With the onset of widespread obesity, diabetes, heart disease and cancer, can we easily draw the conclusion that processed and tainted food products are part of the reason.

Tom Pia has been seriously involved in weightlifting, nutritional science, and physique sculpting for over fifteen years.

Articles

This article appeared in On Fitness Magazine, Vol 5. Number 4, 2004

The Organic Lifestyle
Why it improves quality of life
By Tom Pia

FOR ALL YOU FOLKS out there who desire to lose weight, get into better shape and shuffle the deck on what you put ito your body, the organic lifestyle with organic food products may be the way to go. Athletes, fitness enthusiasts, and newcomers to the fitness world are all concerned about what they eat as more people need to be, and since the 9/11 incident, food safety issues have risen to the forefront. With the onset of widespread obesity, diabetes, heart disease and cancer, we can easily draw the conclusion that processed and tainted food products are part of the reason.

I became actively involved with organic foods in 1995, representing many natural food manufacturers as a sales and marketing agent. It was an easy sell as I fondly embraced the natural food market and its imminent growth potential. With stores like Whole Foods, Wild Oats and New Leaf Markets leading the way, the emergence of organic food is so large that the mainstream retail grocers such as Kroger, Safeway, Albertson's and Wal-Mart also carry many of these items. A full 73% of supermarkets within the U.S. offer organic produce.

Here are the facts. Organic farmers, whether it is in production of fruits, vegetables, meats, dairy or grain products, all go through an extensive evaluation of farmland and farm practices on an annual basis. Stringent guidelines must be adhered to in order to obtain proper certification. Most importantly, all farmland must be free and clear of any pesticides, herbicides or commercial fertilizers for a three-year period. This ensures that all dangerous chemicals have broken down, and are no longer in the soil. Generally, soap and water solutions are used for insect control, and organic chicken manure or bat guano is used as fertilizer. The whole reason for eating an organic food diet is to avoid ingesting the chemicals that can be potentially harmful. Furthermore, it is imperative that we do no further damage to the earth and soil, rendering it infertile. Instead we must be sensible about the chemicals we use, and about saving the soil as a means to sustainable agriculture long into the future.

It is comforting to know we can buy meat and dairy products free of growth agents and antibiotics. In the future, we will see more legislation prohibiting the use of many dangerous chemicals. I firmly believe many more people would embrace the organic lifestyle if it were less expensive. Organic food diets usually cost more, as production yields are not as high as commercial food production, which raises consumer price. But as more food producers play a larger role in organic food production, we will see better supplies of product, as well as more diverse availability of items, and perhaps lower prices. This is very good. Until that time, the best case scenario is to pay slightly more for a clean and safe food product that is certified organic. As I am involved in many aspects of the food industry, I must say one thing in defense of commercial food producers: they generally do a good job in producing safe and edible foods; but the bottom line is that they too must produce food products using fewer chemicals, preservatives, salts, sugars and other potentially dangerous compounds.

A very important health campaign to remember in all of this is the Five a Day program. This means consuming five servings of either fruit or vegetables each and every day such as broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, strawberries, radishes, onions, leaf lettuce, apples, oranges, bananas. These items and many more are widely available in organic produce sections. And because these organic items are allowed to sit on the vine or plant longer than commercial products that are rushed to the marketplace, flavor enhancement is very noticeable due to utilizing the full ripening process. The same is true of the meat and chicken products that are not pumped full of antibiotics and hormones. These animals are allowed to roam free as opposed to living in cramped quarters, are open rage fed, and gain body weight at a natural pace. As a result, this meat generally tastes better and is certainly better for you. We can look at this as a wake-up call for all people to analyze what they eat and decide what level of health they wish to enjoy. Eat well always, exercise often and get adequate rest. This is truly the only way to slow the aging process and keep disease away.

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