Organic Food and Weight Loss
We’ve become a weight-conscious nation. A great majority of American adults will embark on a weight loss program this year. Some will even be successful. We all know that organically produced food is better for our bodies than traditionally produced foods. We know that we aren’t being exposed to the chemicals and toxins that are present in traditionally produced foods when we eat organically produced food. But did you also know that eating organically produced food can help you lose those unwanted pounds?
It’s true. The liver – an organ in the human body – is responsible for many things, but one of its most important tasks is to remove toxins from the foods that we eat. The liver also is the organ responsible for burning the most fat that is consumed. The main point to remember is that TOXINS TAKE PRECEDENCE.
If the liver is busy removing toxic chemicals from the body, then it isn’t burning as much fat as it should. In order for the liver to work efficiently, it needs to be fed well. The liver needs for you to eat a diet that is high in fiber. Fiber provides fuel for the liver.
Fiber in the diet does many things. For example, an adequate amount of fiber in the diet helps the digestive system to dispose of waste easily and efficiently. A high-fiber diet helps to keep your digestive system operating smoothly. It will help the body to dispose of the waste that it needs to dispose of every day.
The body is wonderfully designed – it even comes with a “stand-by” system. That stand-by system is called “fat.” When you body is fed toxic chemicals, the liver is busy eliminating those toxins so it simply stores the fat to be dealt with later. The problem is, if you keep eating those toxins, the liver never gets around to dealing with the fat.
Organic Food and Green Living
“Green” and “eco-friendly” are the buzz words that you are seeing and hearing everywhere today. There’s a good reason. Our planet – the ground under our feet and the sky above us – is in trouble. Pollution is real, and pollution is everywhere.
The human race is using up the natural resources of the earth that are nonrenewable. There is a finite supply of oil, gas, and coal. When what is here is gone, there won’t be any more. We are polluting the soil that grows crops, the water that gives life, and the very air we breathe. The icecaps are melting. If we don’t blow ourselves up, we will surely poison ourselves unless we all wake up and start insisting that the world be treated in a kinder and gentler way.
Going organic in the food that we eat is a good first step. It might not seem like only one person or one family can make a difference, but they can. When enough individuals and families demand organically grown food, more food will be grown organically – less chemical fertilizer will be used, and less toxic pesticides will be used, and the world will get a little cleaner.
Eating organically produced food is not the only step that needs to be taken, though. We – all of us – need to insist on green cleaning products. Every year millions and millions of gallons of toxic cleaning products enter our streams and our rivers. The fish that we eat are exposed to these toxins and the animals that live in the wild are exposed to these toxins.
We can insist that the clothing that we wear is made from plants that aren’t treated with harsh chemicals and from animals that are not fed growth hormones. The earth isn’t going to heal itself; we all have to insist that our world be cared for and treated with the respect it deserves – and needs.
Organic Food – Is it Worth the Cost?
There really isn’t any question about it. Organically produced produce and meat does cost more than produce and meat produced using what are considered traditional methods. Traditional methods include the use of chemical fertilizers, toxic pesticides, and drugs. Organic food is raised using no artificial chemical products, toxic products, or drugs.
It is also true that not as much produce is produced per acre using organic production standards. Animals do not grow as large when no growth hormones are used, so there is less meat produced per animal. It doesn’t cost MORE to raise produce or meat using organic techniques, but there is simply less production, and so the cost is passed along to the consumer. The mathematics support higher prices for organic products.
The facts certainly substantiate the need for the producers to charge more for organically produced meat and vegetables, but are the higher costs worth it to the consumer? Personally, I believe that the added cost is worth it and that consumers reap health benefits personally, and the earth reaps rewards that benefit all of us.
The government has set “acceptable” levels of pesticide residue on the fruits and vegetables that are grown using what are called traditional methods. Currently, the levels of chemical IN the fruits and vegetables associated with the chemical fertilizers used are not regulated, and there are no tests currently being done to determine the levels. Meat that is produced using traditional methods is allowed to contain certain levels of antibiotics and growth hormones.
