausea, Herbal therapy under the guidance of a trusted and certified herbologist.

The most important thing to do when using a complementary therapy is to ALWAYS communicate with your health care providers about the therapies you are using!

-Julie

There are a lot of products, services, and touted cures out there when it comes to health and wellness. Cancer seems to attract a large variety of products as does weight loss. It's not uncommon to see a product advertised as a "cancer cure" or one that claims to "melt the fat off". When it's almost too good to be true, we should know that it IS too good to be true!

It's not always simple to determine credibility. When it comes to cancer, there are many products claiming to be cancer fighting. Unfortunately, a lot of products exist to make someone rich, and have little or no research showing that it works.

What's the Cost?

It's necessary to evaluate the cost of the therapy and who benefits from it. Many herbs, supplements or other products that are delivered to your home are operated under the model of "multi-level marketing". Multi-level marketing means that there are multiple layers of salespeople and that the higher up the person is, the more money they make.

These companies are most interested in making money and secondarily interested in your health. I believe that sales people have good intentions, but are slightly taken by the promotional materials and possible financial gain of joining the company.

Many nutritional supplements fall into this category including Juice Plus and Herbalife. Other product lines that follow this model include Mary Kay and Artistry. For more information on multilevel marketing, click here.

Should I Buy It?

I'm not saying you shouldn't buy the product in question. You do need to know the facts. Most of the products being sold aren't any more beneficial than what you can get cheaper at the store.

I can get a product similar to what I got from Mary Kay by going to Target. However, sometimes I'm willing to buy it from the salesperson because I want to support them or it's more convenient. (Keep in mind that the person getting rich is NOT the person selling it to you).

It's the same with multi-level marketing of nutritional supplements. An equivalent product is available at your local drugstore. There's nothing special about the particular product being sold. If you have the extra money and want to spend it supporting the salesperson, it's your choice. Just try not to get sold that their product is something more than what the facts say!

Which Therapies Are Proven?

So what therapies have been proven beneficial? In my next post I will discuss the importance of complementary therapy, which ones I recommend and how to find a good practitioner. For a good place to search a product or therapy, try QuackWatch.

Until then, if you're interested in selling a miracle cure product that I have developed to increase energy and extend your life I'd love to hire you.  It's called Miracle-Nutri-Vita.  Just send me an email or post a comment.  If you think I'm serious, you should re-read the above post!

- Julie