A wise choice

Going organic in nutritional terms has never been more important. Eating as much organic food as possible in your daily diet is the best possible health protection you can get. But what exactly do we mean by the term ‘organic’? Before going further it is important to define this and it can be done as follows.

Organic food avoids synthetic pesticides, the routine use of antibiotics and genetically modified ingredients.

For fresh food, ‘organic’ usually means:

1. produced without synthetic chemicals (eg. fertilisers, pesticides, antibiotics, hormones)
2. free of genetically modified organisms
3. (often, but not necessarily) locally grown

For processed organic food, the general definition is:

1. contains only (or at least a certain specified percentage of) organic ingredients
2. contains no artificial food additives
3. processed without artificial methods, materials and conditions (eg: no chemical ripening).

A question that often gets asked and is highly disputed is : "Is organic food better?". I would say absolutely yes and here’s why. Organic produce is not covered in a cocktail of poisonous chemicals. The average conventionally-grown apple has 20-30 artificial poisons on its skin, even after rinsing. Fresh organic produce contains on average 50% more vitamins, minerals, enzymes and other micro-nutrients than intensively farmed produce and it is the only practical way to avoid eating genetically modified (GM) food. If you eat dairy or meat products, going organic has never been more essential to safeguard you and your family's health. Intensively-reared dairy cows and farm animals are fed a dangerous cocktail of anti-biotics, growth promoting drugs, anti-parasite drugs and many other medicines on a daily basis, whether they have an illness or not.

These drugs are passed directly onto the consumers of their dairy produce or meat, which must be a contributing factor to meat-related diseases like coronaries and high blood pressure. Food additives can trigger asthma, eczema and hyperactive behaviour in children. Other food chemicals could be detrimental to your health and that of your family. But if those weren’t enough reasons to go organic consider this. Organic farming is good for wildlife and the environment as it causes lower pollution from sprays, produces less carbon dioxide - the main global warming gas - and less dangerous wastes. So now you can do something positive for your health and for the environment at the same time.

I am a qualified nutritional therapist with my own practice in Biot. I am passionate about all aspects of natural health and will work with you to fnd the best régime to suit your lifestyle. I hope these pages will be of some help to you and you can always contact me for a personal consultation. If you are a registered member you can also see my Workshop entry here on The Riviera Woman. To make an appointment please call +33 (0)6 08 77 81 58 or go to www.nutritionaltherapy.biz