Organic Fish and Seafood
Fish and seafood is an area of organic food where the water is muddy (pun intended). You can’t really say that fish that are caught in the wild are more organically raised than those that are raised on fish farms.
Today more and more people are demanding that the food that they eat be raised using organic standards. They don’t want to eat fruits and vegetables that have been raised using chemical fertilizers or toxic pesticides. They want their chicken to be “free range” (not raised in crowded pens or fed anything other than organic food) and they want their beef to come from cows that have not been given antibiotics or growth hormones. People are getting more selective, and that’s a good thing; but the truth is determining which fish and/or seafood is organic and which is not organic is not an exact science.
The oceans of the world are polluted. There is no denying the fact. Raw sewage is dumped directly into the ocean in many parts of the world. Fish caught in these waters would certainly not be considered organic by any standards, even if they are caught in the wild.
On the other hand, runoff water is a major pollutant of our lakes and rivers. So freshwater fish that are caught in the wild are not necessarily unexposed to toxins of all kinds. Fish that are raised on fish farms might be fed an organic diet, but the water in which they live may provide far from what would be considered ecofriendly.
You will see fish and seafood advertised as “organic,” but the label at this point really doesn’t mean much. As of this writing, the eco-label of the Marine Stewardship Council for wild-caught species has the largest reach and meets the UN standards for eco-labeling. There are various certifications for farm-raised fish, but none of these labels tell the whole story.
Green Coffee Beans
If you want coffee with the best shelf life buy green coffee beans. Green coffee beans keep their freshness for up to two years providing that they have been properly cleaned, dried, and stored. Wholesale coffee is sold as green coffee beans. When coffee is picked, the fruit, or cherry, is red. The oldest means of processing coffee, called dry processing, involves cleaning the cherry and then sun drying. During the cleaning process overly ripe cherries, called stinkers, are removed as are twigs, leaves, and soil. Although a large sieve can be used to remove foreign material a person needs to check the cherries in order to remove stinkers which, as one might gather, lend both a bad smell and a bad taste to coffee. Sun drying reduces moisture content and increases the shelf life of the resulting green coffee beans. Workers rake the drying cherries in order to assure uniform drying. If the weather is too wet cherries are dried in large chambers with dry forced air. The air drying process typically takes about four weeks. Overly dry coffee becomes brittle causing beans to fracture during the hulling process. Moist coffee rots causing mold and bacteria to contaminate the lot.
Green Coffee Beans
When the coffee cherries have been properly dried they are sent to a mill where the hull of the cherry is removed, the green coffee beans are graded for quality, and bagged. Coffee is then shipped in hundred weight bags, a quintal. Healthy organic coffee is produced and processed much the same as ordinary coffee but lots must be segregated in order to maintain purity. Many of the beneficial health aspects of coffee are due to antioxidants found both in green coffee beans and produced in the roasting process. Once coffee is roasted the shelf life for flavor, aroma, and antioxidants is reduced from two years to six months, if roasted coffee is properly stored. Once roasted coffee beans are ground, the flavor, aroma, and antioxidant shelf life is reduced to days and even hours.
Wholesale Green Coffee Beans
Where can you buy green coffee beans? Of you are looking for Panama Mountain Grown Organic Coffee or many or the Colombian Organic Coffee Brands you will need to deal with an importer of coffee or a specialty roasting company. However, it is easy to get just-roasted coffee from places like Panama by contacting us at Buy Organic Coffee, placing an order and receiving freshly roasted coffee beans in the mail in a week to ten days.
Healthy Organic Coffee
If you are going to the trouble of finding green coffee beans to roast yourself consider the coffee with organic coffee antioxidants. Antioxidants provide most of the health benefits of coffee. Coffee drinkers experience a lower risk of Type II Diabetes, prostate cancer, colon cancer, and endometrial cancer. Drinkers of organic coffee don’t need to worry about the up to one hundred fifty impurities found in regular coffee. Coffee grown under sustainable conditions, free or pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides not only has the benefits of coffee but advantage of a pure product as well. Looking for green coffee beans? Consider organic coffee as well. For more information, contact www.BuyOrganicCoffee.org today.
