Organic Families

Organic Agriculture and Food Security for your Family

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What Is Good Brain Food?

November 30th, 2008 · No Comments

Diet tips for staying in top mental health. We know that the foods we eat affect the body. But they may have even more of an influence on how the brain works.

We know that the foods we eat affect the body. But they may have even more of an influence on how the brain works—it’s general tone and level of energy and how it handles its tasks. Mood, motivation and mental performance are powerfully influenced by diet.

The brain is an extremely metabolically active organ, making it a very hungry one, and a picky eater at that. It’s becoming pretty clear in research labs around the country that the right food, or the natural neurochemicals that they contain, can enhance mental capabilities—help you concentrate, tune sensorimotor skills, keep you motivated, magnify memory, speed reaction times, defuse stress, perhaps even prevent brain aging.

The Right Fats

Evidence is accumulating that a diet that draws heavily on fatty food and only lightly on fruits and vegetables isn’t just bad for your heart and linked to certain cancers. It may also be a major cause of depression and aggression. Such a diet is particularly common among men.

The health of your brain depends not only on how much (or little) fat you eat but on what kind it is. Intellectual performance requires the specific type of fat found most commonly in fish, known as omega-3 fatty acids. Even diets that adhere to commonly recommended levels of fats, but the wrong kind, can undermine intelligence. What makes this finding awkward is that certain oils widely touted as healthy for the heart are especially troublesome for the mind.

Omega-3s are known to be particularly crucial constituents of the outer membrane of brain cells. It is through the fat-rich cell membrane that all nerve signals must pass. In addition, as learning and memory forge new connections between nerve cells, new membranes must be formed to sheathe them. All brain cell membranes continuously need to refresh themselves with a new supply of fatty acids. A growing amount of research suggests that the omega-3s are best suited for optimal brain function.

While consuming too much fat overall and too much saturated fat, many North Americans fail to consume enough omega-3s. And the polyunsaturated oils widely recommended as healthful for the heart and widely used in cooking, frying and prepared food—corn, safflower and sunflower oils—have almost no omega-3s. Instead they are loaded with omega-6s. You need a proper balance of omega-6s and omega-3s. Canola oil and walnut oil are highly recommended.

It’s possible to boost alertness, memory and stress resistance by supplying food components that are precursors of important brain neurotransmitters. One of them is choline, the fat-like B vitamin found in eggs. Studies show that choline supplementation enhances memory and reaction time in animals, especially aging animals. It also enhances memory in people. Choline supplementation also minimizes fatigue. In one study, choline given during a 20-mile run improved running time by a significant amount…

Mood and mental performance are powerfully influenced by the B vitamins. Unfortunately, marginal deficiency in many B vitamins is widespread in North America.

Research has identified some other ways to influence mental performance:

  • Sugar can make you sharp—although no one can figure out what is the right dose at the right time.
  • Carbohydrates—especially when eaten with no protein or fat—may indeed be mentally soothing. Muzak for the mind. There are times when we all need some of that.

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Organic Clothing; no chemicals, only natural dyes and fibers

May 11th, 2008 · No Comments

These days it seems a lot of people are becoming more concerned with buying organic produce. I also do my best to buy only organic produce for several reasons. One is that it’s safer for my family. Pesticides used on non-organic food are poison for bugs and small creatures. Why would you want to feed your family poison? Another reason it’s important to me to buy organic produce is that it is better for the environment. Those chemical and poisons end up somewhere – and it’s in your drinking water!

While I do think it’s important to buy organic produce for you family whenever possible there are also a lot of other organic things that can be bought. There are organic cleaners for your house. These cleaners don’t contain hurtful things for you family like chemicals and poisons. They are all natural and the ones I have used smell great too! You can also make a point to buy organic clothing. That is clothing made without the use of chemicals. They can still be dyed but if they are dyed they will have been dyed with natural dyes.

They would never be dyed or made with chemicals that could hurt you, your family or the environment. You can also buy a variety of foods that are organic. It’s not just produce that you should be concerning yourself with. There are a very large variety of foods you can buy that are made organically. Even their packaging will be organic! Also it makes you feel better. Physically your body responds better to healthy all natural food.

It isn’t loaded with all kinds of gross chemicals that leave you feeling groggy and tired all the time. You can also buy organic hygiene products. For example you can buy organic toothpaste, organic shampoo and conditioner. Anything you need for your body, your cleansing or even your make-up you can probably find if you take the time to look.

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What is the difference between organic farming and conventional farmers?

May 2nd, 2008 · No Comments

 

organic farming

Organic foods are widely available today. Most people that switch to organic only foods report a boost in their energy levels. They also report that they are in better health. They get fewer allergies, cold, and when they do catch an illness they recover a lot quicker. Some families do not have the option to switch to organic only diets because of the costs of the products. A lot of people say this can actually afford it though. If they are eating a lot of processed foods they can cut these items out of their grocery budget and put towards organic only items. Processed Food are not only expensive they are very bad for your boy because of the chemicals used to process them. Organic foods are all natural. What is the difference between organic farming and conventional farmers?



Organic farmers only use natural fertilizers such as manure to feed the plants. Conventional farmers use chemical fertilizers to feed the plants and those fertilizers are passed on to the food. Organic farmers use beneficial insects and birds and traps to reduce pests and the diseases they cause. Conventional farmers use insecticides to reduce pests and the diseases they cause. To manage weeds, organic farmers, till and hand weed as well as rotate crops. Conventional farmer’s chemicals to manage weeds. Organic Farmers use all natural ingredients to feed the animals while conventional farmers give growth hormones and antibiotics to increase the quality of their meat. Always read labels on food to make sure that they are 100 percent organic and not just made of organic ingredients.

A lot of people are making the switch to organic cleaning products as well. They have major health and environmental advantages. When using regular products you are exposed to all kinds of chemicals that are bad for our environment as well as our health. Organic cleaning products do not have chemicals and they are safe for everyone to use while protecting our environment as well. Many major retailers are stating to carry these protects. Look at Clorox and the new products that they are making. They are just about the same price as regular cleaning products and they are all organic and so much better for our nation.

One area that is difficult to find is organic baby products. Organic baby products are getting easier to find. At many high end retailers you can find organic baby clothing, crib bedding and bath products. They are high end items that are made from organic materials.

Organic clothing is getting easier to find as well. Wal-Mart is starting to carry organic clothing. Cotton farming is very hard on our environment. Statistics state that every t-shirt made with regular cotton require ¼ cup of chemicals. With organic cotton no harsh toxins or synthetic fertilizers are used .Natural fertilizers are used to produce organic cotton. A wide variety of organic cotton clothing is now available, t-shirts, socks, pants, underwear, skirts, blouses, sheets, pillowcases and towels. A lot of high end retailers are also making organic clothing.

Organic living is not only being concerned about our environment but changing your lifestyle to a healthy lifestyle!!!

→ No CommentsTags: Cancer Fighting Foods · Organic Farming