When I go food shopping, I read the labels of most of the stuff I buy. Like most people, I want to be healthy. I know organic food is a good way to go, but I wish it wasn’t so expensive. I cannot afford to buy organic food everytime I shop for food (I know a lot of people that cannot even afford to buy non-organic food).

I usually go organic food shopping once a week. I mostly buy specialty items that I know that I couldn’t get at a regular supermarket. Today, I bought honey glazed salmon with organic brocolli and sweet potatoes for dinner . I also bought some bean salad, which I heard is very healthy. They say produce is one of the best things to buy there.

I find that I still have to read my labels, even at a health food store. It’s amazing what they think is healthy, like those new power drinks that contain sugar. Also, when food doesn’t contain preservatives, you have to eat it fast, because it will spoil fast. So, there are things to consider…

I found this article a while back:

Organic foods could make you feel better – if you can stomach the cost.

Although research does not prove organic food is safer or more nutritious than conventional food, consumers of organic foods say they are better for the environment, body and mind.

By law, organic foods must be grown without synthetic pesticides, genetically modified organisms, and various synthetic fertilizers. Organic foods cannot have been irradiated, and organic livestock must have access to the outdoors and be free of growth hormones or antibiotics.

The lack of artificial additives is what draws many people to organic products, said Lauren Chizinski with Lubbock’s Well Body Natural Foods, a specialty grocer selling whole and organic foods.

“When your body gets weighed down with toxins, it’s really easy to feel tired and sluggish,” Chizinski said.

Eating foods that are not treated with chemicals give people more energy and motivation and improve their overall quality of life, Chizinski said.

Leslie Thrall, a nutrition major at Texas Tech, said she read about the amount of chemicals and pesticides in foods grown with conventional methods and began shopping for organic alternatives.

Thrall said she buys organic when she can, but doesn’t freak out when she has to buy conventionally produced items.

“People eat it every day, all day and we’re all still alive,” she said.

She does like to eat organic dairy products because the animals are free-range and not treated with growth hormones, she said.

That is important to her and she said she thinks it’s important for everybody, but said the high cost deters many would-be organic consumers.

A gallon of store-brand organic milk costs nearly twice as much as store-brand conventional milk.

“If a person is really interested in using organic foods, the produce is a real good place to start,” said Tyra Carter, a corporate dietician with United Supermarkets.

Organic food is more environmentally friendly but will generally cost more, Carter said, and most people are doing it to avoid the contaminants.

Therefore, produce is a good gateway to buying organic because conventional produce is generally exposed to a higher level of pesticides and starting with organic produce would best benefit the buyer, Carter said.

But in 2002, the USDA’s undersecretary for food safety warned that organic foods’ lack of preservatives makes them vulnerable to bacteria and parasites, according to a report by the Food Marketing Institute, available on the Food and Drug Administration Web site.

Carter dismisses claims of increased danger from organic foods because they are held to the same inspection standards as the regular food in the supermarket.

“In fact, most of the recalls we’ve had over the years have not been on organics,” Carter said. “They’re conventional.”

The biggest problem with organic foods is they often come from farms far away and, without the preservatives of conventional foods, might spoil sooner.

Research doesn’t support that organics contain any more nutrients than conventional foods, so it comes down to a personal choice, Carter said.

And people like Chizinski aren’t phased.

“It depends on the individual person and the kind of lifestyle they live,” she said.

Source: http://lubbockonline.com/stories/011009/liv_375755891.shtml