With the rise in demand for healthier natural and organic products, suppliers are scrambling to meet consumers’ needs. Many people are making shift in their daily routines, from diet to alternative transportation. Organic living is an amazing way to do right by yourself and your planet. However, the full benefit of living organic isn’t attained by many, as the availability and prices often hinders the overall goal.

Changing our habits is a difficult task, but doing something new for thirty days helps to solidify the habit in our mind. Additionally, this is an appropriate amount of time to see real changes occur in our lives, reaching beyond the honeymoon phase or placebo effect sudden shifts in lifestyle seem to create. Try living a fully organic lifestyle for 30 days, by changing these 5 key areas of your diet and recreation. You will certainly see and feel a difference in a variety of ways.

Dairy Products

Switching to organic dairy products reduces the amount of hormones and preservatives you take into your body. Why put processed oil and byproducts into your body when can have real milk and cheeses without all of the extra harmful additives. The cattle that produce these products are also not harm by overloading them with unnatural hormones simply to boost production.

Organic Meat

Living organic doesn’t mean you have to become a vegetarian. If you must eat meat, buy organic. As with the dairy products, hormones are not used to plump up the livestock, and the animals are fed organic grains and grasses, not anything unnatural or chemical-laden. Many great organic meats are available at a variety of chains and local markets around the country.

Organic Produce

Organic fruits and vegetable are available now more than ever in supermarkets around the country. These staples of our daily diet are grown without harmful pesticides and fertilizers, and the growers of these products are committed to sustainable growing practices. Help make a difference in your own health and the health of Mother Earth by supporting these companies and individuals.

Organic Packaged Products

If you are trying to make excuses as to why you can’t witch to organic products, it’s no use. Many pre-packaged snacks and other products are now available in organic versions in stores across the country. Even frozen organic vegetables are available as alternatives when you can’t find the fresh produce in your stores. Look around for organic potato chips, nutrition bars, and juices, among many other things.

Organic Beer and Wine

Thought we had missed out on this one? Unwind at the end of the day or week with a bottled of organic wine or beer. Made from 100% organic ingredients and environmentally sensitive bottling and sealing practices, these beverages are made to taste great, all while keeping any extraneous chemicals from getting into your body in the process.

This post was contributed by Kelly Kilpatrick, who writes on the subject of nursing schools online. She invites your feedback at kellykilpatrick24 at gmail dot com.

How smart is Popeye?

Smarter than you think. Popeye attributes his amazing strength to eating spinach but he is also protecting himself against osteoporosis, heart disease, colon cancer and arthritis. The Journal of Nutrition recently published a report that spinach fights prostate cancer while The Nurses Health Study reveals women whose diets are high in kaempferol, a nutrient in spinach, have a 40 percent less risk of ovarian cancer.

Spinach, like other leafy green vegetables, provides more nutrients than most other foods. Vitamin C and Vitamin A, two nutrients in spinach, are important antioxidants that work to reduce free radicals in the body known to cause blocked arteries, heart attacks, or strokes. Spinach’s Vitamin K promotes bone health. Add the iron and calcium and you have the mighty spinach. Make your spinach organic and you even increase the healthy nutrients of the mighty spinach. According to a study by Rutgers University comparing conventionally grown spinach with organic spinach, organic spinach has 97 percent more iron and 99 percent more manganese than conventionally grown spinach. Many of the essential trace elements that are absent in the conventionally grown spinach are rich in the organic. The United States—notably California and Texas—is one of the largest commercial grower of spinach.. Help the economy and yourself, have organic spinach for dinner.

Organic Spinach Recipe

Jasmati Rice with Spinach

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 large organic sweet onion, chopped
• 1 cup organic frozen mixed vegetables, defrosted
• 1 package of organic spinach, rinsed and dried
• 1 cup uncooked organic Jasmati Rice
• 2 cups of organic chicken broth

Place rice in pan with chicken broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer. Wrap towel around lid. Secure wrapped lid on pan, making sure the cloth does not touch any part of stove top. Simmer rice for 20 to 25 minutes or until all broth is absorbed and rice is slightly dry. Turn off heat but keep pan on burner. Remove wrapped lid.

