Would you invest in your health if you could? BREAKING NEWS: You can! How many times have you heard “you are what you eat”? Would you rather be filled with chemicals and low on nutrients? Or filled with nutrients and low on chemicals? By eating more vegetables and fruits, especially organically grown and close to home, you are investing in your health and longevity. Every food you eat should be for one purpose or another. You can make healthier choices by choosing foods higher in nutrients which have been minimally processed.
Now, a lot of people say that organic foods are too expensive. If that's the case, you should find a better dealer, a produce dealer! AKA farm, CSA, or local market. Prices here will more likely be cheaper than the local “mega-mart” and the money you are spending will stay right there in your community. Do you still think it is too expensive? Try spending less money on clothes, excessive cell phone and/or cable bills, dining out, car payments, and even gas. Are these more important than your nourishment and future? You know the answer. Try to re-prioritize your expenses, and invest in your well-being. Next time you're buying food, think about increasing your ratio of produce:prepared food items. For instance, if you buy 50% fruits and vegetables, and 50% canned goods, frozen meals, or boxed items, try to make it 70% : 30%, or even 85%:15%…your body (and waistline) will thank you!
Top 10 Reasons for Eating Local*
1. Eating local eliminates the middleman.
2. Eating local saves on transportation.
3. Eating local improves food quality.
4. Eating local makes at-home eating worth the time and effort.
5. Eating local provides more meaningful food choices.
6. Eating local contributes to a local economy.
7. Eating local helps save farmland.
8. Eating local allows people to reconnect.
9. Eating local restores integrity to the food system.
10.Eating local helps build a sustainable society.
If you don't have access to a farm, CSA, or local market, try buying foods which were grown close to home. Stick to foods grown in the USA, and even try to buy foods grown in states closer to you. The less distance food traveled to get to you, the more nutrients it is likely to have, and the more eco-friendly it is š
Top 10 Reasons to Eat Organic*
1. Reduce the toxic load: keep chemicals out of the air, water, soil, and our bodies.
2. Reduce if not eliminate off farm pollution
3. Protect future generations
4. Build healthy soil
5. Taste better and truer flavor
6. Assist family farmers of all sizes
7. Avoid hasty and poor science in your food
8. Eating with a sense of place
9. Promote biodiversity
10. Celebrate the culture of agriculture
Pay more for fresh fruits and vegetables, and less for medicine
This post was inspired by Food Matters, the movie. http://www.foodmatters.tv/
*http://www.tierramiguelfarm.org/files/CSA%20FAQs.pdf
Marina Bedrossian is a Northport, NY dietitian nutritionist who helps people with holistic nutrition solutions and food sensitivities. VisitĀ this pageĀ to schedule an appointment and donāt forget to join the private Facebook group āIngredients For Healthy FamiliesāĀ more information here.