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10 Organic Foods That Are Worth the Money

1.Apples…[amazon_link asins=’B00AXYF5EY,B007OC5X40,B0000VD4TS,B00BNZSXC8,B00F6MG2ZY,B011QIAIW4,B01EM9OHC6,B00HKLK3ZO,B001ID6MIC’ template=’ProductCarousel’ store=’finmeacur-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’8ab40d8c-620a-11e7-82a1-4dd9df606967′]
The FDA states that more pesticides are found on apples than are found on any other fruit or vegetable — a grand total of 36. One test found seven chemicals on a single apple. Sounds like a good reason to switch to pesticide-free organic produce to me.

Of course, if you do eat apples or any other fruit, use them sparingly and never consume them in the form of fruit juice, which is basically just a glass full of fructose.

No organic? Peel your apples

2.Baby Foods..[amazon_link asins=’B00FFJ3TJA,B00XCLFZLS,B00PDN097S,B01GU4MQLU,B00AO9H65Y,B001V79W96,B01H0EQ3JU,B017DC7M8U,B015E99Z7U’ template=’ProductCarousel’ store=’finmeacur-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’b99b0a54-620a-11e7-adc0-b194c5e43c09′]
An infant’s immune system is less developed than an adult’s, and more vulnerable. Nonorganic baby foods tend to use fruits and vegetables that have been treated with chemicals.

No organic? Make your own purees by tossing organic fruits and vegetables into the blender.

3.Butter and Milk..[amazon_link asins=’B01A13AUAU,B000CC1FM8,B00FTC7DR2,B00RPSOEF2,B00VXQGY64,B00DC5ZKQE,B004RR61SM,B01D4V6WXK,B001LNPHNA’ template=’ProductCarousel’ store=’finmeacur-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’6f8997dd-620b-11e7-a4eb-296ee70b662a’] [amazon_link asins=’1603582193,B00APPF0LE,B004K69OMU,0979209528,0970118147,1508886326,B00TW8P380,B01LXML9QT,B06XD2WS8G’ template=’ProductCarousel’ store=’finmeacur-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’937770b7-620b-11e7-97fc-556b69bd1541′]
Dairy cows eat grains that are heavily treated with chemicals, which show up in the milk. Non-organic milk can also contain bovine growth hormone and antibiotics.

However, RAW milk is nearly always better than organic milk if it is purchased from a conscious farmer. In that case, it may not be certified organic, but it will essentially be organic anyway, and drinking your milk raw is KEY. The linked article should have written loads about this difference, but failed entirely to do so.

4.Cantaloupe…[amazon_link asins=’B00F6MFM3C,B01BMVHR38,B007OBE7C0,B0184G4SUE,B01BMWSKQA,B003QGW1Z2,B01EBD850I,B019ED227W,B005SWLG3K’ template=’ProductCarousel’ store=’finmeacur-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’b9a7e636-620b-11e7-b643-6bb6c9dd542f’]
Cantaloupes often are contaminated by five of the longest-lasting chemicals. Dieldrin, a very toxic and carcinogenic insecticide, still gets taken up through the cantaloupe’s roots even though it was banned in 1974.

No organic? Thoroughly wash the outside of the melon, since a knife can drag exterior residues through the flesh as you slice it.

5.Cucumbers…[amazon_link asins=’B00YOQDWOM,B004L6DI9O,B002707WIY,B0142WMX10,B009NKS90G,B009SRTA0M,B01FN4DP2C,B01CSG6P7U,B00005NFBJ’ template=’ProductCarousel’ store=’finmeacur-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’ec6fc6da-620b-11e7-a447-a1fefed18082′]
Cucumbers were ranked the 12th most contaminated food and the second in cancer risk due to their pesticide content.

No organic? Peel the cucumbers, since the waxes used to make the skin shiny also tend to hold chemicals.

6.Grapes….[amazon_link asins=’B007OC3734,B000RGYJI6,B007OC481E,B000P6J0SM,B001O3U7AK,B000NOCRO0,B00CI3ULTC,B005K5GQB2,B0005ZVGJO’ template=’ProductCarousel’ store=’finmeacur-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’0fa30168-620c-11e7-883a-678a208feace’]
Grapes get treated with numerous chemicals, especially Chilean grapes, which can be sprayed with as many as 17 of them. Grapes are also, whether organic or not, especially high in fructose — you might want to consider eating the grape skins and leaving the grape itself alone.
No organic? Search out grapes grown domestically; they are treated with fewer chemicals.
7.Green Beans ..[amazon_link asins=’B00N1763A0,B0005ZVGKS,B006NKT9EO,B0040PX5T4,B01B1A7DZ2,B008KKW0W8,B008STNLI8,B0005ZVGL2,B00BIY0YS0′ template=’ProductCarousel’ store=’finmeacur-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’42326dd3-620c-11e7-899b-8dd5d86aa5dd’]
There are over 60 pesticides that are registered for use on green beans in the U.S.

