‘Organic food’ is the buzz word these days when it comes to healthy diet. Talk about food benefits to chefs, dieticians and health experts; and pat come the reply “switch to organic food”. Then you obviously ask, “Why?”  Comes the answer “Organic foods are just the right solutions to reduce an individual's toxin burden of pesticides and food additives, besides increasing their nutrient intake.” Whoa! Some explanation.

We need to understand what organic food is first, to understand its benefits. Food which is cultivated in natural ways, without the use of artificial fertilizers, various chemicals or pesticides is known as organic food. There are almost over 400 types of pesticides which are used in non-organic cultivation. Apart from destructive pesticides, these chemicals can also turn food partially poisonous for human consumption. On the contrary organic food items are safe and healthy as they are grown free from chemicals and artificial fertilizers. “Perhaps one of the prime advantages of organic food is that it is pure food, nothing more, nothing less. Forget E-numbers, hydrogenated fats, artificial colours, flavours, sweeteners, preservatives – none of the additives lurking in processed and fast food are permitted in organic foods,” says Ashu Chug, Corporate Chef, Hookah Restaurant, New Delhi

Benefits of going organic

Organic food does not involve any artificial enhancers for cultivation and thus is a more trusted, healthy choice for consumption by both adults and children. It not only has high dietetic value but is superior in taste in comparison to non-organic food items. Says chef Nasim, “Often, the flavour of organic food is just so much better. Good organic fruits and vegetables are juicy and full-flavoured, milk tastes richer, and cheeses are ripe and mouthwatering.” Taste aside; the nutritional value of organic ingredients is much higher. For instance, organics exceed the non-organic items by 27 percent in vitamin C, by 29 percent in magnesium, by 21 percent in iron, and by 14 percent in phosphorus. It is high on fibers. Raw organic food helps in cleaning our blood by removing toxins from our body.

Food grown organically is not only better for our overall well-being but is also environment friendly. Since it discourages the use of all artificial chemicals, it protects the environment from pollution in all three forms of water, air and soil. In fact, wildlife remains unharmed as environment is safer. Organic agriculture also prevents the contamination of water and soil. Retains soil fertility and preserves ecological balance. It reduces waste production, and definitely decreases pollution.

Know the real organic

While shopping for fruits and veggies, it is difficult to distinguish between the two types unless there is a separate counter. In that case, you have to check with the vendor and be sure about it. However, if you take packaged organic foods, the labeling generally consists of not only the seal stating that it is an organic produce but also a few key words which will tell you exactly how much organic foods are in the package.

Also this variety is more expensive than non-organic items. Since organic farmers don’t use chemicals like synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, their crops may yield less harvest than conventional crops. To make up for this crop yield loss, they may sell their product at a higher price. The experts say, it's a false assumption that advocating organic food will reduce fruit and vegetable consumption due to the higher price. “Going organic has its price. Today's diners are more savvy about recognizing the importance of what they eat, and don’t mind paying a little extra,” explains chef Vikas Pal, Executive Chef, Park Plaza.

However, health experts feel that people will manage to cut down on junk food, alcohol, and smoking, since better taste of organics will encourage the consumers to eat more fruits and vegetable. Says Mukta Gulati, homemaker, and a regular consumer of organic food, “I have got addicted to organic items like brown rice, pulses, etc. Besides the health benefits, it has a very strong ‘feel-good’ factor. One of the greatest advantages of organic foods is that buying and eating them is a real, guilt-free pleasure. It's great to realize that you're not only helping the environment, you're feeding your family on good, pure food, that tastes better than processed food, and has no hidden poison. And that feels good.” However, Gulati is disappointed that there are still hardly any places where you can get real good organic food. She has a point here, “It should be available at every grocery then only people will buy more and its prices will be comparable to non organic items.”  Right now, Mukta feels, organic food turns out to be more expensive. 

Today most people understand the importance of organic food and its uses. They just need to be made more aware of the art of cooking and the value of the organic food. If you want a diet based on natural food that hasn't been tampered with then think Organic. It may be expensive to start with but every good thing comes with a price.