Top 10 Fruits and Vegetables to Buy Organic

Depending on where you live, it might be easy or very difficult to find a good selection of organic produce. It can also really stretch the budget to buy organic foods. If I could buy everything organic, I probably would - it is better for the environment, since not using pesticides is better for the soil, water and animals/wildlife. (*Update - I have gradually switched to buying more items organic than when I wrote this post, and when I can't buy all organic produce I use a fruit and vegetable wash to help remove wax and agricultural chemicals). Buying organic also generally means supporting smaller farmers, and where I live, it also means supporting smaller companies which does usually equal higher cost. But for a great reason! If we want to see change in this area, we have to be willing to actually pay what it costs to produce organic foods. Eating organic foods can also be for your health - some studies show that non-organic produce still contains residual pesticides even after you wash them. Since buying organic is sometimes quite expensive I wanted to come up with a list of the fruits and vegetables that are most important to buy organic and list some of the ones that are a bit safer to buy non-organic (although buying organic is still better overall for the farmer's and the environment). Here is a list of produce with the highest levels of pesticide contamination, based on information from the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture), listed from highest levels/rates of contamination, and are therefore more important to buy organic:

Nectarines                        

Sweet Bell peppers          

Celery                               

Pears                               

Peaches

Apples

Cheries

Strawberries
Imported Grapes (i.e. Chile)

Spinach                            

Now, here is a list of the foods that were found to contain the least amount of pesticides - partially attributed to their thick skin that protect them, and are less important to buy organic if you have to choose:

Asparagus                         
Avocados                            
Bananas                             
Brocolli                              
Onions    
Cauliflower
Corn
Kiwi Fruit
Mangoes
Papaya        
                     

It also helps you to think about buying seasonal produce - at first it is frustrating when you go and realize that half of the fruits and veggies on your list aren't there. But then it makes you realize that by shopping at big supermarkets we are never conditioned to think of buying seasonally and locally since there is a fairly consistent selection of produce by shipping it in from other countries when it is out of season. This also means that the food has probably been sitting a lot longer and loosing some nutritional value if it has to come from so far away, which is another great reason to think about buying local seasonal produce. It takes a bit more planning around what you will buy, but getting into the swing of things and thinking seasonally/locally and organic when possible is a great way to work towards healthier and environmentally-conscious food choices.

10 Ways to Get Enough Calcium in Your Diet Without Dairy

I wanted to write this article because I think that in Western society we have come to rely much too heavily on milk and dairy products. I really feel there needs to be a be a shift in thinking about the amount of dairy we have always been told we "require" in our diet. I have started to think of dairy as more of a treat than a food staple, and this is still a work in progress for me as well since it's always hard to change eating habits that you have been following your whole life. (Update - since writing this article, I have completely stopped drinking cow's milk and I eat a bit of yogurt and cottage cheese, and a little bit of cheese now and then. Read this article if you would like to learn more about eating less dairy, especially milk: Why Milk Doesn't Do Your Body Good This shift in thinking requires a bit of re-education, since most people automatically think of dairy as the main source of calcium in their diets. Dairy products are also high in saturated fat, and the over-consumption of dairy is just another contributing factor to the obesity epidemic in many Western countries. Generally, the recommended daily amount (RDA) of calcium for women (who need a bit more than men) is between 1000 and 1200 mg but most people consume far more than this. Here is a list of ways that you can get enough calcium in your diet without relying solely on dairy products:

1) Cut Out Soft Drinks. They can cause high phosphate levels in the blood and actually leach calcium from your bones which makes it harder for your body to absorb new calcium.

2) Get Enough Vitamin D. You need to have enough Vitamin D in your body for calcium to be absorbed and used in your system. A good source of Vitamin D is eggs (make sure they are cage-free!), and a bit of sunlight also helps the body absorb Vitamin D.

3) Eat Baked Beans. One cup of baked beans has 154 mg of calcium. And they're cheap! Just make sure you choose a brand that isn't loaded with sugar.

4) Eat Canned Salmon. Not my personal favorite, but 3 oz. of canned salmon contains approx. 180 mg of calcium and is also a good source of Omega-3 fatty acids.

5) Eat Calcium-Fortified Foods. A lot of foods these days are fortified with calcium, such as soy milk, almond milk, rice milk and even some breakfast cereals. An 8oz glass of calcium-fortified orange juice contains about 300 mg of calcium, which is about the same as a glass of milk.

6) Eat Oatmeal. One cup of oatmeal provides 100 - 150 mg of calcium.

7) Eat Your Green Veggies. Especially spinach, brocolli and dark green leafy vegetables. Kale, parsley, broccoli, spinach and other dark green leafy veggies provide about 100mg of calcium per serving - try using spinach instead of lettuce in sandwiches and salads.

8) Eat Nuts. Almonds and brazil nuts contain about 100mg of calcium per serving.

9) Drink Calcium-Fortified Orange Juice. Just make sure you get the kind that doesn't have any added sugar.

10) Take Calcium Supplements. If you are still not getting enough calcium through all of these great food sources, then you could consider taking a supplement to make up the difference. I would recommend talking to a Doctor, Naturopath, Registered Dietician or other appropriate health professional about this and they can help you decide if this is right for you and give you advice on a good supplement to take. It is also recommended that supplements be taken as both Calcium and Vitamin D combined rather than Calcium supplements alone.

