With organic fruits and vegetables now sold in almost every grocery store, is it time to take a bite?

Today's fruits and vegetables are regularly doused with a variety of toxic chemicals to keep pests away. Over 50 different pesticides are found on peaches alone. More consumers are choosing organic to avoid potential risks. But when do you get what you pay for?

The Environmental Working Group has performed an analysis comparing pesticide levels in common fruits & vegetables sold in America. The resulting Shopper's Guide to Pesticides "ranks pesticide contamination for 53 popular fruits and vegetables based on an analysis of 51,000 tests for pesticides on these foods, conducted from 2000 to 2009 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the federal Food and Drug Administration. Nearly all the studies on which the guide is based tested produce after it had been rinsed or peeled."

The EWG Shopper's Guide has developed two lists to help you know when buying organic is worth the money. The Dirty Dozen includes produce covered in high concentrations of a chemical cocktail (even after rinsing and peeling). The Clean Fifteen include the cleanest produce that have the least amount of chemical residue.

_The Clean Fifteen:                The Dirty Dozen:

1. Onions                             1. Apples
   
2. Sweet Corn                      2. Celery
3. Pineapples                       3. Strawberries
4. Avocados                         4. Peaches
5. Asparagus                         5. Spinach
6. Sweet Peas                      6. Nectarines (imported)
7. Mangoes                           7. Grapes (imported)
8. Eggplant                           8. Sweet Bell Peppers
9. Cantaloupe (domestic)       9. Potatoes
10. Kiwi                               10. Blueberries (domestic)
11. Cabbage                         11. Lettuce
12. Watermelon                    12. Kale / Collard Greens
13. Sweet potatoes
14. Grapefruit
    
15. Mushrooms

Go Forth & Be Fruitful. What we recommendation when considering organic produce:

1. If you love apples (celery, strawberries...) and eat a lot of them, buy them organic as much as possible.
   
2. Don't want to pay for organic? Just eat more on the clean list and avoid the dirty dozen.
3. Still don't want to pay for organic? Plant a garden and grow your own produce without chemicals.
4. Buy produce from local farms that may not be certified organic, but avoid using chemicals.
   
5. Eat more fruits & veggies regardless. The beneficial nutrients outweigh the risks from pesticides.

A study recently published in the Annals of Internal Medicine compared the treatment of 272 adults with neck pain lasting at least 2 weeks. They were treated with chiropractic spinal manipulative therapy (SMT), home exercises, or medications (anti-inflammatories, muscle relaxers, pain killers). Improvement was periodically evaluated over 52 weeks.

The researchers found that chiropractic and exercise were significantly more beneficial than medications for patients suffering neck pain. This significant improvement was noted within 8 weeks for chiropractic treatment and within 26 weeks for home exercises. The improved benefit lasted at least 52 weeks (the length of the study).

Read the neck pain study here.

If you are what you eat (which you are), then YES. You are genetically modified. Most Americans are. Very few of us know which foods are genetically modified and even fewer are able to avoid them. It's hard to avoid them because they are in most of what we eat and no labels are required.

We're not talking about the old fashioned cross-breeding of two plants. We're talking about genetically inserting DNA from a virus into corn to make it produce a pesticide in its cells or to make it survive heavy doses of herbicides that kill competing weeds. So let's take a look at genetically modified (GM) foods you may be eating...

The following crops grown & consumed in America are GM:
Soy - 91% grown in the US is GM                                Corn - 85%
Sugar Beets - 90% (all that sugar isn't from cane)           Canola - 88%
Cotton - 71%                                                                Hawaiian papaya - more than 50%
Zucchini and Yellow Squash - small amount                   

If you are like most Americans, you eat these foods or food additives made from them multiple times each day (soy protein, corn starch, high fructose corn syrup, sugar, dextrose, vegetable oil, margarine, aspartame, modified food starch, soy lecithin, etc.). Most packaged food sold in stores or food prepared in restaurants uses corn or soy ingredients.

What about meat, dairy, and eggs? Guess what most cows, chickens, and pigs are being fed? Corn & soy. It's cheap and fattens them up quickly. That means the meat, dairy, and eggs you buy in the store are also made using GM foods. Additionally, many cows are injected with the GM hormone rbGH to increase milk production.

How can you avoid GM foods? Again, GM foods don't have to be labeled in the US so they are not easy to avoid, but here are five helpful tips:

1. Avoid the foods listed above - none of the foods above are needed for good health
   
2. Eat grass-fed beef and pasture-raised chicken & eggs - you'll still have to ask if they use supplemental feed
3. Eat local - local farms are producing non-GM foods and you can go see how they are grown
   
4. Look for a Non-GMO Label - some products now voluntarily label their foods
5. Eat organic - these foods cannot contain GM ingredients

For more information about GM foods and their health risks go to the Institute for Responsible Technology

Sometimes to find the best food, you have to go straight to the source - the farm. Healthy food comes from healthy farms that raise produce & animals without chemicals or unnatural practices. We're fortunate to have a growing list of farms around Canton & Stark county that care about the food they produce. Unfortunately, it's not always easy to find these farms.

We've done the work for you. Explore our list of local farms for chemical-free produce & animals, grass-fed beef, pasture-raised poultry & eggs, minimally processed dairy, and other farm fresh products.

We recently added two local farms that are a great addition to the group:

Creekview Ridge Farm is in its first year of production in Minerva, Ohio. They are starting a CSA and attending the North Canton and Alliance farmers' markets. You buy a "share" for a certain length of time (typically the summer and/or fall season), and they deliver a week's worth of fresh vegetables in season (or eggs) to a drop off in North Canton or at McMichael Chiropractic every week. "It's a cool way to learn about new vegetables, see who is growing them and form a relationship with farmers who are very passionate about their mission."

Brown Bros. Farm is located in Paris, Ohio and provides chemical-free, pasture-raised poultry. "Our birds are given full access to the outdoors were they can eat as many bugs, grass, etc. that they desire. The only time our birds are penned up is at night for protection from predators. Our birds are raised and processed without any chemicals, antibiotics or growth hormones." They sell chicken, chicken burgers, chicken bratwurst, and turkey.

Take advantage of our great local resources to provide the healthiest food for you and your family. You can often find these products at local farmers' markets, but it's always a good idea to visit the farm you buy your food from so you can see how it's raised and where it's coming from. Find more local farms around the country at www.localharvest.org.

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We plan to provide our readers with the latest information on natural health care, shared in a variety of ways. This includes summarized news & research, our own fascinating patient cases, natural health solutions for specific conditions, and helpful info on local resources to help you be your healthiest. We're also happy to answer your specific questions about natural health care topics. We expect to post about weekly, but everything is subject to change.

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