The Benefits of Eating Organic Foods: They're Just Better for Your Body

There is a good chance that you have seen an organic food aisle at one of your local grocery stores. In fact, you may have even driven past a farmers market where organic food was sold. Unfortunately, if you are like many other Americans, there is a good chance that you kept right on walking or driving by. This is because many individuals do not eat organic foods.


Despite the fact that organic foods are not consumed by nearly all Americans, they still come highly rated and recommended. In fact, many health conscious individuals swear by them. Many claim that eating organic foods helps to promote lifelong health and happiness. Organic food consumption has increased in popularity over the years and that increase continues to rise at a relatively steady pace. If you are interested in eating organic foods, but if you have never done so before, you may be wondering what the benefits are. If so, please continue reading on.

When it comes to organic foods and their benefits, you will find an unlimited number of benefits. For starters, did you know that organic foods can help the environment? They can and this is a point that many do not take into consideration at first. Farmers who put pesticides in their fields and on their foods, are not only putting consumers at risk, but the environment at risk as well. Depending on which pesticides and other chemicals are used, the soil and other nearby areas can suffer damage. By eating organic foods, you are providing a small, yet still helping hand to help protect the environment.

Another unique benefit to eating organic that many individuals do not think of right away is the assistance that is provided to organic farmers and organic food manufacturers. Right now, the number of organic food manufacturers is quite small and many are small to medium sized businesses. The same can be said for farmers. The decision for many farmers and companies to go organic can be difficult and risky. Therefore, by purchasing organic foods, especially fresh fruits and vegetables, you can take comfort in knowing that you are helping many small to medium sized farmers and organic food companies stay in business.

Organic foods can also help to improve your body and health. In fact, organic foods may be able to help cleanse or detoxify your body from harmful chemicals. When you stop eating foods that are tainted with pesticides and other chemicals, your body will expel the current and remaining toxins from your body. This means that your body should be clean, chemical free, and pesticide free after a specific period of time. Of course, remember that you want to stay healthy. For that reason, if you decide to start eating organic foods, try to stay doing so. If you are a parent, one of the best ways to help ensure that your child has a happy and healthy life is to get them started on eating organic foods as early as possible.

Another one of the many benefits to eating organic foods is the better quality. In fact, many individuals claim that organic food tastes much better. One reason why farmers claim to use potentially harmful pesticides and chemicals is to kill bacteria. While this does sound like a good idea, the bacteria that can be present when fruits and vegetables grow isnt necessarily bad. In fact, some say that it helps to foods grow in a certain way. This, apparently, in turn helps to produce better results, which should better tasting, more natural food.

 
As you can see, there a number of benefits to eating organic foods. In fact, the above mentioned benefits are just a few of the many reasons why organic food should be given a close examination. If you would like more information on organic foods, including the benefits of eating them, consider speaking with a professional healthcare provider, like your doctor. He or she can help you decide if switching to organic foods is the right decision.

Obesity Rate Rises Again After A Pause for Last 5 Years

According to a recent report, Americans are continuing to get fatter and fatter, with obesity rates reaching 30 percent or more in nine states last year, as opposed to only three states in 2007.

This is trend reversal from a study release earlier this year that, obesity rates have remained constant for at least five years among men and for closer to 10 years among women and children.

In the eariler report, Dr. David Ludwig, director of the Optimal Weight for Life Program at Children’s Hospital Boston. suggested that “we’ve reached a biological limit” to how obese people could get. When people eat more, he said, at first they gain weight; then a growing share of the calories go “into maintaining and moving around that excess tissue,” he continued, so that “a population doesn’t keep getting heavier and heavier indefinitely.”

Well, don't celebrate too early. The new study results really confuse and slap the faces of health officials. The revised data show that 2.4 million more people became obese from 2007 to 2009, bringing the total to 72.5 million, or 26.7 percent of the population. The numbers are part of a continuing and ominous trend.
 
The report estimates the medical costs of obesity to be as high as $147 billion a year, and notes that “past efforts and investments to prevent and control obesity have not been adequate.”
 
Researchers blame the usual suspects: too little exercise and too much of the wrong kind of food, which means not enough fruits and vegetables and too many high-calorie meals full of sugar and fat, like French fries, soda and other sweet drinks. Children do not get enough exercise during the school day; Dr. Frieden noted that even in gym classes, students are active for only about a third of the time.
 
So, where do we go from here?!