Here is another article with more great suggestions: 40 Vegan Calcium Sources

Why Milk Doesn't Do Your Body Good

For as long as I can remember, I have been told that dairy products are an essential part of a healthy diet. However, there is a lot of evidence that proves this is not the case. In fact, it seems that it you really want to be healthy, cutting down on dairy (or even better, cutting it out completely) is one of the best things you can do. If this sounds crazy to you, I don't blame you - our whole lives we are bombarded with messages that we need dairy to build strong bones and teeth. Mothers gasp when you tell them you're no longer drinking milk - how will you get calcium? Aren't you worried about getting osteoporosis? But not to worry - here are 3 good reasons to cut down on dairy, including answers to the big calcium and osteoporosis question.

1) Animal Welfare.

Dairy cows are often portrayed as living healthy lives grazing in green, wide open pastures, in the fresh air and sunlight.  While this may be true in some cases, it is more the exception these days. The reality is that these animals live only a fraction of their lifespan due to the immense stress on their bodies from constantly being pregnant and lactating, and when they are no longer producing milk they are usually slaughtered and used for fast food burger meat. Not to mention their calves are either taken to join the dairy herd (females) or used for veal or low-grade meat, or killed (males). Like all mammals, cows only produce milk in response to giving birth. So to keep up with demand the cows are kept in a near constant cycle of being pregnant and lactating while pregnant, which causes them huge metabolic stress. To ensure that the maximum amount of milk can be used for human consumption, the calves are taken away as soon as an hour from when they are born, denying the mother her maternal instincts and causing extreme stress to both mother and calf. 

There is also the practice of inducing labour prematurely to suit the dairy farmer's milking schedule, and it has been revealed that Fonterra (the largest dairy company in New Zealand) uses this practice, despite the company having said it is opposed to it. Other ways that a dairy cow's health suffers are from mastitis (a painful infection in their udder) and lameness, which is a painful foot infection – both common conditions for dairy cows. It is sickening to think that companies in New Zealand were trying to get land consent for massive dairy farming sheds where cows would be housed in cubicles at high-density (up to 16 dairy farms with 17850 cows housed in cubicles). Thankfully at this point this is not going forward, and it would only cause more extreme problems in terms of animal welfare. Unfortunately due to the increasing demand for milk products  I’m sure there will be a time in the near future where this comes up again. Unfortunately, factory dairy farming is already common in some countries, including the United States. 

2) Environmental Impact.

This is one I am not going to focus on as much in this post, although it is definitely a very important issue. To put it simply, dairy farming is environmentally damaging and unsustainable. It causes pollution of soil, water and air by nitrogen and phosphorus from fertilister used for feed-crops and from manure, contributes to global warming through its emission of greenhouse gasses, uses excessive amounts of water, over-uses antibiotics and contributes to deforestation for growing animal feed.

3) Human Health Impact.

After infancy, humans don't need milk. Anyone who is getting paid by a dairy company will surely argue this, but it is really an obvious fact. Milk is something that is produced by mammals for their babies, and when babies begin to eat solid food, they don't go back to drinking milk - except for humans. Cow’s milk is heavily marketed as being extremely healthy for humans (just think of all the commercials for milk, yogurt, cheese and ads that feature celebrities and athletes with their creepy milk moustaches) but it is becoming more well-known that this is not necessarily the case. Here is an excerpt from an article on the website The Wellness Warrior that explains this well:  

"Humans can’t digest dairy properly. Because cow’s milk is not designed to be consumed by humans, a lot of us actually have trouble digesting it. Humans lose the enzyme needed to digest lactose (the sugar found in milk) between the ages of two and five. Being able to digest milk is so abnormal that scientists say we shouldn’t really call lactose intolerance a disease, because that presumes it’s abnormal. Instead, they call it lactase persistence, indicating what’s really weird is the ability to continue to drink milk. When undigested, the sugars from dairy end up in the colon, where they begin to ferment, producing gas that can cause cramping, bloating, nausea, flatulence and diarrhoea." Jessica Ainscough, www.thewellnesswarrior.com.au

Cow’s milk also contains substances that can harm the health of a human being- such as hormones, growth factors and high amounts of saturated fat. Further to this, milk is also known to contain antibiotics, pesticide residues and even pus cells due to high rates of mastitis commonly seen in cows subjected to high-density farming practices. (In the United States, as long as a liter of milk contains less than 100 million pus cells it can be legally sold). The dairy industry is obviously bias in their claims that cow’s milk is essential for our calcium needs. According to Amy Lanou Ph. D. who is the nutrition director for the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine in Washington, D.C., 

"the countries with the highest rates of osteoporosis are the ones where people drink the most milk and have the most calcium in their diets. The connection between calcium consumption and bone health is actually very weak, and the connection between dairy consumption and bone health is almost nonexistent." 

On top of all of this, dairy is also highly processed, and if you would like more information on why this is a problem, read up on pasteurization and homogenization: pasteurization and homogenization. So if you don't drink milk or eat dairy products, where do you get your calcium, vitamin D and other nutrients that we are told we NEED to get from milk? Don't worry, because these nutrients are widely available from other foods that are generally much healthier. You probably already have many of them in your diet. In terms of calcium, you can read my article on getting enough calcium in your diet without dairy products:Ways to Get Enough Calcium in Your Diet Without Dairy as well as this fantastic article 40 Vegan Calcium Sources.

* As a side note, consuming a small amount of unsweetened, natural, fermented dairy products such as yogurt, kefir and even sour cream can have many health benefits, especially yogurt. 

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