Bodies By M.E.

It’s easy to have faith in yourself and have discipline when you’re a winner, when you’re number one. What you got to have is faith and discipline when you’re not a winner.
Vince Lombardi

when is it worth it to buy organic?
If you choose to buy organic, you’ll want to know how to get the most for your grocery dollar.It will pay most to buy organic if you choose:

Foods that, when produced conventionally, contain a lot of pesticides.
The USDA tests fruits and vegetables, analyzing the number of pesticides on each sample. The 12 with the most pesticides, according to an Environmental Working Group analysis, are: peaches, apples, sweet bell peppers, celery, nectarines, strawberries, cherries, pears, imported grapes, spinach, lettuce and potatoes.

Foods that you eat most frequently or in great quantities.
If your favorite fruits or vegetables contain a lot of pesticides when produced conventionally, and you eat them often, consider seeking out organic versions when possible.

Foods eaten by pregnant women and children under age three.
“During pregnancy and the first three years of life when the brain and organs are developing, kids are more susceptible to carcinogens, neurotoxins and hormonal disrupters,” says Greene.

It doesn’t pay to buy organic when:
You’re buying foods already low in pesticides.
USDA tests show that the 12 fruits and vegetables with the fewest pesticide residues are: onions, avocados, frozen sweet corn, pineapples, mangos, asparagus, frozen sweet peas, kiwi, bananas, cabbage, broccoli and papaya.

It’s a food you don’t eat often.
Foods you consume only on rare occasions may be of less concern than those you have frequently or in large quantities.

You know where the food comes from and how it’s grown.
If you buy food at a farmer’s market, ask how they raise their crops. Foods grown locally and consumed in season (peaches in summer, apples in the fall, for example) also tend to have fewer pesticides, Greene says.

You’re buying fish.
There are currently no USDA standards for fish. So if a fish is labeled “organic” there’s no guarantee that it actually is.

While the USDA makes no claims that organic foods are safer, more nutritious or better in any way than conventional foods, some differences do exist. Studies show that some organic foods are higher in antioxidants than their conventional counterparts. “On average, when you look at foods that have been tested, organic foods are about 30 percent higher in antioxidants than conventional foods grown in the same area and picked on the same day,” says Alan Greene, MD, a pediatrician at Stanford University’s Lucille Packard Children’s Hospital.

For example, USDA researchers found that the three brands of organic ketchup they tested had 55 percent more of the antioxidant lycopene than the non-organic brands they bought. One had double the amounts. At the University of Washington, ongoing studies show that organic strawberries have more vitamin C and antioxidants—and are sweeter—than conventional.

Another benefit of eating a diet of organic foods is that it may result in lower amounts of pesticides in your body. “Reducing exposure to pesticide and herbicide residues is always a desirable feature when choosing foods,” says Jamie Stang, PhD, MPH, RD, Assistant Professor, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota. According to a University of Washington study, when a group of school kids switched to a diet of organically grown foods, the amount of pesticide residues in their urine dropped to undetectable levels. Then they went back on their regular diets. “The levels of pesticides shot right up above EPA safety levels,” says Greene.

Obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.~Michael Jordan

What does organic mean?

The USDA is in charge of making sure that foods with the organic label meet the following guidelines:

• Produce must be grown without man-made pesticide, fertilizers, sewage sludge or irradiation.
• Produce must be grown from seeds that have not been genetically modified.
• Animals that are raised organically, including milking cows and egg- laying chickens, must eat organic feed, must not receive antibiotics, and must have access to the out doors.
• Grains must be grown without use of toxic and persistent pesticides, fertilizers without artificial preservatives, irradiation or genetic engineering.
• Processed /packaged foods labeled “100% organic” must contain all organically produced ingredients, including no artificial sweeteners, such as high fructose corn syrup, or trans fat.
• Processed /packaged foods labeled “organic” must contain 95% percent organic ingredients; remaining ingredients must be approved for use in organic products.
• Processed/ packaged foods labeled “made with organic ingredients” must contain 70% percent organic ingredients.

