Why you should buy Organic

Twinkie’s Challenge: July – September

There are a lot of people still debating on whether they should buy Organic or not. Let’s set the record straight once and for all when it comes to Organic.

Definition

Organic food is grown, processed, and packaged without the use of agricultural chemicals, artificial colors or flavors, genetic modification, irradiation, or other synthetic ingredients.

Per the National Organic Program, here are some definitions that should help clear up their labeling:

“‘100 Percent Organic’ must contain (excluding water and salt) only organically produced ingredients and processing aids.

Products labeled ‘Organic’ must consist of at least 95 percent organically produced ingredients (excluding water and salt). Any remaining product ingredients must consist of nonagricultural substances approved on the National List including specific non-organically produced agricultural products that are not commercially available in organic form.”

Later, the National Organic Program addressed the term “made with organic ingredients”. They wrote:

“Processed products that contain at least 70 percent organic ingredients can use the phrase “made with organic ingredients” and list up to three of the organic ingredients or food groups on the principal display panel.”

Something good to know: If you use the USDA Organic seal on your products that are not produced or handled within the National Organic Program’s regulations, you can have a civil penalty of up to $11,000 US Dollars. Ouch!

Just so you know, products labeled as “Naturally Grown” are not regulated. Some smaller farms who can’t afford to join the National Organic Program to be labeled as “USDA Organic”, can label their products as “Naturally Grown”. Since it isn’t regulated though, there are no guarantees on what you are really getting with this label.

Organic Farms

Having an Organic Farm is a strict business, and as you now know, you can’t just mark up your products as “USDA Organic” just for the fun of it. Organic farms do not use synthetic chemicals or drugs. They instead treat their soil, plants, and animals with natural products, which are a much safer alternative. They have surprise inspections by Inspectors who test the water, soil, plants (or animals) to make sure that everything is within USDA Organic standards. Once they do this, they review receipts from anything from feed to other records of reports and tests. This takes time and money, done twice a year, and the organic farmer pays for the fees involved to be able to label their products as “USDA Organic”.

Nutrition

The debate on whether Organic is really worth the usual additional costs seems to boil down to the common question, “Is Organic healthier for you?” or “Is Organic more nutritious?”. The answer to both of the questions is a simple “Yes”.

According to Virginia Worthington MS, ScD, CNS, in her article “Nutritional Quality of Organic versus Conventional Fruits, Vegetables, and Grains” in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, she found in her studies:

“…the vitamin C content of an organic fruit or vegetable is 27% more, on average, than a comparable conventionally grown fruit or vegetable.”

She also found from the various produce she studied, that  you can, on average, find about 21% more Iron, 29% more Magnesium, and 13% more Phosphorus. You will find about 15% less Nitrates. This is all very good news for your body, and more reason to stick to Organic produce.

The Nutrients come from the soil, which then in turns feeds the plant what it needs to produce healthy good-for-you produce which we get to enrich our own bodies with. If the soil is infested with pesticides and harmful chemicals, it will be lacking in nutrients, and the produce will in turn be depleted of nutrients.

Keep in Mind

When you do see “Organic” Chocolate bars, for example, it doesn’t mean it is all of a sudden it will be considered “healthy” or even “low calorie”. It still is sugar, candy, and not to be considered as food. Organic Candy is still Candy! Keep that in mind while you are in the grocery store, and try to stick with foods in its natural form. For example, choose fresh Organic Pears versus Canned Pears.

Your body deserves the best, and it deserves Organic.

Tags: best, Blog, body, Diary, Fruit, growth hormones, harmful chemicals, Healthy, Lose Weight, natural, nutrients, Nutrition, Organic, pesticides, Skinny, soil, stay active, Twinkie, Vegetable, Weight Loss

Throw away your Microwave!

Twinkie’s Challenge: April – June

What exactly is a Microwave?

A Microwave is an “electromagnetic energy” that affects the molecules in your food. Food has positive and negative electrons in it (think North and South Pole!), and when touched by the wave energy from the Microwave, there is a polarity change, which means the negative electrons become positive, and positive electrons becomes negative. By this movement, heat is created with these waves, which is how our food gets cooked. My changing the polarity of the molecules in your food…there are some scary side effects that just don’t make the convenience of a microwave worth it anymore.

