Top 10 organic foods to better your diet

There seems to be a continuous debate that is going on about the choice of food consumption amongst population specifically to do with organic food. One often finds oneself wondering if something one sees at a supermarket is organic or not. So what exactly constitutes organic food? According to organic.org organic food or “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.”

~ Source: Organic.org

Hereunder is a list of daily foods for which one must find organic alternatives fit for consumption and alternative places to look for them as well (Such as organic farms perhaps) than to actually buy them from places where they are sold with pesticides and insecticides soaked in them.

1.     Apples – Although almost all apples available at the market have at least 45 different types of pesticides in them, apples from New Zealand (Look for stickers with New Zealand written on them) have just half of the usual pesticides that are used. Safer alternatives to apples that do not go through the tedious pesticide treating process are watermelons, bananas and tangerines.

2.     Dairy – Even if one is budget conscious, consuming dairy products that are organic is a must. Milk, cheese and curd, all products that are used in a day to day basis must be derived from organic sources.

3.    Corn – All those American corn stalls that you find hankering around the road and in fact 90% of corn that is available in supermarkets are genetically modified food (GM Food). One usually finds it in the form of corn sweeteners, starches and oils.

4.    Cucumbers – We all love our cucumbers and why not? Tis one of the foods fit to be consumed during summer. But what we all DON’T know is the fact that eating all those un-pealed cucumbers is not very healthy for our bodies. Cucumbers are cured with at least 86 different types of pesticides and most of it is on the skin. The best way to get rid of the pesticides is to peal the skin off.

5.     Grapes – This purple/green colored delight is not all pure and healthy. Depending on where it is coming from grapes are known to contain at least 15 different types of pesticides in them. Make sure you wash them well before them in.

6.    Meat – Yes! You can well believe it! Even meat contains pesticides. How you ask? Well the feed that cows, goats, chicken and turkey consume contains its own portion of pesticides which triggers hormones and anti-biotics in the animals apart from the already existing pesticides in their body and we consume this very same meat. One should make sure that the origins of the meat are only from organic farms where the farmers are mindful of such things.

7.     Potatoes – The vegetable that almost all Indians are fond of could also contain very large amounts of pesticides and is probably one of the top vegetables to be treated with high amounts of pesticides. One way of consuming these fibre and potassium filled source of energy could be by thoroughly washing them even before getting them pealed. After it has been washed in at least trips of three, make sure to wash it again once it has been pealed as well.

8.     Peas – Peas are found to contain at least 70 different types of pesticides and is labeled as one of the ‘dirtiest produce’. Looking for alternative sources of buying peas that do not include marts is a good option.

9.    Spinach – One of the most nutrient filled green leafy vegetables has now come under the banner due to the fact that it contains at least 48 different pesticides. Unless these Vitamin K and Vitamin A sources are not from an organic form, there is little benefit that these greens can bring except for probably more harm than ever.

10.  Strawberry – The smell and the look of it is enough to draw you in, but these little drops of sweetness could be loaded with pesticides if their sources have not been confirmed. Apart from containing pesticides, strawberries are also known to carry carcinogens (substances that could trigger cancer cells).