By Larry Marragay

Organic and natural food consumers are bombarded with assorted food claiming it is their healthiest option. These days, we are too health conscious and we do not want to subject ourselves on foods exposed and processed on to too much chemicals or pesticides.Usually, if you ask someone to define what a natural food is they would say “um..Natural food is somewhat that does not have lots of chemicals or pesticides in it and just grown naturally,” while on organic side would say,” it is when they are being manufactured or processed without the use of pesticides”.Well they are somehow on the right path as natural and organic term has been used interchangeably. By knowing and understanding them, you have a better control of your health and make you commit to a healthier life as the saying goes,” You are what you eat.” In this article, I will be talking about the benefits of organic food items over the conventional one and will answer the tricky question between the difference of organic and natural foods.

If you are into healthy eating practice adding up some spice of organic foods will make you more successful towards optimum level of health. Organic foods are foods that are developed and manufactured without the use of pesticides, chemical, fertilizers, antibiotic and growth hormone by using natural resources while avoiding pollution, conserving oil and water. There is variety of benefits an organic food has to offer because of the natural environment and the process in which they are grown. While the conventional foods make us prone to disease as we may get possible toxins and chemicals in our body through them. Conventional foods used fertilizer and pesticide, s and all we know pesticides are dangerous to our health. A pesticide used, by conventional means disrupts the human health and the environment. Long term exposure to pesticides will make a gradually make an individual prone to catching up disease and infection such as cancer that will definitely boost down our immune system in the long term.

Every company must pass strict regulation before a product will be out of the market. Only foods that are sealed and labeled ‘’certified 100% organic” by the United States Department of Agriculture or USDA are approved and would definitely worth to buying  for.  Organic food contains a greater amount of vitamins and minerals. In the year 2005, a Social Association study shows that organic cow’s milk contain more nutrients than conventional milk including Omega 3, folic acid, Vitamin A and the antioxidant beta carotene. Experts believe that if the more your children eat organic foods they are less likely expose to pesticides. Due to the rapid demand, conventional method uses chemical fertilizers, farming sprays and chemical herbicides to promote plant growth hence destroying the vitamins and minerals we need. In terms of animal racing, conventional methods use additional hormone and antibiotics for disease prevention and growth. For instance, they use additional hormone to cow to increase its milk production which will never be allowed in organic food. Imagine yourself, if you prefer to eat organic food you are most likely being passed out on eating those antibiotic and growth hormone. If you are planning to have an organic diet by now, this will give you immediate and  protective  measure  to those harsh chemical and toxin exposure. Organic methods, also aims to conserve energy by minimizing the impact on our ecosystem and improving the quality of the soil. If you start eating, organic, whole and unprocessed food items you just do not promote your overall wellness but as well with the environmental sustainability.

Organic food caught a lot of attention these days and organic shopping are getting more and more popular to people who wants to safeguard their health as well the health of their family.  There is even a store exclusive only for organic foods. Now, you can find organic food in every aisle of the store. As I said above, if you want to make sure the product is organic look for a USDA certified label, quality will assure you. These days, you can find organic foods from snacks, juices, data, cheese, dairy products and many more. However, the main concern of the consumer is the price for organic foods are usually ten to fifty percent higher than conventional food items. In case you are in a tight budget there are other cheaper organic alternatives you can find in the market. You can store organic foods longer while inorganic methods or minimally processed foods have shorter duration because of increase water content. Even though organic foods are pricey it is cost effective. Why? Because it maintains our wellness and helps us protect us from disease brought about by chemicals from inorganic food. Imagine spending your money through medical checkup and expensive medicine so never be reluctant investing yourselves on organic foods as all we know “Prevention is better than Cure”

On the other hand natural foods should not be compared to organic foods because “natural food items” refers to the overall product, not on how it was produced. According to The Food Marketing Institute or FMI to be to be labeled as natural foods it should be minimally processed and be free of colors, flavors like stabilizers and emulsifiers. It has nothing to do with how the food was produced. It may have undergone conventional method which exposes it to chemicals or it may be processed through organic method too. In reality, the term natural is misleading us because it is being used to attract consumers. So, if you are still confused between the main difference between them is that organic foods passed the United States Department of Agriculture or USDA in which it should be produced without any means of synthetic fertilizers, chemicals, pesticides, bioengineered genes and growth hormone. The term natural is not yes USDA approved, so natural foods are only reliable if you entrust the company producing it, just beware and do a little research.

