Huntingdon Pennsylvania Yoga Massage Health Wellness

Healthier Foods for the Earth and You

by Debra Kirchhof-Glazier

Member, Huntingdon Health and Wellness Association

Good health involves making a commitment to consume a whole foods diet rich in a wide variety of fresh fruits and vegetables. Fruits and vegetables provide fiber, vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals. Phytochemicals are colorful molecules in plants that are important for conferring health benefits, such as protection from cancer and cardiovascular disease. Because there are thousands of phytochemicals, it is prudent to eat whole foods in a variety of colors to obtain health benefits, rather than relying primarily on supplements.

Eating fresh produce can pose some challenges to our health, however. Although it is understandable why commercial growers need to apply pesticides, the widespread use of these chemicals can compromise our health. Of the approximately 900 active ingredients in pesticides that can be legally used in the United States, 20 have been shown to cause cancer in animals. There is currently very little data on the risk of these chemicals to humans, but it is a good idea to minimize or avoid our exposure to pesticides as much as possible. It is especially important for babies and young children, whose ability to detoxify has not yet reached its peak.

Studies on the pesticide content of fruits and vegetables has consistently revealed “the dirty dozen”. The top twelve most contaminated are peaches, followed by apples, sweet bell peppers, celery, nectarines, strawberries, cherries, pears, imported grapes, spinach, lettuce, and potatoes. Eating these fruits and vegetables can expose us to up to 20 different pesticides a day. The least contaminated include broccoli, cabbage, bananas, pineapple, avocado, onions, mango, kiwi, asparagus, and frozen sweet corn and peas.

Organic fruits and vegetables are defined as those that are grown without synthetic pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, and sewage sludge and are not genetically engineered or irradiated. It has been estimated that eating organically grown fruits and vegetables will decrease your pesticide load by 90%. If you can’t afford to buy all organic produce, buy the top twelve organic. If you can’t afford to do that, at least wash the produce carefully to get rid of residue on the surface. I use a solution of Shaklee’s Basic H (1/2 tsp per quart) and then rinse with water. The bottom line is that the benefits of eating fresh fruits and vegetables are so compelling that they should not be avoided because of fear of pesticides.

The good news about pesticide contamination is that things can improve quickly when organic produce is consumed. One study showed that children on a conventional diet had detectable levels of the pesticides malathion and chlorpyrifos in their urine. When they were put on an organic food diet for 5 consecutive days the levels quickly plummeted and became undetectable until a conventional diet was reinstated. In summary, eating organic food prevents exposure to potentially harmful substances and relieves our bodies from expending energy in detoxification.

Another benefit of organic food is that it helps minimize damage to the environment. Organic agriculture embraces the philosophy that a healthy environment significantly benefits crops and the health of those who eat them, which makes the farmers vigilant about the impact of their farming practices. Organic farmers grow their fruits and vegetables from a holistic, ecosystems perspective. They rotate their crops, plant varieties that are resistant to pests, nurture habitats for the natural enemies of pests, and release beneficial bacteria into the soil. In addition, many organic farmers participate in local co-ops, in which the food is grown and sold locally, avoiding the environmental impact of transporting it over long distances.

The oldest non-chemical agricultural movement, which predated the organic movement by about 20 years, is biodynamic farming. The concept of biodynamic farming was developed by Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner in 1924 and involves methods of agriculture that actively work with the health-giving forces of nature to help balance and heal the earth. The approach is more philosophical than methodological and involves accounting for such factors as the effect of cosmic rhythms from the sun, moon, planets, and stars on plant growth, learning to carefully read the signs of nature to determine where better balance is required, enhancing the vitality of the soil by composting, and establishing interconnections between people and the environment. One of the ways to establish these latter interconnections involves Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), an economic and philosophical movement that links farmers and consumers. CSAs came to the United States in the mid-1980s from Switzerland and Japan. Farmers contract in advance of the growing season with a circle of local supporters, who agree to help cover the costs and buy the produce in shares during the season. This connection not only ensures a stable market for the farmers and meets the needs of the consumers, but it also enhances the consumers’ appreciation for food and the farms and the earth that produced it.

There are many opportunities to eat healthy produce this season. If you do not have the fortune to have your own garden, you can take a trip to the Huntingdon Farmers’ Market at Portstown Park each Thursday from noon until 6, where most of the produce is organically grown. For those interested in joining the CSA movement, the Clan Stewart Farm, run by Erick Moist, is one such farm in the area. Information is available by calling 814-667-3852 or by visiting his website at http://myspace.com/clan_stewart_farm.

Whether you grow your own produce, buy it in the store, or get it from local farmers, make sure to enjoy the bounty of the season. To your health!