Why organic foods are better for you

16th November 2016 Lenka Pagan

Over the next few weeks, I would like to share in a little more detail, why organic food is important for your health.

Pesticides and their impact on our health

If you’ve read my story, you will know that I used to live on an unhealthy diet, and unfortunately I paid a high price – I became very ill and nearly lost my life. It was whilst I was in hospital that I promised myself that I’d better look after my health from now on and that I never wanted to end up ill again… that was over 13 years ago and I have kept my promise. 🙂

Feeding our body with healthy foods is an important factor in leading a healthy life. However, many people are still confused as to what ‘healthy’ food is.

When it comes to fresh fruits and vegetables, they are not only tasty but also packed with live enzymes, vitamins, minerals and fibre to nourish your body. They are essential to our health as they strengthen our immune system thus protecting us against many diseases.

Unfortunately, they can also contain toxins such as herbicides, pesticides or fungicides that are harmful to our health. Our internal organs, such as our liver must work harder to expel those toxins.

Pesticides are bad for your nervous system and can increase the risk of cancer and chronic diseases. Even at low doses, there is an increased risk of becoming overweight and obese. This is due to the hormone disruptors which affect our natural weight-loss chemistry. Pesticides also interfere with the body’s metabolism of vitamin D – they prevent the body from absorbing it properly.

Every year, hundreds of tonnes of toxic pesticides are used in our streets, parks, schools and the open spaces of our towns and cities.

I wanted to know what UK supermarkets were doing about pesticide problems. After a little research, I found this from the Pesticide Action Network UK website:

What we found

Our assessment clearly shows three companies doing the most to address different issues of concern on pesticide use and contamination of food: The Co-operative; Marks & Spencer; and Sainsbury’s. At the other end, Aldi, Lidl and Morrison’s appear to be doing nothing. In the middle, Asda, Somerfield, Tesco and Waitrose are making some efforts but could go a lot further, particularly on removing specific hazardous pesticides from use and reducing residues in their food.

A newly published American study found that those exposed to pesticides are more likely to develop food allergies. Dr Elina Jeschow, author of this scientific study, also claims that food allergies and environmental allergies are increasing significantly.

“Our research shows that high levels of dichlorophenol-containing pesticides can possibly weaken food tolerance in some people, causing food allergy”. Dr. Jeschow

Dichlorophenol is a chemical used in pesticides and weed killers and is present in chlorinated tap water.

So, choose to filter your water! I use bamboo charcoal filters and even use filtered water for cooking.

It is scary what pesticides can do, isn’t it? But don’t worry, there is always a solution to every issue. To minimise your exposure to those toxins, choose to consume a pesticide-free food – organic food.

Eating organic foods is not a luxury – it is how our ancestors used to eat until profit became more important and big business. Harmful pesticides were introduced to increase the profits of these large companies.

Recent research has suggested that the chemicals used in pesticides can even harm the healthy development of children.

Organic food is better for your health and our environment. Choose organic to ensure that your children have a healthier future and help to save our planet!

Next week: I’ll share the top 12 most contaminated fruits and vegetables…