Growing up I had little chance of developing a habit of eating fresh fruit. My dad would buy an equal amount of apples and oranges and cheese twists, cookies, pop and fruit punch. We children always had a choice of what we wanted, and we always chose the junk food. You know we had a lot of rotten fruit and taste buds spoiled for good nutrition. Over the years I made myself eat fruit; I did love vegetables, though. It took a major health challenge nearly 20 years ago that forced me to enter for the first time a natural health food store and another health issue about 10 years ago that put me on the path to eating organic foods. This is where I plan to stay.

Organic means that “the produce and other ingredients are grown without the use of pesticides and synthetic fertilizers, sewage sludge, genetically modified organisms, or ionizing radiation. Animals that produce meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy products do not take antibiotics or growth hormones” (Organic.org). As a result, you get food closer to the way God intended for it to be. My husband, who is frugal and has historically eaten whatever is given to him, was ready to return to conventionally-grown produce once I completed my nutritional healing plan that included organic produce. When he did, we both noticed that the produce didn’t taste as good as the organic.

Now most of our produce and many products we buy are organic. People wonder if organic foods are more nutritious and otherwise healthier for you than non-organic products. The general consensus among traditional healthcare providers is still out, though some scientists are discovering organic to be better. Researchers at the University of California, Davis, found organic oranges had more Vitamin C and phytochemicals (plant chemicals with protective and disease-preventive properties) than non-organic ones, and those elsewhere found organic produce to be higher in antioxidants. Studies aside, my husband and I reasoned that we’d rather spend the extra money that organic products sometimes cost than to spend it later on healthcare for illnesses we may get from modified foods that were never intended for human consumption.

Eating organic has helped me in two major ways: 1) I desire healthy food. My taste buds now dance instead of dismiss fresh fruit. I now eat better without forcing myself to do so. 2) I detox more fully. When I fast, my body not only dispels old fecal matter but flushes out old toxins without digesting new ones. Click here for other reasons to eat organic.

When I started my journey to organic eating, I didn’t know where to begin. Now there is a ton of information available to help you get started. Be sure to read next week’s Friday Feature where I give you tips on how to select and save money on organic products. In the meantime, check out these websites (Organic.org and Living Maxwell) and let me know what you find. And those of you who have been eating organically, I would love to hear about the benefits you have experienced.

Copyright 2011 by Rhonda J. Smith