***To Buy Organic or Not!

By Jean Sumner Submitted by Boomer-Living.com
The official guide to Baby Boomers

See all Articles by Boomer Living at Boomer-living.comSee Boomer Living at Boomer-living.com's Expert PageGet Updates on Baby BoomersGet Updates on Boomer Living at Boomer-living.com

There is continual discussion on this topic involving nutrition, environmental impact, pesticides, toxins and the list goes on. Personally, I have done some research and have come up with a path that I follow regarding organic vs. non organic and I would like to share a few tips with fellow boomers.

There has been a massive amount of research completed proving that food heals, this research was completed using primarily conventional produce. With that said one may conclude that it isn’t worth it to buy organic. However, I believe there are some items where it is absolutely necessary to buy organic. These items are labeled “The Dirty Dozen” because they have the highest pesticide load of all fruits and vegetables. “The Dirty Dozen” include the following:

* Celery
* Blueberries
* Kale and Collard Greens
* Peaches
* Nectarines
* Cherries
* Strawberries
* Sweet Bell Peppers
* Potatoes
* Apples
* Spinach
* Grapes

Conversely there are 15 fruits and vegetables that have been labeled as the “Clean 15″. These items have the lowest pesticide load of all fruits and vegetables and they include:

* Onions
* Sweet Peas
* Cantaloupe
* Avocado
* Asparagus
* Watermelon
* Sweet Corn
* Kiwi
* Grapefruit
* Pineapple
* Eggplant
* Sweet Potato
* Mango
* Cabbage
* Honeydew Melon

Knowing this information, my first rule is to always buy organic when I shop for items listed in “The Dirty Dozen” and never buy organic when I am purchasing items in the “Clean Fifteen”. Along with this rule, it is important to wash your fruits and vegetables by running water on them after you have sprayed them with a good veggie wash.

There is debate among studies concerning nutritional value of organic produce vs. non organic produce. Some studies indicate that organic produce has more nutritional value; however, there are also studies that indicate that organic produce does not have more nutritional value than non organic produce. With this said, I go back to rule number one that allows me to purchase the cleanest of the produce non organic.

When it comes to animal products, one may think that you don’t have to worry about pesticides; however, do not buy into this pattern of thought. Animal products have a much higher residue of pesticides and herbicides because animals are eating conventional produce and these chemicals are concentrated in the tissue of the animals. Rule number two is to buy organic animal products whenever possible. And in particular buy organic eggs because conventional eggs have an unhealthy ratio of omega 3:6 fatty acids which makes our omega 6 overdose even higher. Our Omega 6 problem stems from the many refined oils in our diet.

The other compelling factor that leads me to buy organic animal products is that conventional farming now feeds animals POOP! And when it comes down to what I want to eat, poop is not on the list (LOL) !