Since going gluten free we've made many dietary changes. Fresh produce is gluten free and it's even healthier if it's organic.

There are 2 ways to get organic food: grow or raise it yourself or buy it..

When you grow or raise your own food you know everything that is in or on it. When you buy your produce at the grocery store you have to trust whatever they tell you.

When you head to the grocery store, to purchase Organic Food products like eggs, meat, fish, milk, and produce can be very tricky. Signs are posted everywhere labeling food as natural, organic, and a number of other things—but what’s the difference, really? Learning what specific terms mean, like organic and natural, can help you decide if you should buy a specific organic product of it is simply an advertising gimmick.

“Natural” is a word or label associated with a number of different vegetable and fruit products. Usually this is simply a marketing ploy to convince you to purchase the produce. Actually all fruits and vegetables are natural, it’s just a matter of definition.

BETTER TASTE AND NUTRITIONAL VALUE

Have you ever taken a bite out of a real tree-ripened peach, or a garden-fresh vine rippened juicy red tomato?

If so then you know and can you appreciate that food tastes better when it's grown in its own time. Animals that are raised organically without artificial hormones,grow at their own natural pace. This means less animal stress which means we have better tasting food! Fresh air, clean water, quality feed, healthy pastures, and nutrient-rich soil all contribute to the superior taste of organically grown food.

Organically grown or raised foods have been shown to have superior nutritional value. For example, milk from pasture-raised organic cows, has recently been shown to have significantly higher levels of vitamin E, Omega 3 essential fatty acids, beta carotene and other antioxidants than the milk from cows raised in confinement. Locally grown foods tend to be fresher, and are more likely to contain more living nutrients. That's why we produce and ship organic milk from our regional farms across the country to the closest regional markets.

Organic food can also help slow and potentially reverse the rising incidence of obesity, overweight and diabetes by:

• establishing taste-based preferences in children for flavorful nutrient-dense foods.

• promoting healthy cell division and laying the groundwork for healthy endocrine, immune system and other metabolic development and eliminating exposure to approximately 180 pesticides known to disrupt the development or functioning of the endocrine system.

Benefits to organic foods

The drawback is that organic products are usually more expensive.

On an ‘organic budget”, skip over organic fruits and organic vegetables that you can peel, like bananas, avocados, watermelon and oranges. Once peeled, you’ve discarded the chemicals. Instead, get organic produce where you eat the peel, like apples, grapes or pears. Make sure that you always rinse off all produce when you get home.

“No hormones” This is a misleading label we often see. Usually this applies to meat or milk products and of course not true, because all animals produce hormones. Hormones help an animal to reproduce, regulate body organs, and otherwise function.

What a ”no hormones” labels really mean is that no hormones were unnaturally given to the animal, which is sometimes done to accelerate growth or increase milk or egg production. However, regardless of hormones, the milk and meat is safe for human consumption and is not a violation of an animal’s rights.

Finally, a label on meat or eggs can indicate if the animal was penned or caged. This is simply a matter of animal rights and does not affect the nutritional value or quality of the meat. These products may be a bit more expensive, but in the long run, they are a much healthier choice.