10 REASONS TO GO ORGANIC

(By: Lennard M. Gettz & Colleen Katju)
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Organic food is mainly produced by biological, cultural, and mechanical practices that are carried out by recycling already existing nutrients. Organic farming practices differ widely all across the world, but every organic product must have at least 95 percent of organic compounds as per the standards. Pesticides and chemical fertilizers are completely forbidden for the production of organic food, hence the term organic (Winter & Davis, 2006). Now, let’s take a look at the benefits of organic food and why they should be preferred over non organic food.

Benefits of Organic Food / No Chemicals: Eating organic food means no chemical, pesticides, or fertilizers make it to your daily diet. Organic food does not contain any harmful poisons or chemicals present in fertilizers used for the growth of conventional food items (CABI, 2008).

Highly Nutritious: Organic food is highly nutritious since it contains all the nutrients like enzymes, minerals, (phosphorous, iron, magnesium), vitamins, and other micronutrients. A research conducted by the Journal of Alternative and Complimentary Medicine presented that grains, vegetables and fruits grown organically contain more nutrients as compared to conventional foods (Worthington, 2001).

Better Taste: If you try organic food then you will notice a change in taste from processed food. It is speculated that organic food tastes better due to lack of any nitrogenous fertilizers during their growth. These fertilizers increase the amount of water uptake by the plants hence increasing their size but decreasing their taste value (Lipson, 2001).

Avoidance of Genetically Engineered (GE) Foods and Organisms: Eating organic food is the only way to avoid GE food and organisms. GE food has modified DNA i.e. they contain high amounts of chemicals, hormones or drugs which modify their structure, taste, size, and nutrient content. Now, if you take these foods you will be taking a high quantity of all the drugs and other chemicals (Lyons, Lockie & Lawrence, 2001).

Avoidance of Hormones, Drugs, and Antibiotics from Animal Products:  Hormones, drugs, and antibiotics are found in high quantities in conventionally produced dairy and meat products. These chemicals are used as a part of the animals daily feed. In turn, these chemicals can cause infertility, tumors and other diseases (Morgan & Murdoch, 2000).

Environment Friendly: Organic food is environment friendly, since it is produced without any pesticides, chemicals, and fertilizers. This way, organic food does not destroy or kill other animals or plants grown on the farm (Andersson & Skakkebaek, 1999).

Less Pollution and Ecosystem Preservation: Continuous recycling of nutrients occurs due to crop rotations and the absence of chemicals preserves the ecosystem. Insects, wildlife animals, frogs, soil organisms and birds are not damaged in anyway; hence the ecosystem is protected from any damage (Cooper, Leifert & Niggli, 2007). 

 Improved Quality of Drinking Water: Irrigation water used for the production of general crops contains high amounts of chemicals which can go downstream into lakes and rivers. This water is then consumed by you and can make you sick with different diseases. Organic foods are grown without fertilizers, hence no diseases or sickness (Hart & Pimentel, 2002).

Preservation of Agricultural Diversity: Conventional farming has led to the loss of around 75 percent of the originally existing crops (Diouf, 2004). This can be avoided by organic farming where all species of crops can be grown and natural diversity can be preserved.

Preserving the Future:  By eating organic foods you will be investing in such an industry which will benefit not only you but your future generations as well. Increase in the production of organic foods will benefit the organic food industry and improve the future as well.

For more information about the topic in this article, please visit http://www.phountainmedia.com. The Phountain Lifestyle and all written materials are copyright©2015 Phountain Franchise Inc. All Rights Reserved.

 
References

Andersson, A. M., & Skakkebaek, N. E. (1999). Exposure to exogenous estrogens in food: possible impact on human development and health.European Journal of Endocrinology, 140(6), 477-485.

CABI. (2008). Health Benefits of Organic Food: Effects of the Environment

Cooper, J., Leifert, C., & Niggli, U. (Eds.). (2007). Handbook of organic food safety and quality. Elsevier.

Diouf, J., (2004). Director of Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations. Speech at Howard University of Law.

Hart, K. A., & Pimentel, D. (2002). Environmental and economic costs of pesticide use. Encyclopaedia of pest management. New York: Marcel Dekker, 237-239.

Lipson, E. (2001). The organic foods sourcebook. Contemporary Books.

Lyons, K., Lockie, S., & Lawrence, G. (2001). Consuming ‘green’: the symbolic construction of organic foods. Rural Society, 11(3), 197-210.

Morgan, K., & Murdoch, J. (2000). Organic vs. conventional agriculture: knowledge, power and innovation in the food chain. Geoforum, 31(2), 159-173.

Winter, C. K., & Davis, S. F. (2006). Organic foods. Journal of Food Science,71(9), R117-R124.

Worthington, V. (2001). Nutritional quality of organic versus conventional fruits, vegetables, and grains. The Journal of Alternative & Complementary Medicine,7(2), 161-173.

APPLE CIDER VINEGAR: SUPER FOOD & FERMENTED HEALTH TONIC

By: Gillian Messina & Patrick Cooley

History of Apple Cider Vinegar: The use of vinegar as a preservative and healing agent dates back 5,000 years. The Babylonians used it as a pickling agent and made vinegar from fruits, vegetables and dates. Egyptian vases and urns have also been found with some residual vinegar preserved. In 1200 BC, the first book in recorded history on the uses of vinegar as a healing agent was written in China. The father of medicine, Hippocrates, created his own blend of apple cider vinegar (AVC) in 400 BC together with honey, and used it for treating cough and cold. The extract is now being used all over world owing to its ever increasing health benefits (Rose, 2006).