By:  Florita Martinez

Nowadays, cosmetics are essential in the everyday lives of women, even in the entertainment industry, cosmetics are really just a part of them. It’s like there is no getting away with it. But with the massive intent to save people and the environment from the harmful chemical toxins from cosmetic products, organic cosmetics are now here to stay.

Organic cosmetics are made of organic plant extracts and mineral pigments which has long-lasting color property, natural sun UV rays blockers, and helps in developing a healthy radiant glow of skin. These organic cosmetics contain no synthetic FD&C dyes - or synthetic colors and artificial perfumes. They are highly ideal for people who are sensitive to chemicals. Although these organic cosmetics were processed, the chemical used are just really minimal and not harmful to the end users, as well as the producers.

Nowadays, there have been a good number of producers of these organic cosmetics. This is in response to the global call for a healthier environment. There are many chemicals found on artificial and synthetic cosmetics that are harmful to the environment, and to its users. Some are even found to be carcinogenic. Some of those chemical toxins are formaldehyde, formaldehyde-releasing ingredients, parabens, hydroquinone, phthalates, and lead.

Formaldehyde can cause skin sensitivity and, in worst cases, cancer. Formaldehyde-releasing products include diazolidinyl urea, 1.3-diol, dimethyl-dimethyl (DMDM), quaternium-15, and many more. Parabens concentrations can cause breast tumors. Substantial amount of phthalates (or the “fragrance) can cause disruptive hormonal system of a person. Lastly, lead can cause brain defects and impairment, and breast tumors.

There have been found many other side effects of these chemicals, the mentioned above are just few of its general concentrations side effects.

As for the environment, since cosmetic industry has been a really huge industry, the factory wastes and end-user wastes are the real culprit for keeping a safe and clean environment. The packages of synthetic cosmetics are made of plastics and other non biodegradable materials, the accumulation of these products leads to pollution. As a matter of fact, we are already experiencing it now. That is why there is this massive campaign no stop further world pollution.

You don’t want to experience any physical illness relating to the use of synthetic cosmetics and overly polluted environment in the future right? Then, let’s go organic. They are here to stay.

By Donna Ryan

Choosing Organic is the Easiest Way to Ensure that your Food is Natural

The easiest way to tell if you are eating foods that are natural is to go directly to the source, consuming organic foods and vegetables that have not been processed. Food manufacturers are in the business to make money, so they are using the consumer’s concern to stay healthy by labeling their foods as natural or all natural products.  What’s more, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not govern the advertising ploys that food producers use. As a result, food companies can use both chemicals and processes that do not exactly support the health claims on their packaging.

Avoid Foods that have Ingredients with Chemical-sounding Names

Therefore, consumers are advised to ignore the labeling on the products they buy and review the ingredients to determine what exactly is contained in the “natural” food they are buying. One way to at least ensure that the foods you are buying are, to some degree, natural is to avoid selecting any food items that have chemical-sounding names – a big red flag that the food cannot exactly be natural or healthy.

MSG – Often Added to Foods Sold as “Natural” Products

Watch out too for the natural-sounding names given to monosodium glutamate (MSG), which is found in many “natural” food products. MSG can cause a number of health problems, including nerve damage to fetuses (if it is contained in the food eaten by pregnant women), damage to the endocrine system, and migraine headaches. So, take note of foods that list MSG as hydrolyzed protein, autolyzed protein, yeast extract or torula yeast.
 
Scrutinizing the Ingredients

Ingredients are listed with respect to their proportion. So, the ingredients that are listed first are what you are mainly consuming. Therefore, if natural-sounding berries or herbs appear toward the end of the ingredient list, their “health” impact is insignificant at best.

Take note too that ingredient listings do not have to include any of the chemicals used to process the food, such as solvents or pesticides. Therefore, again, the best way to make sure that you are safe is to choose foods that use minimal processing or which are classified as organic.

Even sea salt is a processed ingredient and not really natural. In addition, when manufacturers make claims that processed items were derived from nature, it’s more than likely that the foods have been chemically altered. So, while the ingredients may be natural when they are harvested, the processing of the ingredients makes the claim obsolete.

Making a Distinction

Commercial food manufacturers are more interested in appealing to the consumer’s desire to be healthy than actually producing a natural, nutritional food. Therefore, if it’s your wish to eat more healthily, you have to distinguish between the labeling and what’s actually in a product. So, when you are scouting the aisles at the natural health food store, seek out foods that contain ingredients that are termed as raw – often an indicator that the food is better for you. Also, pick whole-grain foods versus enriched grain products. Foods that are sprouted are often higher quality than the non-sprouted kind too. Make the distinction between what is being advertised and what you are actually buying.