Do You Need To Buy Organic Food?
Organic foods are often better for the environment (due to less intensive farming methods), better for your health (due to less pesticide residue on the food; which can contribute to gut issues like leaky gut, IBS, IBD) but let’s be real organic is generally eye wateringly expensive.
Good news, you don’t need to buy all organic foods. I mean, have you seen the price of an organic avocado?! And it’s tiny!!
Some foods are much higher in pesticide residue than others. Typically, fruit and vegetables with a high water content (like strawberries) are higher in pesticide residue than food that is higher in fat (like avocados).
What Is Meant By Organic Food?
Orangic foods are produced without the use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, or other artificial chemicals (however under organic farming laws natural pesticides can still be used).
The following criteria MUST be met for a food to be labelled ‘organic’:
- Farming practices are more environmentally friendly and sustainable
- Animals must be kept in living conditions that mimic their natural behaviours (e.g be able to graze or run around)
- Produce must not be injected with antibiotics or hormones
- Animals must be fed organic feed or foliage
- Fruits and vegetables must be grown in good quality soil that is free of banned synthetic pesticides (and has been for at least 3 years)
Is Organic Food Really Better?
Just because a food is organic doesn’t mean it is healthy. You can buy organic cane sugar, but it’s still sugar. Similarly, organic produce doesn’t necessarily mean it contains more nutrients. Some studies have found organic foods do contain more nutrients, such as antioxidants or omega 3’s, but overall, there seems to be no significant nutritional difference. In other words, whether you eat a non-organic or organic sweet potato, you’ll still get a high dose of vitamin A.
However, for individuals who are sensitive to pesticides or certain chemicals, or whom experience a chronic health condition such as IBS, IBD, Crohn’s Disease or Ulcerative Colitis organic food many help improve symptoms and reduce flare ups.
Foods You Should Buy Organic (if you can)
As I say in my eBook ‘7 Days of Paleo’, if you can, buy ‘The Dirty Dozen’ organic, and try to buy free range eggs and hormone free grass-fed meat (especially if you have a hormonal imbalance or PCOS).
However, don’t sweat it if you can’t afford to do that. Just buy the best you can afford; organic, non-organic, bargain bin…it’s all good food. Or try and grow your own produce in your garden. I’m currently growing spinach, carrots, courgettes, kalettes, pak choy, leeks and tomatoes.
THE DIRTY DOZEN
Every year the Environmental Working Group (EWG) releases a Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce. It lists the 12 foods that have tested highest for pesticide residue in that year. This is this year’s (2020) list:
- Strawberries
- Spinach
- Kale
- Nectarines
- Apples
- Grapes
- Peaches
- Cherries
- Pears
- Tomatoes
- Celery
- Potatoes
The EWG also publish a list of the 15 foods lowest in pesticide residue (i.e ones you don’t need to buy organic). They are known as…
THE CLEAN 15:
- Avocados
- Sweet corn
- Pineapple
- Onions
- Papaya
- Frozen peas
- Aubergine
- Asparagus
- Cauliflower
- Cantaloupes
- Broccoli
- Mushrooms
- Cabbage
- Honey dew melon
- Kiwi
It’s important to note that although these foods are ‘cleaner’ you still need to check that they’re GMO free as sometime things like corn can be from genetically modified crops.
