Organic or Bust?

No surprise, organic food is expensive! I live in a rural part of the world and organic foods aren’t exactly priority numero uno at the local grocer. When asked they readily admit that stocking organics isn't ideal because they go bad so much quicker then the other produce (because they aren't covered in chemicals and preservatives). Kris Carr informs that you can peel your cucumbers if they aren't organic to remove unwanted chemical residues on the outside skin. As far as the other stuff goes though a good bath in some vinegar and water should help. But, even then is there a difference in the foods? I recently took a trip to Whole Foods in the nearest city and I bought everything I would need to juice with for one entire week. The bill almost made me pass out on the spot, but I awoke the next morning eager to try my new all organic juice. Upon completion of my week of all organic, all the time I have come to the following conclusions:

1. Organic vegetables are much stronger. Not in a 'I bench pressed 200 pounds' kind of way, in a 'holy crap, I'm drinking chlorophyll' kind of way! The juice is much bitterer tasting and leaves more of an after taste. I know this doesn’t sound appealing, but remembering that it is the potency of the phytonutrients, enzymes, vitamins, minerals, etc. that is accentuating the taste helps me to appreciate its flavor profile for what it is...much healthier plants.
2. Organic makes the detox difference. I have been on a mostly clean diet for months now so I should be pretty well detoxed. Or so I thought. After 2 days of drinking the all organic juice, I began to experience detox symptoms (aka I was a bitch with a headache) worse then when I was detoxing the first time! I was floored by this! This means that I have so much more room for improvement then I had even anticipated. There's no where to go but up....well, or down!

I think this week long experiment proves the importance of organics vegetables and fruits, but it in no way implicates that you should skip organic vegetables and fruits if they cannot be found. Believe me, eating vegetables and fruits no matter what is better then the alternative...packaged foods!!! Gasp! I have managed to come a very long way using what organics I could and being smart about the rest. Kris Carr offers a little, all important list aptly named the Dirty Dozen. This lists the top 12 foods grown with pesticides, ranked from worst to less bad:

1. Peach
2. Apple
3. Bell pepper
4. Celery
5. Nectarine
6. Strawberries
7. Cherries
8. Kale
9. Lettuce
10. Grapes (imported)
11. Carrot
12. Pear

For more information about this list, check the EWG's Web site at foodnews.org or ewg. org.

Source: Crazy, Sexy Diet By Kris Carr

The idea is too spend your money where it counts and try and get these veggies/fruit organic if possible. The only items from that list that I can regularly get organic are carrot, celery, romaine lettuce and bell pepper. That leaves kale and apple on my juicing regimen affected. All I can do in this situation is to clean these items really well before I juice them. Of course, sometimes I am lazy and I half-ass rinse them before chucking them into the metal mouth of JJ (my juicer). I am recommitting to make sure I more thoroughly clean my kale and apples because as it turns out every little bit makes a difference. I encourage everyone to purchase organic when and if they can and to not let the inability to do so stop you from reaching your health goals. Again, we’ve got no where to go but up…or down. It’s our decision and it always has been.