Why Should Non-Organic Foods Be Avoided During Pregnancy?
Buying conventionally produced produce, vegetables, fruits, meats, and dairy products is much easier than finding organic foods, which makes people wonder if it is worth the extra effort only purchase organic foods. It is common to hear that there are minimal differences organic foods and conventional, and the organic industry is just trying to get your money. Or you may be told that there are only certain foods which should be purchased organic, and everything else is fine. If you want to uncover the real truth, you will see that the nutritional value of organic is always better, especially during pregnancy, making organic by far the better option.
Why Conventional Foods May Not Be What You Think
It is often thought that conventional foods can be purchased at a local grocery store, such as an apple, and it will be ok because the pesticides can be washed off before eating or cooking the apple. But, recent studies have shown that this is not true! Considering the production of the food, it doesn’t make sense.
As the apple grows and develops (from the state of a seed, until the apple is ready to be picked from the tree), the food takes on the traits of the environment that it is exposed to. This reason is how the vegetables and fruits are able to offer healthy minerals, because those minerallys are present in the dirt and the plant absorbs the minerals to incorporate them into all parts of the plant, including the fruit that is produced.
Logically, it makes sense: If the plant is able to soak up good minerals which are in the environment, wouldn’t it also be able to effectively soak up harmful substances such as herbicides and pesticides that are present in the environment?
Recent studies have shared results that show how plants actually do absorb pesticides, as well as some herbicides. When these harmful chemicals are present, they actually affect the structure of the plants… including the fruit or vegetable that is harvested. There are several problems with this structural change. To start out, the actual nutritional value of the plant is changed, meaning that the internal structure is changed so much that your body is unable to get the nutrition that is needed. Another example is the fact that the chemicals around the plant are absorbed into every part of the produce, meaning that every single bite of an apple that is conventionally produced results in you consuming the pesticides that are within the fruit, even if skin of the applewas washed!
The Negative Affects of Pesticides on The Body
At this point, there has not been enough research to prove exactly conventionally produced foods have an affect the body, but because the pesticides are present they are obviously terrible for your body because of the toxicity. Some researchers have even suggested that non-organic foods may actually reduce the effciency in which your body can process food, so you get lower nutrition levels from each bite!
It is even more important that pregnant women follow an organic pregnancy diet, because the pesticides can actually affect the baby when the toxicity crosses the placental barrier. These toxins can actually be concentrated in the breastmilk of lactating women, which means that the toxins are passed to the baby even after birth.
Buying organic foods at all times will help you to avoid these problems during pregnancy. This means that all the food you purchase comes from organic sources: dairy products, produce, and meat. According to the book Healing Our Children, organic providers in your local area can be found by talking with your local Weston A. Price Foundation chapter. Additionally, localharvest.org is a website designed to help you locate organic farmers. There are also numerous health food stores and grocery stores that have a section with organic meat and produce, so it is actually fairly easy to find organic foods if you know where to look!
Sure, it can be more expensive to follow a completely organic pregnancy diet, but you can cut back on your overall spending by avoiding expensive processed foods and spending your money on highly nutritious whole foods instead.
Photo Credit: stevesimpson1 from