Organic Farming Produce Yield
There is an old and outdated idea that if the world’s food producers suddenly all decided to go organic, there wouldn’t be enough food to feed the world’s population. The idea simply doesn’t hold water.
It’s true that when a farm that previously used conventional farming techniques goes organic, there is an initial decrease in yield per acre. But that decrease isn’t sustained over a period of time. The organic techniques are better for the soil, and the total overall production per acre over a period of years is equal to or better than conventional farming techniques. And organic food production is just simply better for the earth. We won’t deplete the soil and leave a barren land for future generations.
Basically, organic food production shuns the use of synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, and drugs. That’s not to say that no fertilizer is used or that pests are not controlled. Fertilizer is used. The fertilizer that is used, however, is not made of synthetic chemicals. The fertilizer that is used is made up of all natural ingredients – grass clippings, dead leaves, vegetable peelings, etc. or manure from animals that are fed an organic feed without antibiotics or growth hormones.
Pesticides aren’t necessary for pest control in organic food production. Mother Nature has her own very workable and efficient pest control system. “Good bugs” eat “bad bugs.” It works – it’s worked for a few million years. Organic farms simply put ladybugs and others to work in the fields. They keep the pests from destroying the plants.
In developing countries, new farms that use organic methods are more productive than new farms that use conventional farming methods from the beginning. Nobody can quite explain this phenomenon, but it’s true. Maybe the moral is that we’d be better off if those toxic fertilizers and pesticides had never been invented
Reduced Robusta Coffee Output
A drought in Vietnam has resulted in reduced Robusta coffee output. Vietnam is the world’s leading producer of Robusta coffee. This is the coffee bean that Nestle uses in its instant coffee. So, will Nestle instant coffee cost more in the coming year? The price for Robusta coffee beans is likely to go up as Vietnam experiences a nearly ten percent drop in coffee production, coming off a record year last year. Does this have anything to do with healthy organic coffee? Where farmers grow coffee they also grow organic coffee. If the price of coffee rises due to a drought it may be just as profitable to sell regular coffee as to sell organic coffee.
Organic Coffee in Asia
While Vietnam grows its coffee in its mountainous spine Laotian organic coffee is also produced in the highlands of Indochina. Indochina is the world’s second most prolific coffee growing region after Brazil. In fact, Vietnam by itself is the world’s second biggest coffee producer. The central highlands of Vietnam and the highlands of Laos are idea for coffee and were first planted by the French coffee planters in colonial era. On the Bolaven Plateau in Champasak province of Laos coffee is grown at elevations between 1,000 and 1,500 meters above sea level. The rich volcanic soil and cool temperatures coupled with abundant rainfall give rise to great Laotian organic coffee. A draught in this region obviously cuts coffee production as well as quality.
Robusta versus Arabica Coffee
Reduced Robusta coffee output may put at crimp in Nestle’s style as they use this variety for their instant coffee and other instant beverages. However, serious coffee drinkers commonly prefer Arabica beans. This is the variety that dominates in Brazil and among Colombian organic coffee brands. Folks who like Arabica and hate Robusta refer to the aroma of Robusta as that of “burnt tires” and that of Arabica as “perfume like.” Arabica coffee can taste somewhat sweet or tangy whereas the taste of Robusta is often described as grain like or similar to oatmeal. In general high quality Robusta is rare and Robusta is less expensive than Arabica. Perhaps this is why Nestle like Robusta beans for its instant beverages and dislikes the idea of reduced Robusta coffee output in Indochina.
What is the Result of Reduced Robusta Coffee Output?
Vietnam, as the world’s leading Robusta producer, is under pressure to fill contracts for its crop. As production has gone up so have sales. According to news reports the country needs to produce over twenty-five million bags of Robusta coffee to meet current demand. Because of its lower cost Robusta use is rising to just under fifty percent of world production. Higher demand for Robusta may decrease demand for lower quality Arabica beans but not the best quality Arabica coffee. Excellent coffee, especially organic coffee with healthy organic coffee antioxidants will always be in demand from lovers of high quality coffee. For more information about Panama wholesale organic coffee, Panama Mountain Grown Organic coffee, and coffee in general feel free to contact us through www.BuyOrganicCoffee.org.
