Less than 100 years ago, farms had a wide variety of living organisms working together to sustain a complex ecosystem.

As conventional farmers began to grow monocultures (single crop farms), the natural balance of plants, animals, fungi, bacteria etc began to fade away.

This came with issues of less nutritious soil and less hardy crops.

When the same crop is grown over and over in one area without change, the soil will become depleted on those essential nutrients.

In order to counteract this problem of less hardy crops, pesticides were introduced in the 1940s to spray onto these massive farms to eliminate everything but the crop being grown.

The result? More food, but less nutrients and laced with harmful chemicals

It was originally believed that this antibiotics and pesticides would not harm humans as we are very different than bacteria.

Amazingly, we have more bacteria in our body than we do human cells.

Therefore, we must ensure that these bacteria contain to have a symbiotic relationship with us by presenting optimal conditions for growth.

With many of the pesticides and antibiotics that are used in growing our food, both our bodily bacteria and human cells can be disrupted. If we are constantly fighting off such toxins, our body will begin to fight back in the forms of inflammation, excessive weight gain, headaches, etc. These symptoms are the body's way of telling us that we are in a state of imbalance.

In my experience, I have noticed a significant shift in both energy and overall wellness since making the shift to a nearly fully organic diet.

I know organic food can sometimes be more expensive, but I personally believe that it is a worthy investment for myself and the planet at large. Buying organic food helps with all life forms from the soil, bacteria, fungus, plants, animals, humans as there is no use of pesticides or antibiotics.

The Dirty Dozen

With that being said, not ALL non-organic foods cause adverse effects on humans as some crops have built up defenses to avoid absorption of these harmful chemicals. I do personally recommend buying organic regardless as it is better for the planet as a whole, even if it may not affect us directly.

The following foods are recommend to be ONLY eaten as Organic and should be washed before consumption.. These 12 foods (amongst many others) are known as some of the most highly chemically sprayed foods in the industry and by their nature, they hold onto and absorb these harmful chemicals.

Many of the foods listed here are grown best on farms with a wide variety of plants and animals as they complement each other’s growth. If you wish to make the switch to healthier living, you can start with choosing these as organic.

·         Celery

·         Peaches

·         Strawberries

·         Apples

·         Domestic blueberries

·         Nectarines

·         Sweet bell peppers

·         Spinach, kale and collard greens

·         Cherries

·         Potatoes

·         Imported grapes

·         Lettuce

Also noteworthy:

Corn - Unfortunately conventional, non-organic corn that is grown in the US has become so void of nutrition and covered in chemicals that other countries do not consider it a food by their standards! Try making the switch to organic corn!

At the end of the day, much has changed in our food system in the past 100 years. We must be mindful when it comes to how we are feeding ourselves and our loved ones.

Is nutrition an area that you find challenging? Do you want to ensure that your food is coming from sustainably grown, environmental conscious groups? Check out our Superfood Nutrition from stewards of the planet.