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The benefits of eating organic
Why it's important to choose organic from the start
Sandy Nicholson
When babies first start eating solid foods, there seem to be endless possibilities of what to offer them, but it's important that parents stick to organically or sustainably grown foods from rich and healthy soils early on in their child's life. Because babies' organs are growing, the purest foods possible are always best. Babies eat more than adults, pound per pound, and they are more vulnerable to toxins. Organic fruits and veggies have been grown without pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers, and organic meats have been raised without the use of hormones or antibiotics. The less fillers and preservatives added to your child's food in its preparation phases, the fewer toxins and contaminants that will get transferred into his or her growing body, hence the importance to stick to real food!
When you head to the supermarket, your best bet is to stock up on sustainably & locally grown or organic – fresh fruits and vegetables that haven't been altered in any way. Organic is best, but if you can't afford to buy everything organic, stick to the rule of the “dirty dozen.” These are 12 fruits and vegetables that you should try to buy organic, while others aren't so bad to buy non-organic. The important part is the skin. Fruits and veggies with thin skins that you eat – like apples, peaches, plums, and berries – are more susceptible to contamination from pesticides. The same goes for veggies with high water content, like cucumber and celery. On the other hand, thick-skinned fruits and veggies, whose skin you don't eat (like pineapples, avocados, and bananas), aren't so bad if you go for the non-organic option.
When it comes to packaged food, while there are organic options, you should always check the label. Some organic foods still have fillers – extra ingredients your body doesn't need. Stick to the most natural and real ingredients you can find with the no fillers and as little alteration as possible. The most your food should be transformed from its natural state is by you, in your own kitchen using fresh herbs, healthy oils and steaming, blending or shredding!
Everybody should eat food that hasn't been contaminated, because the toxins harm our bodies, but it's most important for young children to eat organic because their organs are still growing. You may not see the effects of processed, unnatural foods in the short-term, but they will affect your kids in the long term.
Lulu Cohen-Farnell is the president and founder of Real Food for Real Kids
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What do you think?
Lulu Cohen- Farnell says ....
Hi there,
Lulu here. While I don't think comments like the one above are helpful to the discussion about the benefits of eating organic, I'll address the author's concerns.
You're right that it's impossible to find local produce 12 months of the year in Canada (without either canning/ preserving foods, or limiting your variety). Some foods we can never buy locally (bananas and oranges, for example), but we still include them as part of a varied diet. We're transparent about what we can and cannot do, which is why we don't speak in absolutes (as in "all organic" or "all local"). We engage our community in conversations about what they can expect (ie. which items will always be local, and which will be seasonally local). The same holds for organic (some foods will always be organic, some only when it's available to us at a price childcare centres can afford). We don't see how this is misleading.
As for the comments on the nutritional value of our menu (high starch?), we respectfully disagree. Those in the know understand that we're required to meet nutritional criteria set out by provincial law. But quite frankly, I believe the bar is set too low, so we go the extra mile through both our ingredient selection and cooking practices.
What the author of the comment demonstrates is the need to dig deeper and have open conversations with your grocer, farmers' market vendor, or food service provider (if you have one). We hope that this is something everyone can get behind.
Healthfully yours,
lulu
atthepost2 says ....
This lady is so so funny. Here she states about consuming organic but her own company misleads her customers in thinking that use organic items on their menu. If you look closely at her website or her menus they say such arrogant things such as may contain organic or could contain organic or the best organic content whenever possible.
She also preaches about using local content but when have you heard about items such as fruits from here being available in January or vegetables. What do think she does, where do you think she gets it from. The same imported people everyone else does.
But the best is the way this company preaches healthy when most of their menu items are loaded with starchy items. Not organic and not locally grown.
Come on people.....WAKE UP. Today's parent should be ashamed of an article like. It is misleading.