No organic? Choose fresh beans over canned or frozen. Wash them well.

8.Spinach …..[amazon_link asins=’B0005ZWVRU,B004SV5JWQ,B0044R368S,B007C7PPY0,B0047NSHBK,B00DX5D8CQ,B000FZRYE0,B0090DXWXA,B015EX7GLS’ template=’ProductCarousel’ store=’finmeacur-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’6aa865ff-620c-11e7-978c-9feb4ff34209′]
The chemicals used to treat spinach may cause cancer or interfere with hormone production.

No organic? Vigilantly wash each leaf separately under running water.

9.Strawberries..[amazon_link asins=’B000P6J0SM,B0082WMM7C,B002B8Z98W,B004MPA8P6,B002QYK8FA,B00R7XOGYO,B000P717MI,B01AO47KWW,B00BIBO19G’ template=’ProductCarousel’ store=’finmeacur-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’9beb2d02-620c-11e7-adad-1db21602f861′]
Strawberries are among the most contaminated of all produce. Once again, be wary of overdoing it with fructose when you eat fruit.

No organic? Choose local berries over long-distance ones (which generally involve more spraying). The package should say where they’re from, or the supermarket’s produce manager should know.

10.Winter Squash..[amazon_link asins=’B00AMO2ITK,B01M1MY4JV,B00AUUN9US,B01A3MTJ3I,B001F5XE6G,B01B1VFP8I,B00E816T2A,B00F4I2FNS,B001BM8SS2′ template=’ProductCarousel’ store=’finmeacur-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’c4215e36-620c-11e7-9c43-a1c16ca06a25′]
Winter squash, like cantaloupe, can absorb dieldrin from the soil.

No organic? Buy Mexican. The soil in Mexico is largely uncontaminated by dieldrin.

Source: Real Simple November 2010

 
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News on Health & Science

The War Over Raw Milk Heats Up

The FDA has long banned interstate sales of raw milk. Many states restrict or prohibit the sale of raw milk entirely.
….….
Raw milk drinkers and sellers began fighting back in early 2010, filing suit against the FDA and claiming that banning interstate sales is unconstitutional. The case is now pending while the crackdowns continue.

Raw (unpasteurized) milk contains enzymes and bacteria have been shown to strengthen your immune system, develop healthy bacteria in your intestines and reduce the risks of everything from respiratory disease to obesity. Pasteurization destroys both good and bad bacteria.

The FDA officially banned interstate sales of raw milk in 1987, but it wasn’t until 2006 that a crackdown began. Agricultural departments in several states, with the help of the FDA, started to stage raids of small dairies and buying clubs.

Daily Finance reports:

“On occasion, people do get sick from drinking raw milk. But the number of people sickened by raw milk compared to other foods does not seem to warrant the FDA’s focused, expensive campaign …

No government regulations of interstate commerce in peanuts, kale, or cantaloupes have been suggested, despite the much greater number of people sickened by consuming these foods. Sushi, a raw food that provides a greater opportunity for illness than raw milk, is legal in all 50 states, too.”

Sources: Daily Finance July 20, 2010

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Indian Cooking Oils Unfit

Masala Tea and South Indian Filter Coffee - Ch...
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Trans fat, a known trigger for heart attacks, causing thousands of premature deaths globally every year, has been found in tremendously  high quantities in almost all popular Indian cooking oils.
……………
Laboratory tests conducted by Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) on seven vanaspati brands, 21 different brands of vegetable oils (soybean, sunflower, groundnut, mustard, coconut, olive, sesame and palm), desi ghee and butter available in Indian markets found that trans fat levels were five to 12 times higher than the world’s recommended standards in all vanaspati brands.

According to the latest recommendations, trans fat in oil should not exceed 2% of the total oil. However, the study found trans fat levels to be as high as 23.7% in the case of Panghat vanaspati brand and 23.31% in the case of Raag vanaspati . Rath vanaspati had 15.9% trans fat, Gagan had 14.8%, Jindal had 13.7% while Gemini had 12.7% trans fat content.

Interestingly, the lowest trans fats level was found in desi ghee and in Amul butter — 5.3% and 3.73% respectively.

