When I decided to try and become more organically savvy in my approach to diet and nutrition, I never realized the full spectrum of complicated food choices I would encounter. In an effort to
become less stressed during my grocery shopping experiences, I educated myself, quickly, on the dynamics of organic food.
When eating organic foods, it is important to understand the dynamics of pesticides and bacteria as it pertains to beans, nuts and seeds. While we commonly view these as healthy food selections, these organic food products can, and do, fall prey to bacteria and pesticides.
Beans, whether organic or not, are always inoculated with bacteria coatings before they are planted, the difference between organically grown beans and the beans we all normally eat lies in the genetically altered bacteria used in non-organic beans. So, if you are seeking to consume organic foods, such as beans, whether organic or not, the food product may not really pose any difference in health unless you are concerned about the genetic alteration of the bacteria used to inoculate the bean when planted.
In contrast to bacteria, a greater concern when consuming beans is the use of pesticides in the harvesting of bean plants. Because the bean plant is rather small, it will easily fall prey to insects and pests. For this reason, farmers have long used pesticides to protect their crops. In contrast, many organic farmers are using a process known as rotation in which their crops, each year, are rotated and moved to areas where the bean crop is not subjected to chronic fungal and insect infestation. So, when considering organic beans over traditional beans, remember the larger impact may be in the use of pesticides and not, necessarily, in the risk of bacteria.
In addition to beans, nuts also provide for an interesting issue in terms of pesticides. In the growth of nut trees, the use of pesticides is used in both traditional crops as well as organic crops. However, the type of pesticide will vary. In contrast, the peanut, grown underground, falls pretty to mold and pesticide contamination as well. For this reason, when considering organic nuts, purchasing most nuts in either traditional farming or organic origin is not as much of an issue unless you are purchasing peanuts. However, be aware that organically based peanut spread or peanut butter tastes far different from the traditional peanut butter you may be used to eating.
As with any dietary change, it is important to understand the dynamics of the foods origin and what health impact the food will make to your diet. When considering organic foods, the purchase of nuts and beans may not provide for a significant health impact, when considering the dollars spent. However, when making the decision, consider these bacterial and pesticide issues as you make your selection.
http://voices.yahoo.com/organic-beans-nuts-know-buy-384723.html
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