Living Organic: What’s in it for You?

As many of you have probably realised in recent years, and most certainly recent months, it is fashionable to be organic. Being a strong promoter of the benefits of such a lifestyle, I think that this fashion is fantastic.

Unfortunately despite it’s being in vogue at present, in general, we are not living ‘organically’, and I am going to briefly explain a few of the effects of this.

- Incidences of cancer have increased 44% since 1950.
- It is predicted that by 2010, 1 in every 2 people will have cancer of some kind.
- The name for ‘Adult Onset’ diabetes was renamed as ‘Type 2’ diabetes because of the high incidence of children developing the disease.
- Over 30% of the population in the UK are diagnosed as being obese, with the figure rising.
- Approximately 15% of people will suffer from depression at least once in their lives before the age of 40.

The list of physical and mental ills goes on and on. When these statistics are compared to the low or almost unheard of cases of the same illnesses in tribes and primitive peoples living naturally, it makes them all the more shocking.

The prevalence of these problems is caused by people not eating foods that clearly are much better for their health because of their nutritional quality, and generally not living according to nature as their ancestors would have. It is also caused by two major problems of people not exercising enough or people exercising too much, or never having quality rest time due to their indoctrination into the “Church of Rush.” Another cause is people focusing more on the outside, rather than what is on the inside.

I know the last one sounds like a cliche, but when the inside is working well and is healthy, the outside is far more useful and will look far healthier too.

So far in this article we have looked at what an unhealthy lifestyle can be, and what can be one of many contributions to this. Let us now compare the ill-effects of a standard modern lifestyle to what I would call an ‘organic lifestyle’. When I use the term ‘organic’ I think that most people would instantly think of food, and food is very important to an organic lifestyle, so long as it is the right type of food. We are looking ideally for ‘Certified Organic’ food. Depending on the country that you are from, there are different certifications, and therefore different rules concerning what constitutes food being organic. However, we can generalise good quality organic food as foods not grown on nutritionally depleted soils or foods sprayed with chemical fungicides, pesticides, herbicides, rodenticides, etc. Further, the meats that we eat when healthy, and raised organically that are very good for us, should also be eating their natural organic diet, be free range and allowed the freedom to roam, and they should not be injected with antibiotics and growth hormones. As opposed to the commercially raised meats and vegetables that have been pumped full of chemicals that you then ingest, thus disturbing your bodily functions. This is to say nothing of the chemical-leaching packaging of most processed foods, and the preparation methods that leave packaged foods utterly nutritionally dead!

This subject of organic foods, farming, and standards is a very long topic and could be discussed at length, however I will say one more relevant thing on the subject of what organic living can do for you, by using the old saying of, “You are what you eat.” And I will ask you a question: “Would you rather be chemically created, or the way your Mother [Nature] intended?”

Beyond food, we can also look at other less obvious factors, such as your exercising habits, your lifestyle and the way that you think. Let us start with your exercising habits. Most people believe that exercising is good for you, and I would definitely agree there having spent the majority of my life keeping active. However, is it organic? It might be good for the body, but let’s look at a way of being natural with it too. Instead of going to the modern, local health club and slaving away on treadmills with unnatural feelings underneath your feet and electronic inclines, and using fixed resistance machinery that certainly does not mimic anything we would do in everyday life, and the usual sugary, carb-filled, junk-food treats that are there to tempt you as you leave the gym and at your weakest, we could try going outside. Outdoor fitness is nothing new but people seem to have lost sight of this, and also spend lots of money on a pricey gym membership to go with it!

Try going outside for a jog, or finding a hill for some sprints to train your leg muscles ten times as hard as the machines would. How about going to the woods and instead of using a barbell like you would in the gym, lift some logs. Although, if this seems silly to you, you might just want to try some gardening, a gentle stroll in the park, or some D.I.Y to keep you active. It’s not always about “train hard or go home” when it comes to exercise; it can simply be just getting in touch with the beauty of nature, and getting some fresh air deep into your lungs.

When it comes to lifestyle changes, we could all make many, but let’s focus on some simple ones just for the scope of this article: food, clothing and shelter. We’ve already touched on the quality of food, but let’s see if we can make it ethical too. Consider purchasing local foods direct from the farmer as this will decrease the mileage done by lorries for the large supermarkets, and therefore minimise the fumes given off into the atmosphere, plus it’s likely to be much higher quality, as smaller farmers almost always treat their own produce with more care.

Clothing and shelter can be put in together. At this time in our society, now more than ever before, there are literally hundreds of companies producing ethically made products such as clothes made from organic cottons (better for your skin), furniture and paints not containing chemicals that are harmful to your body and the atmosphere, and a hundred and one energy saving tips for your house, such as changing your light bulbs to energy saving bulbs (not only will you save money, but also our valuable natural resources will be used less, and put less of a strain on the Earth.) All of these things can be done to live a more eco-friendly lifestyle, while having benefits for your health, and that of your family too.

Finally - your thoughts. Your attitude is the number one thing that any of us can change. A prime example is, “is the glass half empty of half full?” You’ve all met people with different outlooks to yourselves, and that is fine. I am sure many of you will have different opinions to me on things I have written in this article. However, one guiding principle to living a happy, and organic life, would be to be positive.

When you are eating food, organic or not, it would be a good idea to be happy for what you are eating, and be grateful for what it is doing to your body. When you are exercising, don’t begrudge doing it, or you probably shouldn’t be doing it at all and would do better to go and find a form of regular movement that you do like. When you are living your daily routine, buying your foods from supermarkets, going to work, spending time with your family, question your motives and remember that if you are happy doing what you are doing and you have your own best interests at heart, then it is probably organic.