As more people become aware of all of the toxic chemicals that our food is riddled with there is a huge movement towards eating organic. There are numerous studies showing the detrimental effects of these artificial pesticides, additives, fertilizers, hormones and genetic modifications:
Acute toxicity: Even after single doses the pesticides and other chemicals that remain in our food are proven to cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, skin/eye irritations, headaches, sore throats and birth defects.
Long term toxicity: Long term exposure has been linked to a number of long term health defects including Parkinson’s disease; asthma; depression and anxiety and attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Carcinogenic: Bayer-Monsanto recently had to settle lawsuits for $10.9Billion after it was established that the world's most commonly used week-killer, glyphosate, causes cancer. Studies have shown links between a number of pesticides and types of cancer including leukaemia, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, ovarian cancer, prostate and testicular cancer.
Endocrine Disruptors: A number of the chemicals that are added to our foods are also classified as endocrine disruptors - meaning that they interfere with hormones and hormones balances. The effects that are seen can include reduced fertility, early puberty, genital malformations, ovarian cysts, increased birth defects, neurological disorders, diabetes, obesity, hyper and hypo-thyroidism.
Avoiding this myriad of health problems are not the only reason to buy organic, there is also the increased nutrition you get from non-GMO foods. A lot of fruit and vegetables have been genetically modified to produce large, attractive looking fruit with a long shelf-life but reduced levels of nutrition. Studies have frequently shown higher levels of antioxidants, vitamins and minerals in organic food as well as a reduced level of toxic heavy metals.
See our post here on the best ways to eat organic without breaking the bank.
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