Consuming organic foods is one healthy behavior that can greatly impact your health and well-being. Here are some facts that may help convince you to make the shift to organic foods.

• More than 1 million children between the ages of 1 and 5 ingest at least 15 pesticides each day from fruits and vegetables; more than 600,000 of these children eat a dose of insecticides that the federal government considers to be unsafe.
• Americans can be exposed to nearly 70 residues each day from organic pollutants in their diets. These pollutants are not allowed in organic agriculture.
• The most contaminated foods with pesticides include red raspberries, strawberries, and apples and peaches grown in the U.S. and cantaloupe from Mexico. The worst food in terms of contamination is grapes from Chili.
• Farm animals in the U.S. receive 24.6 million pounds of antibiotics each year; this may be fueling the increase of drug-resistant bacteria.
• Organic crops appear to be higher in vitamin C and essential minerals and phytonutrients
• Public Health authorities have linked greater numbers of people who contract antibiotic-resistant infections to conventionally raised livestock given the same low-level antibiotics.

Organic foods may be more expensive, but in terms of your health, they are worth the investment. If you are wondering where to start, Paul Ratte, N.D. (naturopathic doctor at the Woodwinds Natural Care Center) recommends starting with hormone free meats and eggs as the hormones are even more detrimental to your health. For more information on organic foods, including recipes, check out Organic Style® magazine or visit their website at www.organicstyle.com.