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Organic Produce is Better for You and Better for the Environment
Organic produce can potentially be WORSE for the environment by needing more land and pesticides to produce the same amount of food as conventional farming. Yup, organic farming still uses pesticides, they’re just not synthetic. Organic farming is not pesticide free if that’s what you were thinking, and the organic pesticides are sometimes less effective, so farmers need to use more pesticides. When it comes to pesticide levels: organic AND conventional produce are both well below the very conservative recommended limits for pesticide levels. Check out this calculator to see how many servings of a certain fruit or vegetable you would have to eat to reach the VERY conservative limit of pesticides. For me, I would have to eat 13225 servings of blueberries (not just individual berries) to meet that limit EACH DAY!!!!
Plus, there is no nutritional advantage to eating organic. Any difference in nutrition profile between organic and conventional produce is minimal, and influenced by the location it’s grown, the weather, when it was picked, etc. Meaning, organic strawberries might have more Vitamin C compared to conventional in one batch and then less Vitamin C in a different batch.
Bottom Line: When it comes to organic vs conventional produce: eat whatever you want! If one looks better than the other, or one is a better price, pick that one. But please stop stressing (and overspending) on organic. Focus more on getting in your fruits and veggies than where they come from.
Avoid GMO’s at All Costs
A GMO (genetically modified organism) crop typically has genes added to them for various reasons, such as improving their growth, nutritional content, sustainability, pest resistance, and ease of farming. GMO crops are incredibly common in the United States, with at least 90% of soy, cotton, and corn being grown through genetic techniques. There’s no doubt GMO’s make farming easier and produce more yield, but what about its impact on our health?
According to the American Cancer Society “at this time there is no evidence that foods now on the market that contain genetically engineered ingredients or the substances found in them are harmful to human health, or that they would either increase or decrease cancer risk.”
There are only 11 (12 if you count the new salmon pending approval) GMO foods that are approved in the US currently being sold. GMOs have been on the market for over 20 years, and they’re been researched for over 40 years. More than 275 science and health organizations have issued statements that GMOs present no unique health or safety challenges.
Bottom line: When it comes to human consumption, GMO’s are safe to eat. You don’t need to hunt down products that are GMO free. It’s a marketing ploy.
Gluten is Bad for You
Gluten can cause inflammation, grain brain, belly fat, illness, you name it! Poor gluten has been blamed for it all. To be clear, gluten is a protein found in wheat, barley and rye, so it’s in a lot of our foods like bread, pasta, pizza, cereal, etc. If you are allergic to gluten it’s called Celiac Disease, which is an autoimmune disorder that is caused by gluten signaling to your immune system to attack its own small intestines. It can only be diagnosed with a blood test. With this diagnosis, you must remove all gluten from your diet and I mean all of it. Now, there is something called non-celiac gluten sensitivity (NCGS). It’s the same symptoms of celiac disease (bloating, GI distress, diarrhea, but without the autoimmune response, which can cause malabsorption issues and weight loss. People with NCGS may not need to remove gluten from their diet entirely but feel better when they limit it.
Ok, but what about the rest of us? Gluten is not inherently bad for you if you don’t have celiac disease or NCGS. Gluten free products can be more expensive, and have added ingredients to make them more palatable once the gluten is removed (think more fat or sugar). Whole grain products like bread, cereals, pasta, etc, have fiber, vitamins, and minerals to support a healthy diet. People tend to “feel better” when they go off gluten because they’re removing things like cakes, cookies, muffins, that are lots of empty calories. A brownie is still a brownie whether it’s gluten free or not.
Bottom line: If you are diagnosed with celiac disease or non-celiac gluten sensitivity- gluten is NOT your friend. For the rest of us, there is no research to support gluten causing acne, grain brain, increased belly fat, or anything else. A healthy diet can (and should) include gluten.
You Need to Detox/Cleanse Your System
Fasting, drinking only juices or similar beverages all day without food (or minimal food), eating only certain foods, using dietary supplements or other commercial products, using herbs cleansing the colon (lower intestinal tract) with enemas, laxatives, or colon hydrotherapy (also called “colonic irrigation” or “colonics”) are all forms of detoxes or cleanses. In terms of weight loss, you’ll probably lose weight in the short term (think a few days), but it’s mostly (if not all) water and you’ll gain it right back once the detox/cleanse is over. But we need to do it for our bodies! Nope, we have our liver and kidneys for that. You don’t sweat out toxins or have them built up in your system waiting for a special drink to rid your body of them. FDA and FTC have taken action against several companies because they (1) contained illegal, potentially harmful ingredients; (2) were marketed using false claims that they could treat serious diseases; and/or (3) in the case of medical devices used for colon cleansing, were marketed for unapproved uses.
