Time to say NO to chemicals and pesticides and take that ORGANIC step.

Those of you that have heard of organic supplements may be wondering what the benefits and risks of organic supplements are. Today, more and more people are looking for ways they can be healthier. People know that they can improve their health by eating healthier food options. Organic foods have been proven to have a higher vitamin content and they taste nicer.

In the last decade farmers worldwide have also been experimenting with genetically modified crops to improve the yield of their harvest and while this does make for "Hollywood" style vegetables in the supermarkets aisles, these are all good on a superficial level. While the outer appearance of the vegetables have been improved and some of the bad genes have been removed. The downside is that some of the good vitamins have been lost in the process and you have a great looking vegetable with less nutritional value.

Organic foods don't look perfect AND they don’t have the pesticide residue that other foods may have. In order to make the most of the benefits of organic foods, the goodness of organic foods have been taken a step further and used in organic supplements.

The danger of pesticides that have been used for generations on traditional farms and crops cannot be fully comprehended. Pesticides were designed to kill the harmful insects that were damaging the crop harvests, but the harmful chemicals were also getting into the humans that were ingesting the food. It was only years and decades later that doctors and scientists realised that there was a correlation between the toxic pesticides used to control the insects eating the crops and the rise in diseases in the human population.

The FDA has taken steps to try and control the toxicity of the pesticides used on crops but these chemicals are still dangerous. Pesticides which are still used today are thought to be responsible for hundreds of diseases: They are thought to be responsible for causing different kinds of cancers, and other conditions in the nervous system and reproduction organs.

These health problems can develop in anyone after being exposed to a pesticide. The exposure can happen over short and long periods of time. People can be exposed to pesticides from food, indoor pesticide use, and many different kinds of pesticide use out of doors. Those who work with pesticides in their jobs -like farm workers -have a greater risk. But as a shopper you can minimise your expose by eating organic food and by using products that are safe for the environment and that have been tested for their toxicity. Be careful when working with gardening sprays and household sprays designed to kill common bugs.

Women who were exposed to garden pesticides in their early pregnancy have reproductive system abnormalities and researchers at John Hopkins Hospital believe it may increase the risk of getting certain types of cancers. Pesticide exposure is thought to be linked to an increased risk of Parkinson's Disease. Other cancers linked to pesticide ingredients are - leukaemia, kidney, brain, testicular, prostate and cervical cancers, and Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma (NHL).

Organic Supplements are regulated and certified that they are made from organic food sources and they have no traces of pesticides. If you are already taking a vitamin supplement, it is likely to be synthetic vitamins, there a thousands of synthetic vitamins on the market. Most people don't know the difference between an organic and synthetic vitamin. Organic supplements are known to have a higher content of vitamins and minerals. This is why they are now becoming popular.

Like gold you have to know they are rare and you will have to source them carefully. Look at the labels on the bottles and check the ingredients are organic.

Organic foods have higher levels of some nutrients. Some of these minerals are calcium and magnesium. Organic foods also have less toxic metals in them. Toxic metals can cause neurological problems, lower IQ levels, and aluminium has been shown to have a connection to Alzheimer’s disease. It is also easier for the body to absorb organic supplements as they are not perceived by the body as "foreign".

As synthetic vitamin they will largely pass through the system unabsorbed. Health supplements that are organic and natural, are accepted by the digestive system and are easily assimilated by the body. Consumers should look at the potency of ingredients and where the product was grown, and how it was harvested.

-TRISH BEAVER-