Organic vs. Non-Organic

As I begin diving deeper into the health and wellness industry trends, I wanted to try and go in small baby steps and help you guys with a starting point. I myself am overwhelmed with just how much I have to tell you, that it was really hard to pick a definitive place to start!  

Top: Lilybod; Bottoms: Lilybod; Watch: Fitbit

When it comes to food, you hear a lot of people, even myself if you have been following me recently, say to eat "clean", but what does that really mean?! When I first heard that phrase "eat clean" I literally thought it just meant to eat clean fruits and vegetables, like do you really think I'm going to eat dirty veggies, of course I clean them!! Little did I know,  the phrase "eat clean" actually meant pesticide, preservative, and GMO free (*insert hand slapping forehead here). It also means avoiding highly refined foods that have ingredients that would take a scientist to pronounce.

So what does Organic even mean? According to Organic.com, "simply stated, organic produce and other ingredients are grown without the use of pesticides, 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."

With that being said, I don't want everyone to go and throw away everything they currently have in their pantries and refrigerators just because it doesn't say "Certified Organic." I also don't want people that don't have access to a grocery store like Whole Foods or other natural grocery stores that you usually find in Urban areas, to feel like you are DOOMED!! One place to start when you begin to look at foods that are Organic or NOT Organic, are knowing when it really matters. Thankfully, there is a website called EWG.org that lets us know each year which produce has the MOST pesticides and which has the least, they are called the "Dirty Dozen" and "Clean Fifteen" which I have listed out for you below in order. I also want to point out that from the report on EWG.org's website, "The USDA found a total of 178 different pesticides and pesticide breakdown products on the thousands of produce samples it analyzed" key findings from that report read,

• More than 98 percent of samples of strawberries, spinach, peaches, nectarines, cherries and apples tested positive for residue of at least one pesticide.
• A single sample of strawberries showed 20 different pesticides.
• Spinach samples had, on average, twice as much pesticide residue by weight than any other crop.

With the clean fifteen, relatively few pesticides were detected on these foods, and tests found low total concentrations of pesticide residues on them.

So, for those of you who have started to look at adding more organic foods into your lifestyle, this is a great place to start in regards to your health and your wallet!!