Trans fat occurs when liquid oils solidify by partial hydrogenation, a process that stretches food shelf life and changes safe unsaturated fat into a killer. It is known to increase bad LDL cholesterol, triglycerides and insulin levels and reduces beneficial HDL cholesterol. Trans fats also trigger cancer, diabetes, immune dysfunction, obesity and reproductive problems.

In 2005, all restaurants in California went trans fat free voluntarily. In 2008, the US government made it mandatory. The following year, even New York banned trans fat.

Scientists say an increase of 5 gm of trans fat a day is equivalent to a 25% increased risk of cardiovascular diseases.

Shockingly, say CSE researchers, even while Indian food regulators have accepted trans fat as a serious health concern, they are delaying setting the standard, presumably under pressure from the edible oil industry. As a result, India has no regulation to check the content of trans fat in oil.

Sunita Narain, CSE director, said, “If you consider what the Union ministry of health has issued in the name of labelling nutrition facts, you will know how our food is at risk. It literally allows companies to get away with anything — as long as it is on the label. This is just not acceptable.”

In 2004, the health ministry’s oils and fats sub-committee, under the Central Committee for Food Standards, begun discussions on a standard for trans fat. In January 2008, the sub-committee forwarded its recommendations to the central committee for standards. But the central committee is still awaiting more data and information.

“This procrastination means while there are no legal standards, companies are literally getting away with murder,” CSE said.

Instead of standards, in September 2008, the health ministry issued a notification for labelling of trans fat on oil and food. “So today, oil companies get away by giving the composition in a range. Rath vanaspati , for instance, says its package has 8-33% trans fat. This would mean that the product has 15 times higher trans fat than the Danish standard. This makes a complete mockery of the science of food regulations,” Narain said.

Sources: The Times Of India

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Bacteria Can Spoil Milk at Low Temp

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University of Haifa scientists in Israel have identified a new species of bacteria that can grow at low temperatures, spoiling raw milk even when it is refrigerated.
The researchers say that the bacteria called chryseobacterium oranimense, which can grow at cold temperatures, secretes enzymes that have the potential to spoil milk.
“Milk can be contaminated with many different bacteria from the teat of the cow, the udder, milking equipment and the milking environment,” said Dr. Malka Halpern from the University of Haifa, Israel.
“Milk is refrigerated after collection to limit the growth of microbes. During refrigeration, cold-tolerant, or psychrotolerant, bacteria that can grow at 7°C dominate the milk flora and play a leading role in milk spoilage.
“Although we have not yet determined the impact on milk quality of C. oranimense and two other novel species (C. haifense and C. bovis) that were also identified from raw milk samples, the discovery will contribute to our understanding the physiology of these organisms and of the complex environmental processes in which they are involved.
“There is still a lot to learn about the psychrotolerant bacterial flora of raw milk,” Halpern added.
Some people believe the health benefits resulting from the extra nutrient content of raw milk outweigh the risk of ingesting potentially dangerous microbes, such as Mycobacterium bovis, which can cause tuberculosis.
Because of these risks, many countries have made the sale of unpasteurised milk illegal.
The research is published in International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology.

Click to see :->Everything you need to know about dairy

Sources: The Times Of India

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The Truth About Milk

[amazon_link asins=’B011IXTPMQ,1603582193,B06XD2WS8G,B00APPF0LE,B01ND42VBP,0970118147,0979209528,B078SXKHCX,B01JZ0BY8C’ template=’ProductCarousel’ store=’finmeacur-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’e127fffb-1dd3-11e8-9c1f-81b9c486a20b’]

Raw milk” is milk in its natural state, Mark McAfee, owner of Organic Pastures Dairy, explains in this excellent article. It comes from the cow, without heat treatment or pasteurization, which is used to extend shelf life and to immobilize certain bacteria.

 click & see

But people, milk, and bacteria can coexist. It is normal for milk to contain some bacteria, and human societies have been benefiting from these bacteria in milk for thousands of years. Fermented milks, for instance, have superior nutrient value and digestibility. Today these products are marketed as containing “probiotics,” as if this is something brand new.

Yet, bacteria have always existed in natural milk. In fact, bacteria:

* Are earth’s oldest life forms
* Are everywhere
* Are essential for human survival
* Comprise more than 90 percent of the cells in the human body

Public obsession with killing bacteria misdirects efforts at improving public health — because relatively few bacteria are pathogenic. By constantly sterilizing, pasteurizing, and disinfecting, the balance is actually tipped in favor of the pathogens.

It is difficult to get at the truth because so much research on milk is little more than advertising — self-interested and commercial. But you can educate yourself directly and make health choices without the intervention of so-called “experts.”

If you do, you will find that raw milk, loaded with beneficial bacteria, is the better choice.

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Sources: The Rodale Institute May 15, 2008

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