When I advise patients on nutrition, this question always comes up: organic or not? My response is that everyone should just establish the habit of getting more veggies on their plates, and more fruit into their snacking and as their dessert. The last thing that anyone still on the SAD (Standard American Diet) needs is a guilt trip plus the added hassle and expense of purchasing organic. Considering how few Americans eat the recommended 5-8 servings of fruits and vegetables a day, pushing organic often results in paralysis, particularly if diet has been a lifelong bugaboo. Patients don’t want to spend the extra time and money, and I can’t blame them. As a busy professional myself practicing in a small town with few organic options at the local supermarket, I understand the challenges of eating organic and eating fresh. Frankly, keeping processed foods and animal proteins largely out of your diet should be the main goal toward achieving better health. Once the whole food plant based habit is established, then great: take the steps for organic, if that’s what you want. As a price-conscious consumer interested in eating as healthfully as possible, where it is convenient and not too much more expensive, I simply buy organic frozen fruits (for smoothies) and vegetables, especially spinach, kale and other leafy greens.
This article has a commonsense explanation of why conventionally grown foods contain nutrients in the same amounts as organically grown. Read more here: http://hdnews.net/opinion/schlageck011514