Organic Farming Environmental Impact
Only 2% of the world’s farmland is organically managed. That means that 98% is used for food production with conventional methods. With such a small percentage of organic farmland, you wouldn’t think that it could make much of an impact. You’d be right. Planet earth is not enjoying a lot of benefits yet from food production using organic techniques.
However, the demand for organically grown food his been on the increase since the early 1990s. With every news report that surfaces every day about tainted foods, the demand for organically produced food grows. It’s a basic fact of supply and demand – the greater the demand, the greater the production.
You’ve heard a lot about “grass roots” efforts on a lot of fronts – right now, grass roots movements in politics are being discussed at length on the airwaves. But grass roots movements are the basis for which all change takes place. Big business and big government make decisions, but those decisions are based upon what the consumer thinks and what they purchase. Grass roots – that’s us, me and you and our friends, neighbors, and relatives. We are the “demand” side of the supply = demand principle. We have power. We vote with our pocketbooks.
If we demand more and more organically produced foods, there will be more and more organically produced foods, well, produced. That 2% share of farmland used today for organically produced food could be the share dedicated to conventional food production methods.
The buying habits of the average consumer is the basis for all decisions made in business. Remember that. That means that what you think does matter, and how you spend your money does have a great effect on the products we find on the shelves of our local super markets. Buy organic and encourage everyone you know to buy organic!
Organic Coffee and Glaucoma
Is there a relationship between organic coffee and glaucoma? A scientific study recently published in Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science reports a relationship between long term caffeine intake and a type of glaucoma. To the extent that one drinks a lot of healthy organic coffee there may be a relationship between organic coffee and glaucoma. But just what specifically does that mean? Let us start by looking at the scientific study in question.
Glaucoma
Glaucoma is elevated pressure inside the eye. Elevated pressure causes damage to the optic nerve and, untreated, can lead to blindness. There are a number of ways that the pressure inside the eye goes up. The second most common is from a condition known as exfoliation glaucoma. In this condition cells from the eye come loose (exfoliate) and plug the ducts where fluid drains from the eye thus causing a higher pressure. This is a treatable condition if the condition is found before eye damage occurs. What is recommended is that one goes routinely to the eye doctor every year or so and has his or her intraocular pressure (pressure inside the eye) measured.
Association between Caffeine and Glaucoma
The researchers looked at data from long term studies of male and female health professionals. Of the individuals who did not have glaucoma when they entered the study a number developed exfoliation glaucoma over the years. The study recorded things like number of cups of coffee consumed each day. Out of roughly 120,000 people in the study there were 360 cases of exfoliation glaucoma. Researchers compared those who did not drink coffee with those who drank three or more cups a day and found that the coffee drinkers had a statistically significant higher risk of the disease. The risk was increased further in women and women with a family history of glaucoma. The risk increase was about fifty percent. The researchers found an association between coffee glaucoma but not other caffeinated beverages and glaucoma. They did not specifically test the relationship of organic coffee and glaucoma.
However, the study did not report an association between visual loss and coffee consumption!
Why?
Previous studies have indicated that high coffee consumption can be related to a higher incidence of glaucoma. Scandinavians, who are high coffee consumers, have more than the usual number of cases of exfoliation glaucoma. The current working hypothesis is that coffee increases levels of a chemical, homocysteine, in the eye. People with exfoliation glaucoma tend to have high homocysteine levels in their eyes.
So What?
Organic coffee antioxidants have been touted as the reason that people who drink a lot of coffee have less diabetes, colon cancer, prostate cancer, endometrial cancer and certain heart problems. Now do we have to worry that in order to get the good benefits of coffee that we need to run the risk of blindness? As the study notes there has been not clear indication that loss of vision relates to high coffee intake. Certainly if one gets his or her eyes checked routinely and the doctor finds exfoliation glaucoma the condition can be treated. Also please note that the incidence of exfoliation glaucoma in the study group was 360 cases out of 120,000 people. That is three out of every thousand people. The incidence of Type II diabetes in the USA is 8 out of every 100 people. It is important in cases such as this to put things in perspective.