Bottom line: You don’t need to assist your body in cleaning or detoxing itself or itself. And the faster you lose the weight, the faster you’ll gain it back. Don’t waste your money or time on these (unregulated) products.
Alkaline Water will Neutralize Acid in Your Bloodstream
Stomach acid pH: 1.5-2.0 (highly acidic)
Blood pH: 7
Water pH: 6.5-8.5 usually around 7
Alkaline water pH: 8-9
Alkaline water is said to help neutralize acid in the body since it’s a higher pH. Some claims include: pro-aging properties, colon-cleansing properties, immune system support, hydration, skin health, weight loss, and cancer resistance. Sadly, there is little to no evidence to support these claims. Let’s think about it this way, our bodies are pretty smart. If you ingest an alkaline food with a high pH, it’ll produce more stomach acid to neutralize it. On top of that, our blood has a VERY tight pH range, if it was out of whack, something is seriously wrong and no amount of special alkaline water is going to fix it.
This article shows an average price tag of $912 a year to drink alkaline water. That’s no drop in the bucket (ha! See what I did there)
Bottom line: Is it safe, sure, you can certainly drink alkaline water for the taste if you like it. But personally, I would think my $900 would be better spent on something else with proven health benefits, like fruits and vegetables, or maybe a massage…. (I’m sure there’s research to support this:)
Fresh is Better than Frozen
Oh boy, this one needs to go away. Both fresh and frozen produce pack a nutritional punch, which makes fruits and veggies one of the most recommended foods out there. Eat all the fruits and vegetables you want please! But just for fun, let’s look a little more closely. Fresh fruits and vegetables are not blanched like in the freezing process, which could cause a slight loss in nutrients. But fresh produce tends to work better in some meals than frozen that can be a little water logged. Another issue with fresh produce is that it’s picked before it’s ripe so it can ripen on the way to the store and/or while it waits to get purchased. This causes a slight loss in nutrients as well.
Frozen produce is picked at the peak of ripeness and flash frozen to lock in nutrients, but lose some nutrients during the freezing process. Be aware, frozen products may contain some additives for taste or appearance (to lock in color).
Bottom Line: Research shows no discernible difference in nutrition between frozen or fresh, the bigger picture is meeting the goal of 5-9 serving of fruits and vegetable anyway you want.
Use Natural Sweeteners, They’re Healthier than Refined
What we’re talking about is white table sugar, or high fructose corn syrup- sugars that are highly processed vs natural sweeteners like honey, maple syrup, etc. Some foods will advertise “sugar free” but be sweetened with honey or syrup, so….it’s not sugar free at all- it’s still sugar. All sugar is 4 calories per gram. Our bodies utilize the sugar the same way whether it’s natural or refined. “Natural” sugar like syrup, honey, etc contain slightly more minerals than refined sugar but not nearly enough to make them beneficial.
Bottom line: It’s not the source of the sugar. You don’t need to worry if it’s from high fructose corn syrup or from agave syrup. What you need to worry about is HOW MUCH sugar is in the food. The issue is ADDED sugar.
There are Foods You Can Eat to Reduce Inflammation
There is some research out there that shows an individual food might be able to fight inflammation- think turmeric or garlic. HOWEVER, we need more research to figure out the details about it, like how much (usually it’s a whole lot, like more than any normal person would eat), how often, if you need it paired with other foods, how to best ingest it. Eating one food is not going to directly fight inflammation. Generally speaking, you should be eating foods (plural!) that can SUPPORT your immune system as part of a healthy diet. Think: less processed more whole/unrefined foods: fruits, vegetables, lean poultry, fish, nuts, seeds, whole grains.
Bottom line. No single food is going to decrease inflammation in the body. Think your overall dietary habits should be geared towards assisting your immune system do its job, and a great style of eating is The Mediterranean Diet.
Stay Happy, Stay Healthy
This blog was written by Chris Henigan MS, RD, LDN, co-founder of Simple Start Nutrition. For more blog posts and nutrition information follow @simplestartnutrition on Instagram and Facebook. Also feel free to contact us, by visiting our website (simplestartnutrition.com) to schedule an appointment to discuss your nutrition related needs. We’re here to help.
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