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Eating Organic – So Important With a Breast Cancer Diagnosis!

According to a report I was reading the other day by Consumer Reports, spending on organic products has risen by nearly 20% over the past decade and nearly 2/3 of American consumers purchase at least some organic products.  I find that to be good news, it means that consumers are voting with their purchases that they are no longer willing to allow tainted foods and products into their households.  If you have a breast cancer diagnosis, eating organic becomes doubly important.

Why Is It So Important To Be Eating Organic If You Have Breast Cancer?

First, for the simple fact that many of the toxins that are being sprayed and injected into our food supply are being linked to the development of cancer.  Organic food doesn’t contain pesticides, heavy metals, dangerous industrial chemicals, artificial flavors, artificial colors, preservatives, bovine growth hormones or antibiotics. 

We, as a human race, have only encountered the 100,000+ chemicals added to our food chain and animals in the last 70 years or so – right about when the incidence of all kinds of cancers began to increase.   Our bodies have no way at all to deal with these dangerous chemicals.

Organic certification is your assurance that products have been grown and handled according to strict procedures without toxic chemicals.  When you see that a product has been certified organic, it’s your best bet that the product, its ingredients and the manufacturer have gone through a thorough investigation.

Second, when you have breast cancer, your immune system is already compromised, it’s under attack.  You don’t want to be putting anything into it (or on it) that will cause any further harm or detriment.

What Foods You Should Buy Organic

There are times when you just can’t buy organic – either it’s not available in your small town, or you are traveling, or you just don’t have the extra money for organically grown foods.  Here’s a list of the things you should definitely be buying organic, especially if you are fighting breast cancer, have babies or small children, because their small body size means toxins can accumulate quickly:

1. Meat – organically grown meat reduces your chances of contracting mad cow disease (always fatal), and organic meat and poultry must be fed grain that was grown without chemical fertilizers or pesticides.
2. Dairy Products – including yogurt, ice cream, milk, butter, cheese, cottage cheese
3. These Fruits – the most highly sprayed fruits are peaches, apples, strawberries, pears, cherries, grapes and nectarines.  Buy these organically grown whenever possible.
4. These Vegetables – the most highly sprayed vegetables are bell peppers (capsicum), cucumbers, tomatoes, green beans, celery, spinach, lettuce, potatoes.  Buy organically grown when you can.
5. Eggs – It’s true that happy chickens lay the best eggs.  Organic eggs come from chickens that are allowed to roam freely in a yard not treated with chemicals, they are fed with organic feed and not pumped with chemicals or given antibiotics.
6. Coffee and Tea – Most people don’t think about this, but coffee and tea is generally grown in countries that don’t regulate the use of pesticides or fertilizers.  One more consideration – look for the Fair Trade Practices label that most organic coffee and tea carries.  This indicates that the people who produced the coffee beans or tea leaves were paid fairly and treated well.
7. Baby Food – Babies and small children are particularly susceptible to the harmful effects of pesticides, antibiotics and hormones.  Baby food is often made of condensed vegetables and fruit, so the level of any chemicals found on the food is magnified.  Please buy organic for our little ones, or better yet (kudos to my daughter-in-law who does this), make your own with organic produce and freeze it.
8. Almonds, Peanuts, Pecans, Soy Foods – All tend to be highly sprayed.

Foods You Don’t Really Have To Buy Organic

Because these foods have thick peels or protective coverings, or are not as highly sprayed, they are generally not as crucial to buy organically grown:

1. Asparagus
2. Avocados
3. Bananas
4. Blueberries
5. Broccoli
6. Cabbage
7. Cantaloupe
8. Cashews
9. Cauliflower
10. Eggplant
11. Garlic
12. Kiwi
13. Macadamia Nuts
14. Mango
15. Onions
16. Papaya
17. Peas
18. Pineapple
19. Rhubarb
20. Sweet corn – I’m on the fence about this one, though, because so much corn in the USA is now GMO and we don’t even have labeling laws to protect us from that.  I still buy sweet corn organically grown.
21. Sweet potatoes
22. Watermelon
23. Zucchini

I hope you found this article helpful!

If you would like my help with getting through breast cancer in an inspiring and ultra-healthy way, please sign up for my free e-newsletters and e-book on the right, or “like” me on Facebook (MarnieClark.com).  It is my honor and my goal to help you through this so that you emerge from breast cancer feeling better than before, thriving!