“Eating Clean” and “Eating Green” go hand in hand.  Detoxifying your body with nutritious, unprocessed foods is good for the environment too!

Local and Organic Foods: Locally grown foods such as fruits, veggies, and dairy products travel less to get from the farm to your table. The less a food has to travel, the more nutrients it will retain. In addition to distance, organic foods have been show to have more vitamins and nutrients than their chemically-treated counterparts. You may have to pay a bit more to buy local and organic foods, but you get more nutrients in every bite so it’s worth it!

Bigger Is Not Better: Large, wholesale manufacturers prefer to buy genetically modified foods that are bigger and more robust and therefore better able to stand-up to long-distance travel. This is good for them, but bad for you! Smaller fruits and veggies, like the non-genetically modified ones grown organically and on local farms, are dense and more nutritious than the larger fruits and veggies that were shipped in from who-know-where and plopped down in the produce section. You don’t have to shop at special stores to find great produce these days; just keep an eye out for items marked “locally grown” and “organic” at your local grocery store.

Processed Meats: Choosing to buy organic meat is one of the most loving acts you can do for yourself and your family.  Processed animal meats (i.e. not organic meat) contain pesticides, hormones, antibiotics, and nitrates. These additives have been linked with many health problems in developing children and adults, such as cancers, liver problems, and nervous system impairment. When buying meat, look for the actual word “organic” on the label. Claims of being “natural” or “free range” are not the same as certified organic.

Quick Tips for Buying Organic:

1.    Buy foods from local farmer’s markets
2.    Plant a garden
3.    Look for “locally grown” and “organic” foods in your supermarket