Sauté onion in olive oil for 2 minutes. Add mixed vegetables and spinach. Continue to sauté for 3 to 5 minutes. Add rice to large bowl. Add spinach mixture and stir well.
Serve Jasmati Rice and Spinach with sliced tomatoes on the side. Tomatoes help the body absorb the iron in spinach.
Sandy Powers
www.organicforhealthsite.com

Hormones are injected into cattle and sheep to promote weight gain in the animals. The faster they gain weight, the faster it reduces the waiting time for the animals’ slaughter, therefore speeding the meat to the dinner table and maximizing profits.

Dairy cows are injected with hormones to boost their production of milk. This increase in milk production requires frequent milking of dairy cows, which in turn leads to udder irritations and infections that require treatment with antibiotics. Since the infections don’t always completely clear up, the American Food and Drug Administration (FDA) permits a certain amount of pus to remain in the milk. This is the same agency that permitted synthetic estrogens (DES) to be used to increase the size of cattle and chickens in the early 1950’s. When DES was found to cause cancer, it was phased out in the late 1970’s only to be replaced by other steroid hormones.

According to a report by Cornell University, there are six different kinds of steroid hormones that are currently approved by the FDA for use in food production: estradiol and progesterone which are natural female sex hormones; testosterone, the natural male sex hormone; zeranol, trenbolone acetate and melengesterol acetate which are synthetic growth promoters (chemicals that make animals grow faster.) And, let’s not forget the protein hormone rbGH to increase milk production in dairy cattle.

Do These Hormones Affect Our Health?

Independent studies have been conducted to determine the effect of these hormones added to our food, and how they affect our overall health. Scientists at the FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine have reviewed the studies submitted by the manufacturers of rbGH, the hormone given to dairy cattle. Based on the reports by the manufacturers, the FDA concluded rbGH does not affect human health. The FDA does not mention any independent studies in reaching this conclusion.

Doctors recognize girls are maturing earlier than ever. According to research from the University of North Carolina, girls are entering puberty as young as eight years old. Several research studies from other universities indicate boys are experiencing decreases in sperm count. Lifetime exposure to estrogen as well as other hormones are known to increase the risk of breast cancer and may account for decrease in sperm count. Bacteria are becoming immune to antibiotics’ fighting properties. Researchers are concerned cancers, cardiovascular diseases, and hyperactivity in children are exacerbated by the chemicals in our conventionally produced food. These are the outgrowths of the Cumulative Effect.

How can we combat the disastrous consequences of the Cumulative Effect that is affecting the health and welfare of our families? We must eliminate the added hormones and antibiotics from our diet. The three most commonly eaten foods with the highest concentrations of added hormones and antibiotics are milk, chicken, and eggs. Switching to organics for these three foods are the best first choices to removing these damaging additives in our children’s diet.

It is essential that each one of us as parents and consumers stop the out reaching impact the Cumulative Effect is having on our children’s health. Their well being is dependent upon our actions.

Sandy Powers
www.organicforhealthsite.com

A new study out of the University of California at San Francisco, and published in the American Journal of Epidemiology has shown that in eating a diet that is high in fiber rich foods and whole grains, a person has the chance to lower their risk of pancreatic cancer.

Each year in the United States of America, over 37,000 people are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and just over 34,000 people die from it. In Europe, that number is even higher, with 60,000 people diagnosed each year. Pancreatic cancer is a malignant tumor of the pancreas, an organ in the digestive system.

“There is a possibility that diet can affect one’s risk of pancreatic, as well as other cancers,” researcher June M. Chan said, “and that eating a diet rich in a wide variety of grains is likely to not only help in the prevention of diabetes and heart disease, but also this very deadly cancer.”

University of California researchers examined the grain intake of 2,233 San Franciscans, who were relatively similar in age, body weight and gender distribution. However of the number, 532 had already been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and were also detailed as being more likely to be smokers.

In their research they found that those they surveyed who ate two or more servings of whole grains per day were 40% less likely to suffer from pancreatic cancer, than those who ate less than two servings per day. Likewise, but focusing more on fiber, they found that those who ate 26.5 grams or more fiber daily were 35% less likely of contracting pancreatic cancer.

Whole grains are cereal grains that retain their levels of bran, germ and endosperm, compared to refined grains which only retain the latter. Spend any amount of time in front of a television, and you will no doubt be told that eating a healthy breakfast of bran is good for your digestive track and healthy living.

In fact, you will probably have already encountered health advice along these lines. Eating whole-wheat bread or brown rice, compared to their “white” relatives, is good advice, to say the least.