I hope this clarifies what organic really means and educates you so that you are eating as healthy as you intend to.

10 Reasons to Eat Local Food

by Jennifer Maiser

Eating local means more for the local economy. According to a study by the New Economics Foundation in London, a dollar spent locally generates twice as much income for the local economy. When businesses are not owned locally, money leaves the community at every transaction. (reference)

Locally grown produce is fresher. While produce that is purchased in the supermarket or a big-box store has been in transit or cold-stored for days or weeks, produce that you purchase at your local farmer’s market has often been picked within 24 hours of your purchase. This freshness not only affects the taste of your food, but the nutritional value which declines with time.

Local food just plain tastes better. Ever tried a tomato that was picked within 24 hours? ‘Nuff said.

Locally grown fruits and vegetables have longer to ripen. Because the produce will be handled less, locally grown fruit does not have to be “rugged” or to stand up to the rigors of shipping. This means that you are going to be getting peaches so ripe that they fall apart as you eat them, figs that would have been smashed to bits if they were sold using traditional methods, and melons that were allowed to ripen until the last possible minute on the vine.

Eating local is better for air quality and pollution than eating organic. In a March 2005 study by the journal Food Policy, it was found that the miles that organic food often travels to our plate creates environmental damage that outweighs the benefit of buying organic. (reference)

Buying local food keeps us in touch with the seasons. By eating with the seasons, we are eating foods when they are at their peak taste, are the most abundant, and the least expensive.

Buying locally grown food is fodder for a wonderful story. Whether it’s the farmer who brings local apples to market or the baker who makes local bread, knowing part of the story about your food is such a powerful part of enjoying a meal.

Eating local protects us from bio-terrorism. Food with less distance to travel from farm to plate has less susceptibility to harmful contamination. (reference)

Local food translates to more variety. When a farmer is producing food that will not travel a long distance, will have a shorter shelf life, and does not have a high-yield demand, the farmer is free to try small crops of various fruits and vegetables that would probably never make it to a large supermarket. Supermarkets are interested in selling “Name brand” fruit: Romaine Lettuce, Red Delicious Apples, Russet Potatoes. Local producers often play with their crops from year to year, trying out Little Gem Lettuce, Senshu Apples, and Chieftain Potatoes.

Supporting local providers supports responsible land development. When you buy local, you give those with local open space – farms and pastures – an economic reason to stay open and undeveloped.

Download a printable version (pdf) of this guide.

Originally published by Life Begins at 30, August 2005. Published with permission.

Posted on Apr 08, 2006 at 10:02 PM in Authors: Jennifer Maiser, Why Eat Local | Permalink

If you happen to be a fan of the 100 calorie snack bags you should re-think you choices. If you need to lose a few pounds, restricting calories will get the job done. The problem with the 100 calorie snack bag is they don’t fill you up and give you that satisfied feeling that we are all craving.

Here is the trick: Find a high volume, low calorie snack that you love and satiates you. My favorite’s are popcorn (air popped), raw veggies with low fat, low cal dip, and a hearty vegetable soup. These choices happen to be high in fiber (which is why they fill you up) and low in calories. It’s a nutritional bargain.

Every snack should have a purpose. It should either rehydrate you, aid in recovery from exercise, shore up nutrient gaps in your diet or a combination of all these. If your snack is not fulfilling any of these, ditch it.

Movement is a medicine for creating change in a person’s physical, emotional, and mental states. ~Carol Welch

A growing body of research over the last 10 years substantiates that physical activity and exercise improves psychological well-being. These investigations suggest that individuals with improved levels of fitness are capable of handling stress more effectively than those who are less conditioned, inversely ,higher levels of fitness is also associated with less stress.

The method of exercise that benefits stress reduction is cardiovascular exercise performed at a moderate intensity with duration of 20 minutes or more. The specific mechanisms for this benefit is unclear, it seems to be a combination of physiological, biochemical, and psychosocial factors.