Dumaguing: Are natural and organic foods the same?

THE reality that cardiovascular diseases- heart attack, congestive heart failure- have been consistently been in the top of the list of illnesses affecting Filipinos, there has been a slew of several diet plans forwarded by self-proclaimed health gurus, well in fairness, even by respected experts in the field of nutrition, because it has become very clear that food, which is primarily one of the basic needs of the humans, paradoxically has become some sort of “poison” to some, causing a long list of unwanted ailments.

Thus, it is understandable that more and more Filipinos want to “eat healthier” thus the concept of natural and organic foods has become hot topics.

Our columnist is delighted to share with our dear readers the views and comments of Dr. Howard LeWine, a prominent internist and assistant professor at the Harvard Medical School.

First, he noticed that a new language has developed to describe food in the shelves of grocery stores but the phrases on the packaging do not really tell if the food is truly better for health.”

The US FDA doesn’t have a formal definition for “natural food,” Dr. LeWine said,” but the FDA doesn’t object either to the tern “natural food” if it does not contain added color, artificial favors, preservatives or synthetic products.”

As for “organic foods”, for it be to be certified as such, the US Department of Agriculture requires the food to be produced according to “strict farming and production standards, without genetic engineering, radiation, sewage sludge or synthetic pesticides and fertilizers.”

Animals raised on organic farms receive no antibiotics or growth hormones, are given feed that has been grown organically, and more importantly are able to roam around freely outside in the farm.

Dr. LeWine, openly admitted that “we don’t have enough information yet to know if the lack of hormones and antibiotics in organic animals’ products make them any healthier than conventional animal products but it’s a reasonable possibility.” Then he proceeded to cite, “for example, pastured-raised- those chickens peeking their food among the grass of an open field - chicken contains more omega-3-fatty acids.”

Cattle-raisers all over the world agree that grass-fed cows are leaner and salmon caught in the wild has lesser toxins.

Organic foods don’t appear to have a nutritional advantage over conventionally grown food. And it is also unclear if the pesticides used in organic farming are safer than pesticides used in conventional farming.

A few decades ago, in most countries in Asia and Africa, children would go to the fields and pick up sundried manure of ruminant animals- cows, water buffalos, horses and in the Philippines, carabaos.

These are then pulverized into fine powder form and spread in the roots of plants as fertilizer. Probably, this method was the closest thing to having organic farming then.

Dr. Silvano Moranga, a strong proponent of organic agriculture encourages composting- putting all leftover foods, vegetable peelings, fruit rinds together and allow the natural decomposition of waste, so that after three to four months, you have a fertilizer for your plants and vegetables.

Anyone who does the grocery knows for a fact that natural and organic foods are more expensive than conventionally produced foods. The question is, are they better, and are they truly healthier? As of the moment there is no clear answer, and for sure the debate will rage on.

Whatever you choose, it is always best to go with and consume non-processed products. Bon a petit!

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