Nutrition depleted

Vitamins and Minerals are made useless when heated in the Microwave. Isn’t this the whole point of eating in the first place? Yes, I think foods should taste great…but we are supposed to feed our bodies with beneficial nutrients- Vitamins and Minerals. Knowing that the Nutritional value is depleted when using the microwave just makes me rethink using the microwave for its “convenience”.

People have found that when using the microwave for their fruits and vegetables, they are having a harder time digesting their foods. The microwave kills the nutrients found in the food which help your body digest it.

Harmful Effects outweigh the convenience

I have heard many studies confirming the harmful effects of using a Microwave on the foods and beverages we consume. Some of them are listed below.

-Create cancer-causing agents in not only most food containers you cook with, but also in the food itself. In many cases, it can cause intestinal tumors -anyone ever heard of Colon Cancer?

-Hormonal balances in both men and woman become destabilized or altered.

-Negatively affects your metabolism. If you are trying to lose weight, another reason to stay away from the microwave.

There is a story about a lawsuit back in 1991 in Oklahoma. A woman names Norma Levitt had hip surgery, and was killed by a simple blood transfusion when a nurse “warmed the blood for the transfusion in a microwave oven”. Now, if you do some research, you will get mixed answers as whether this story is actually true or not. Here at SkinnyTwinkie.com, I try to be as honest and open as possible. I really don’t know if this story is true or not. What I do know is this…I am not willing to risk using a Microwave on my Organic foods…or any other food for that matter.

Throw away your Microwave!

If you are the least bit concerned you might just use your microwave anyways, I suggest getting rid of it now. Before you get all sad thinking “my convenience is going away!” think again about what you are doing for yourself by using an Oven or Toaster Oven instead of a Microwave.

First of all, your food will not only have a better texture when it is baked or toasted, but it also tastes better! Who wouldn’t want that? No one that I know of! Second of all, it is much healthier for you , and all you have to do is wait a little while longer. Well worth the wait, especially if you understand the purpose of consuming Organic foods! Another reason to toss your microwave is that it is so much more fun to make popcorn on the stove (with a clear glass lid, of course)!

Still keeping your Microwave anyways?

Ok, Just because you might keep it…doesn’t mean you have to use it, right? And if you do use it anyways…use it to clean dirty sponges that were used for cleaning dishes! That’s right, the Microwave kills everything you put in it, so when you put a dirty sponge in the microwave for 15-30 seconds (depending on what setting you have it on), it kills all of the bacteria on the sponge! I actually tested this out myself with a sponge that didn’t smell all that great…I used the microwave, and smell was all gone. Sweet. Ok, so maybe there is one good thing it can be used for? Still…I don’t believe it is worth keeping around with the possible temptation of cooking your food, plus you might as well just buy another sponge for your kitchen anyways.

Tags: cancer, cancer-causing, cancerous, convenience, digestion, electrons, energy, harmful, metabolism, microwave, minerals, negative, Nutrition, nutrition depleted, organic food, positive, radiation, thow away, thow away your microwave, vitamins

Say “No Way!” to Fried foods

Twinkie’s Challenge: January – March

If you can do one thing this Quarter…stop eating  Fried foods.

What is considered  ”Fried foods”?

Fried foods are things like french fries, most potato chips, onion rings, doughnuts, and in most cases, anything with the word “fried” in the title (though many products can be sneaky with their names!).

Why try to give up Fried foods?

Fried foods have little to no nutritional value, and if you have learned anything from my posts, your body needs good-for-you-fuel to survive and function properly. Those fried onion rings? Not helping you in any way. Fried foods are drenched in unhealthy oils-most commonly used are Canola, Vegetable, or Peanut oil-that are not good for your body. These oils become even more harmful for you when they are heated at such high temperatures to cook your food. Adding your food-whatever you may decide to fry- just decreases the nutritional value, and actually making things worse for your body. How bad can it be? Ever heard of the obesity epidemic? I guess fried foods fuel one thing-obesity. Fried foods not only cause obesity, but it also has been found to cause heart disease, clogged arteries, cholesterol, high blood pressure, and the list unfortunately goes on. Nothing good can come from frying your foods- nothing!

