Should I Buy Organic?

By Barb Minemier, Your Healthy Truth
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​Should I buy organic? This is a question I get asked a lot and it is an important one. But before I answer, I want to share with you a few stats and then share with you what I’ve recently learned, and you can decide for yourself.

• Roughly 80% of all American adults are either overweight or obese.
• 2 million Americans—just over 1 in 10—have diabetes.
• 88 million American adults—approximately 1 in 3—have prediabetes.
• 84 million people have cardiovascular disease. Someone is dying from this disease every 40 seconds.
• Alzheimer’s disease will likely affect 100 million people by 2050.
• Our rates of ADHD have increased by 400% – ADD/ADHD 1 in 8 – In this country we consume 90% of the world’s Ritalin.
• Cases of Autism – in 1975 1 in 5000 – today 1 in 36. Accelerated the fastest after 2012 – at our current rate 1 in 3 by 2035.
• Autoimmune disease has increased 3-fold in 50 years.

​** From Blue Cross Blue Shield- From 2013-2017 there was a 407% increase in the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease in 30–45-year-olds with the average age being 49.
Here’s another question we must ask ourselves –
What is the common denominator that we all share as a people regardless of where we live or our ethnic background?
YES!! OUR FOOD……That said, there are a few things you need to know.
I got an email the other day from The Environmental Working Group (EWG.org) telling me that their scientists found cancer linked Dacthal on nearly 60 percent of kale samples and that’s not all. After thoroughly washing 86 percent of the kale and other leafy greens, they contained questionable levels of toxic pesticides. This cancer-linked pesticide was already banned by the European Union back in 2009, but the EPA has failed to act.
That’s not all. Strawberries are once again at the top of this year’s Dirty Dozen list, taking first place for produce with the highest levels of pesticide residues. Ninety-nine percent of strawberries have pesticide residues, and the EWG found up to 22 different pesticides on a single strawberry!
These are only 2 foods you are reading about – trust me there are many more.
More than 15 percent of U.S. non-organic fruits and vegetables have detectable residues of at least one of the three neonicotinoid insecticides banned by European Union 2018 because of harm to pollinators (bees). For some produce – spinach, potatoes, lettuce, and eggplant – more than half the samples tested have detectable residues.
Neonicotinoids, or “neonics,” have also been detected in the urine of 50 percent of kids ages 3 to 5 in a U.S. sample, and their diet may be a primary route of exposure. At least one in four samples of some of the fruits and vegetables most eaten by American children and adults, like cherries, strawberries, and watermelon, have residues of neonicotinoids that are prohibited for outdoor use in the European Union:  imidacloprid, clothianidin and thiamethoxam.
An EWG analysis of the latest Department of Agriculture tests show that residues of a least one of the three EU-banned neonicotinoid pesticides was also found on more than 40 percent of cauliflower, winter squash, and broccoli and nearly one-third of cherry tomatoes and fresh cherries. Sweet corn, mushrooms, kiwis, avocados, bananas, frozen sweet peas, and sweet potatoes contained no detectable neonics.
Now I’m sure you have a better understanding of where those stats are coming from right?
But wait there’s more….
I was listening to a podcast with Jeffrey Smith, https://www.responsibletechnology.org/, all things GMO, and two pediatricians. They were talking about the uptick in digestive issues in toddlers after GMOs came on the scene in the 1990’s. Things like acid reflux, chronic abdominal pain, constipation alternating with diarrhea, and bloating tummies. Doctors are also seeing mood disorders in young children. When they changed their diets and began eating organic whole foods, they saw results in as little as three days. Glyphosate (pesticide sprayed on our crops) kills our good gut bacteria.
There was a woman who tried to kill herself drinking Glyphosate and what was striking about her case (there was a paper written about her) is that the Glyphosate completely paralyzed her gut. This is an extreme case, but it speaks to the damage this toxin causes to our microbiome.
They even stopped feeding the farm animals GMO feed and the farmers noticed a difference. No more diarrhea – within 1 day.
You can listen to the full podcast on your podcast app.
Live Healthy Be Well/ #126. Are Digestive Problems Caused by GMO’s and Roundup?
I hear it said a lot that eating organic is so expensive and I will agree it does cost more and so I ask you what is your health worth to you?
I’ve heard it said many times in lectures, “we can either pay now or pay later.” Our choice.
Barb is a Nutrition Coach and can be reached at [email protected]