Resolve to go organic in 2014
The Organic Center's 10 New Year's
Resolutions to last a lifetime
What is a New Year's Resolution you
can make today that can last a lifetime-and beyond? Going organic--which
is good for you, your family and the
planet.For 2014, The Organic Center,
the trusted source of information for
scientific research about organic food
and farming, offers 10 everyday, research-backed organic resolutions individuals can follow:
than conventional milk, yielding a
2.5-fold higher omega-6:omega-3 ratio in conventional compared to organic milk.
One:
Eat more fresh fruit and vegetables
and make sure they're organic.
This New Year's resolution is multi-faceted, dealing with the health benefits
of eating more produce while avoiding exposure to pesticides. Eating fruit
and vegetables is generally healthy for
you, and a study published in 2013 in
the American Journal of Epidemiology shows that it can reduce the risk of
death! Specifically, the study showed
that daily consumption of fruit and
vegetables can decrease risks of mortality by 10 percent, and delay mortality by 1.12 years.
fruit, make sure they're organic! This
year it's especially important to reach
for organic produce. This is because in
2013, the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) raised the permitted
tolerance levels of glyphosate residue
in many fruits and vegetables. This is
especially worrisome, because 2013
also saw several studies documenting
troubling health associations with glyphosate exposure, such as estrogenic
activity that could induce breast cancer cell growth, gut bacteria changes,
and many other modern diseases.
Two:
Balance your omega- 3 and omega-6
fatty acid intake.
Balancing your omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acid intake is important because omega-3 fatty acid deficiencies
can have negative health consequences, including inflammation, higher
risk of heart disease, weight gain, depression, and diabetes. Healthy omega-6:omega-3 ratios are low, around
2.3:1, but unhealthy diet trends have
increased that ratio to between 10 and
15:1.
Three:
Save the soil.
The soil is a part of our Earth that does
not get a lot of attention, yet is a critical component of the health of our
agriculture and natural ecosystems.
Eating organic can help improve soil
quality by building organic matter and
supporting the soil micro biome. This
has been supported by several studies
to come out in 2013.
Researchers also found that for every
200 gram increase of produce consumed, risk of death goes down by
6 percent. Interestingly, there was a
stronger correlation between longevity and eating fresh fruit and vegetables than for cooked produce. When
you're choosing your vegetables and
One of the most ground-breaking
studies of 2013 showed that drinking
organic milk plays an important role
in balancing unhealthy omega fatty
acid ratios. Specifically, researchers
found that organic milk contained 25
percent less omega-6 fatty acids and
62 percent more omega-3 fatty acids
The study also took a look at how adult
women could alter their diet to increase their consumption of omega-3
fatty acids. Researchers found that by
consuming high levels of organic milk
with reduced intake of omega-6 fatty
acids in their diet, women could decrease their omega-6 to omega-3 fatty
acid profile by around 80 percent.
For example, a study published in Crop
Management showed that long-term
organic management resulted in 40
percent more biologically active soil
organic matter as well as lower acidity and higher amounts of carbon, nitrogen, potassium, phosphorous and
calcium when compared to conventionally managed soil.