What are my alternatives to Fried foods?

Steaming, Baking, or Toasing your food! Trust me, not only will you be preparing better-for-you foods (you know, the ones where your body can actually benefit from what you are eating), but you will enjoy a variety of benefits from not frying your foods.

I believe your food will taste better. You will consume much less calories! Your body won’t feel so sluggish, and you should experience more energy (more noticable for those who eat fried foods on a regular basis and then suddenly stop). You can feel better- an excess of fried/greasy foods always made me feel really sick- literally. It was my body’s way of telling me “No more Fried foods”, and that it just wasn’t benefiting my body in any way. I finally wisened up, and avoid Fried foods.

Twinkie’s Challenge

My challenge for you: No more Fried foods! Take it one day at a time. If you are used to eating Fried foods on a regular basis, it may take a little bit of time to get out of the habit.  When you go grocery shopping, don’t buy fried potato chips or doughnuts. When you go out to eat, don’t get fried chinese food or don’t get the french fries at the Burger joint. Your body will thank you.

Tags: avoid any fried foods, bake, clogged arteries, doughnuts, fats, french fries, fried foods, heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, less sluggish, less tired, monthly challenge, obesity, onion rings, potato chips, steam, unhealthy oils

No Sugar and No Artifical Sweeteners!

Twinkie’s Challenge: October (Part 5)

Month of October’s  Challenge

An update to  my month long challenge: I did it!!! And guess what? I plan on continuing this journey – perhaps not as strict – but forever. That’s right, I see such a change in my body, my overall health, that I don’t plan on going back to my old ways. This is something that I can take with me forever.

It’s been a month of no Processed Sugars or Artificial Sweeteners. Because I stayed away from these sugars, I’m not craving sweets anymore! So why even try to have something that I know will cause my sugar cravings to just start back up again?  Not worth it…

Holidays are coming up

Yes, the holidays are coming up. Normally for Christmas I would prepare a stocking with Nutella, Toblerone, Rocher and Lindt Chocolates – all of the traditional candies I grew to love during the holidays. Throughout the years as I have become more and more health conscious, I stopped buying these candies in bulk, and bought them in mini packs or individually. For example, The Rocher Cholates can be purchased anywhere in bulk – think 30 pieces or more! If you go to the local grocery store, you can buy 3 in a pack for .99 cents of less. This way, I was able to get a piece of the tradition, without the traditional calories.

What’s going on this year? No candy at all. I don’t need it!!! I remember what it all taste like, but my body just isnt craving chocolate, candy, or desserts like it used to. I don’t have all that sugar in my body, so I’m just not craving it. Just because it’s a tradition, doesn’t mean I can’t create new traditions that will be much healthier for my body.

It feels good to know I’m moving in the right direction, and that my family will benefit with me. If you haven’t already, please join me in my month long challenge of staying away from Processed Sugars and Artificial Sweeteners. Trust me, your body will thank you for it.

♥,

Twinkie

Tags: Artificial Sweeteners, christmas, Health, healthier, holidays, Lose Weight, no candy, no chocolate, no sweets, October Challenge, processed su, sugar cravings, Twinkie, Twinkie's Challenge, weight gain, Weight Loss

No Sugar and No Artifical Sweeteners!

Twinkie’s Challenge: October (Part 4)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7y4un0fDNw

One of the Harmful Effects of Sugar

•Raises insulin levels in the body, which promotes the storage of fats. By storing excess fats, it causes your body to gain weight, and Sugar has been linked to causing Obesity.

Ask yourself this…is that candy worth it? No!!!

Tags: Artificial Sweeteners, avoid sugar, fats, Health, Healthy, insulin, Lose Weight, obesity, processed Sugar, sugar, Twinkie's Challenge, Viedo, weight gain, Weight Loss