Everywhere you look you are bombarded with organic health food options. In restaurants and grocery stores, and even many convenience stores, you can find organic choices for all your favorite foods and snacks. These foods often carry fancier ingredients, nicer packaging and a higher price tag. It can be hard to decide if they are worth your money.
Organic Foods Defined
In most cases, "organic" means that fruits and vegetables are grown without chemical pesticides or synthetic fertilizers. Livestock raised as organic is fed organic grain, grass or feed and given at least a little time each day to graze unconfined. Organic health foods that contain many ingredients, such as granola bars, must be made up of organic ingredients that meet the same standards. Organic farming techniques aim to reduce pollution and conserve soil and water resources, according to the Mayo Clinic.
The Organic Label
The United States Department of Agriculture is the governing body for the official USDA Organic label. They state that organic foods are produced under conditions that "integrate cultural, biological, and mechanical practices that foster cycling of resources, promote ecological balance, and conserve biodiversity." They accredit farms and other food producers that meet their minimum standards.
Health Benefits of Organic Foods
By choosing organic health food products, you ingest fewer pesticides in your diet. The long-term effects of many of these pesticides in your body is not yet fully known, though links have been made to recurring headaches, certain cancers and birth defects, according to Redbook. Organic foods also contain fewer artificial colorings, flavoring and preservatives, according to The Mayo Clinic. Some advocates claim that they can taste a difference and that organic foods taste better.
When to Spend and When to Save
If price is not an issue, buying organic certainly won't hurt your health. A good rule-of-thumb to remember when hitting the grocery store or farmers' market is that any fruit or vegetable whose skin you eat means that you are eating the largest potential amount of pesticides, according to Redbook. If you've got to have your grapes, strawberries, lettuce, spinach, apples, peppers or pears: spend. If you discard the skin, as you do with bananas, avocados, melons or oranges - it may be okay to save your cash since much of the pesticide gets discarded with the rind or skin.
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