Should Your Children Be Eating Organic Foods?

Making sure that your children get the nutrients they need is a top priority for parents of young children. But what if supposedly healthy foods such as fresh fruits and vegetables and whole grain products actually expose your little ones to all sorts of toxins and potentially deadly pesticides? Unfortunately, this is the reality of most non-organic foods being sold in today’s market. Pesticides and chemicals have been linked to the growing cancer rates and disease. Your children can’t protect themselves from these risks and need you to do it for them. Here is what you need to know.

Differences between Organic and Non-Organic Foods

There is absolutely no difference between the nutritional value in organic and non-organic items. What does differ is the way they are grown and processed, along with the additional ingredients that these non-organic products often contain.

In order to have the organic label, farmers must adhere to several important FDA guidelines. First is that they do not use any conventional pesticides made with synthetic ingredients on their crops. The only products they can use to control bugs are FDA-approved organic pesticides that pose absolutely no health risks.

Second, is that organic farmers cannot use steroids or antibiotics, which is common practice for their non-organic competition. Organic livestock such as chickens and cows must also be fed organic feed and given access to the outdoors.

Top Organic Foods to Buy

Unfortunately, organic food is expensive. If eating all organic products just isn’t in the budget then you should consider at the very least opting for organic items in the below listed foods that in their non-organic forms are especially laden with toxins and pesticides.

• Milk- organic milk means that the milk comes from organic cows that graze on pesticide-free pasture and are not injected with antibiotics or artificial hormones.
• Potatoes– Unfortunately, even after washing and peeling potatoes, majority of pesticides are still there and with a higher toxin level than almost any other vegetable. By eating organic potatoes you are guaranteeing a pesticide free product for you and your family.
• Apples– The apple ranks highest for pesticide contamination over all other fruits. Eating organic apples will drastically reduce the toxins that enter into your body.
• Baby Food– Babies have sensitive bodies and are especially susceptible to the negative effects of toxins. Help keep their systems clean and prevent unnecessary sickness by opting for organic baby foods.
• Beef– Just like dairy cows are injected with hormones, so are many beef cows. By choosing organic beef you are guaranteeing that your beef has no additional hormones and also that the cows are allowed to graze on pasture, rather than being fed a corn-based diet to quickly fatten them up.