The researchers believe that there seems to be a fundamental misunderstanding of what is good and bad for you. They found that those who ate two or more servings per week of donuts or cooked breakfast cereals, were more likely to contract pancreatic cancer than those who ate less than one serving per month. They speculate that many are simply unable to distinguish between the above mentioned whole grain and refined grain breakfast cereals. Subsequently, this misunderstanding could be a clue as to why their findings appeared as they did.

“The risk reductions associated with some whole grain foods and fiber provide general support for the hypothesis that whole grains are better than more refined and sweetened grains for pancreatic cancer prevention,” Chan said.

Other Foods High in Fiber

Whole grains are a great source for fiber, but there are many other foods that you can implement into your diet to provide you with beneficial fiber. Fruits and vegetables are a great source of fiber. The skins of apples, and many other fruits, contain a large amount of fiber. Nuts like almonds, pecans and cashews are full of fiber, as well as many essential fatty acids & Omega-3’s.

Related Articles

When you go to the grocery store, you may notice that virtually every product, from produce to meat, all have a “healthier” alternative, and usually, these alternatives have the word “Organic” printed somewhere on the product. But what does this mean? How does organic foods benefit you and your family?

So, Why are Organic Food’s Beneficial to our Health?

The below set of videos were produced by Nutrition By Natalie. She explains quite well, why we should ALL make the switch to Organic Foods.

While everybody’s opinion and perspective on organic foods may be slightly different, the above video’s make some pretty good points about “Why” & “How” organic foods are healthier. You may be reluctant to make the switch to organic foods, but it could make a long-term difference to the health of you and your family.

Here’s a really good article about The Dangers of Genetically Modified Foods.

The benefits of red wine have been debated for several years. For the most part, the reports that you might read about red wine as it relates to our health are not conflicting. Through scientific research and clinical studies, it has come to be generally accepted that, when consumed in moderate amounts, red wine can offer us quite a few health benefits.

If you are a fan of red wine, such news is certainly cause for celebration!

How Much Red Wine Should I Drink?

The key, of course, is to exercise caution when consuming red wine. Just because red wine consumption possesses some health benefits, it does not mean that you should drink as much red wine as you possibly can. For women, 1-2 glasses of red wine per day is considered to be a moderate amount. For men, 3-4 glasses of red wine per day is more than sufficient.

The Benefits of Red Wine

One reason that red wine has been examined so closely by health professionals, is because of the “French Paradox.” There are areas of France where the overall consumption of saturated fats is much higher than the typical American diet.

Not only are the French diets higher in saturated fats, the French also typically drink several glasses of red wine on a daily basis. Despite this, there are significantly less instances of heart attacks and cardiovascular disease among the French. Why would that be so unless there is something about red wine that provides health benefits? This question led researchers to discover the antioxidant properties in red wine, particularly French red wines.

You may already know a few of the benefits of antioxidants for slowing the oxidation process in the body, which helps to deter many significantly harmful illnesses. The benefits of the antioxidants in some red wines may surprise you, too.

For example, did you know that red wine can help reduce the harmful effects of food poisoning? Red wine contains properties that help to rid the body of toxins, which can also be beneficial for reducing the effects of dysentery & diarrhea.

What Exactly is in Red Wine?

The primary antioxidant found in red wine is called resveratrol. Resveratrol is found in the seeds and skins of processed and fermented grapes. Because of the process that red wines are put through during processing, they have higher resveratrol levels than other wines. Resveratrol can also be found in peanuts, cranberries, and blueberries.

It has been suggested that drinking purple grape juice and non-alcoholic red wine offer similar or equal benefits as red wine consumption. Further research is required before a conclusive determination can be made regarding the resveratrol content (and health benefits) of purple grape juice.

Which Red Wines Offer You the Most Benefits?

According to researchers at the University of California-Davis, the highest concentrations of flavonoids (including resveratrol) can be found in Cabernet Sauvignon. Two other red wines offering high levels of these beneficial antioxidants are Petit Syrah and Pinot Noir.

Merlots & Red Sinfandels have significantly fewer flavonoids than these three red wines. White wines have even smaller amounts of them. A good rule of thumb to remember is the sweeter the wine, the fewer the flavonoids.

Red wine consumption is not appropriate for everyone. Health professionals only recommend that people with a clean bill of health drink red wine or any other type of alcohol. In fact, there are many health problems that can occur from the overuse of red wine & alcohol. Not to mention that certain medications can not mix with alcohol.