Major Healing Qualities and Health Properties:  A number of health benefits and healing qualities of AVC have been reported over the years, many of which have been proven by scientific research. Now let’s have a look at the most commonly reported benefits of the AVC.

1.     Weight loss: Research studies have indicated that AVC can allow you to control your weight by making you feel fuller. We gain weight when our calorie intake is in excess. This can be controlled by the help of ACV tonic, as it allows you to feel satiated for longer (Östman, Granfeldt, Persson & Björck, 2005).

2.     Regulation of Diabetes:  ACV has been reported to treat various symptoms associated with the development and progression of diabetes. Acetic acid found in AVC can control the blood glucose levels and can also increase the insulin sensitivity among diabetes patients (Liatis, et al. 2010).

3.     Cardiovascular Benefits:  AVC can lower the blood pressure and increase absorption of calcium. Factors that can result in fatal ischemic heart disease can also be minimized (Hu, et al. 1999; Kondo, Tayama, Tsukamoto, Ikeda & Yamori, 2001). Still, further research is needed to ascertain AVC’s cardiovascular advantages.

4.     AVC as Disinfectant: AVC acts as a disinfectant and detoxification agent for the urinary system and the gut. This helps restore the excretory and digestive functions of the body to optimal function by eliminating the harmful agents present within the body (Grandics, 2003).

5.     Treatment of Diseases & Illness:  Although studies regarding the treatment of illness via AVC have not scientifically proven any positive results, AVC can allegedly reduce risk of colds, flu and other illnesses by inhibiting the progression of conditions that can trigger any formation of disease (Grandics, 2003).

6.     Treatment of Ear Infections: Diluted form of AVC can also treat ear infections, but the pH of the vinegar in AVC can potentially damage the outer hair cells and cause irritation (Jung, Cho, Yoo, Lim & Chae, 2002).

7.     Treatment of Jelly Fish Sting, Head Lice and Warts:  Instantaneous application of AVC can cure jelly fish sting (Silfen, Vilan, Wohl, & Leviav, 2003), head lice can be killed via AVC as well.  Warts can also be treated to some extent by applying AVC (Conzuelo-Quijada, Rodríguez-Cuevas & Labastida-Almendaro, 2003; Takano-Lee, Edman, Mullens & Clark, 2004).

For more information about the topic in this article, please visit http://www.phountainmedia.com. The Phountain Lifestyle and all written materials are copyright © 2015 Phountain Franchise Inc. All Rights Reserved.

References

Conzuelo-Quijada, A. E., Rodríguez-Cuevas, S. A., & Labastida-Almendaro, S. (2003). Treatment of large lower genital tract condylomata acuminata with local excision plus topical acetic acid. A preliminary study. The Journal of reproductive medicine, 48(7), 506-508.

Hu, F. B., Stampfer, M. J., Manson, J. E., Rimm, E. B., Wolk, A., Colditz, G. A., ... & Willett, W. C. (1999). Dietary intake of α-linolenic acid and risk of fatal ischemic heart disease among women. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 69(5), 890-897.

Johnston, C. S., & Gaas, C. A. (2006). Vinegar: medicinal uses and antiglycemic effect. Medscape General Medicine, 8(2), 61.

Jung, H. H., Cho, S. D., Yoo, C. K., Lim, H. H., & Chae, S. W. (2002). Vinegar treatment in the management of granular myringitis. The Journal of Laryngology & Otology, 116(03), 176-180.

Kondo, S., Tayama, K., Tsukamoto, Y., Ikeda, K., & Yamori, Y. (2001). Antihypertensive effects of acetic acid and vinegar on spontaneously hypertensive rats. Bioscience, biotechnology, and biochemistry, 65(12), 2690-2694.

Liatis, S., Grammatikou, S., Poulia, K. A., Perrea, D., Makrilakis, K., Diakoumopoulou, E., & Katsilambros, N. (2010). Vinegar reduces postprandial hyperglycaemia in patients with type II diabetes when added to a high, but not to a low, glycaemic index meal. European journal of clinical nutrition, 64(7), 727-732.

Östman, E., Granfeldt, Y., Persson, L., & Björck, I. (2005). Vinegar supplementation lowers glucose and insulin responses and increases satiety after a bread meal in healthy subjects. European journal of clinical nutrition,59(9), 983-988.

Rose, V. (2006). Apple Cider Vinegar: History and Folklore-Composition-Medical Research-Medicinal, Cosmetic and Household Uses-Commercial and Home Production. iUniverse.

Silfen, R., Vilan, A., Wohl, I., & Leviav, A. (2003). Mediterranean jellyfish (Rhopilema nomadica) sting. Burns, 29(8), 868-870.

Takano-Lee, M., Edman, J. D., Mullens, B. A., & Clark, J. M. (2004). Home remedies to control head lice: assessment of home remedies to control the human head louse, Pediculus humanus capitis (Anoplura: Pediculidae). Journal of pediatric nursing, 19(6), 393-398.