1. Definition of Organic Food Diet
As the name implies, an organic food diet is one in which all of the foods that a person eats are organic. In order to qualify as organic, food must be produced without the use of artificial pesticides and synthetic fertilizers. A food is also not considered organic if it is genetically modified. Foods that you grow yourself or are grown on a local farm can be organic, but in recent years the term "organic" is often used to refer to foods that have been certified by the government to be organic and that carry a label that states it.
2. It Worked for the Rats
Some people say that they feel better when they eat organic foods. There is some scientific evidence to back this up. In one experiment, scientists divided 36 rats into three groups. All of the rats ate the same foods--potatoes, carrots, green kale, peas, apples, and grapeseed oil. For one group, all of these foods were grown organically, with little fertilization and no pesticides. For the second group, the foods were grown with minimal fertilization with pesticides. The food given to the third group was grown conventionally, meaning that pesticides and high levels of fertilizer were used. The rats were fed the same diets beginning at the age of 19 weeks. When scientists compared the rats who ate organic diets to those that ate conventional diets, they found that the former had experienced a number of health benefits. The rats who ate organic diets or diets of minimally fertilized foods slept better, were slimmer, and had stronger immune systems. Also, the group that had received an organic diet had higher levels of vitamin E in their blood. The scientists who conducted this experiment noted that these results cannot be correlated to humans, but they do indicate that organic diets may be healthier.
3. Benefits of Antioxidants
Scientists have also found that the herbicides and pesticides used by conventional farmers cause them to produce less antioxidants, chemicals that are beneficial for human health and have been found to fight cancer. That's because plants produce these antioxidants in response to attacks by insects or competing plants. If harsh pesticides, the plant does not have to produce these chemicals.
4. Meat and Poultry Can Be Organic Too
The USDA allows meat and poultry to be certified as organic if the animals are not given any antibiotics or growth hormones and if they are fed feed that is 100 percent organic. Less than 1 percnet of the meat sold in the United States is certified organic; this meat and poultry is usually more expensive than products that are not certified organic.
5. Coffee May Not Be 100 Percent Organic
A person who is following an organic diet will also want to drink organic coffee. However, coffee is not grown in this country, so we have less control in knowing what pesticides and fertilizers are used on the coffee plants. However, we do know that organic coffee is produced from plants that are exposed to less pesticides and fertilizers than non-organic coffee, and that in buying it we are protecting our own health and that of people working in the coffee fields.
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