More and more often we hear about organic farming or organic farming: but what does it mean and why are these foods considered superior to all the others?
Today's focus is on organic foods, i.e. those products that nature gives us and which do not contain any type of contamination, nor undergo any alteration.
A product with these characteristics is certainly healthy, rich in properties and has that plus that makes it special and therefore so sought after.
Let's try together to discover the most frequent qualities and types that we are learning to appreciate and prefer when we go shopping.
Organic foods: what they are
By organic food we mean all those foods that are produced without the use of chemicals such as pesticides, chemical fertilizers, herbicides, and insecticides. We can divide them into two categories according to the origin:
- organic foods deriving from organic farming;
- organic products deriving from organic farming.
In both cases we are talking about organic foods, which in order to be recognized as such must have a certification that certifies their origin and testifies to their controlled supply chain. This implies a real knowledge of all the production phases up to the final product.
The result will be a healthy food, subjected to various checks before being sold and with certainly higher nutritional properties.
Organic farming and products of nature
Organic foods deriving from agriculture qualify as "healthy" because they are grown without the use of harmful products which are then assimilated by the human body. Unfortunately, crops are often distorted by insecticides and chemical sprays to allow for faster growth and often also to alter their measurements, thus managing to sell the product at a higher price given its larger size.
Yet are we really willing to sacrifice quality in favor of weight and quantity? The answer is NO and this is demonstrated by the increasingly evident diffusion of organic foods, coming directly from nature without undergoing artificial modifications or alterations.
Let's take a few examples to understand which organic agricultural foods we can buy:
- Fruit;
- Vegetables;
- Cereals;
- Legumes;
In organic farming it is necessary to pay attention to the cultivation techniques, to the soil and above all it is necessary to respect the natural phases of growth of the product without accelerating or modifying it in any way.
Organic farming and organic products
Farming can also be organic and produce rigorously healthy products.
In this case it is necessary to have particular precautions to ensure the well-being of the animals, from their food to the grazing methods.
Absolutely forbidden hormones to speed up growth and weight, but also the use of antibiotics. The animals must graze freely and feed only with feed or grass not treated with chemicals of any kind. Did you know that organic feed also exists for healthier nourishment? It seems a paradox but it is the reality and it makes it easier to monitor the feeding of the animals present in this type of farming.
Some examples of products from organic farming?
- egg
- dairy products
- meat
How to recognize organic products?
If you decide to take care of your health at 360 degrees, you cannot fail to consume organic products. But how to recognize them without confusing them with all the others?
In order not to be deceived by false claims that include foods that are not organic in the organic category, it is advisable to seek certification, which is mandatory if the label is true.
On the label there are three things you need to pay attention to:
- IT : ISO code, used to identify organic food
- BIO : but it depends on the country and therefore it can also be ORG or EKO
- 111: numerical code of the control body
If they have the certification and these three codes you can rest assured that it really is a food deriving from organic farming or breeding.
In fact, there are specific bodies that are responsible for controlling organic farms to verify their authenticity and monitor phase after phase.
Organic foods on our tables: advantages
However, many ask themselves: why choose an organic food that usually also has a higher price than a non-organic one?
To answer this question, it is necessary to list the advantages that organic products offer naturally to our body. We often summarize its qualities very briefly by speaking of "healthier foods", but in reality this definition fails to explain why it is preferable to choose them.
Firstly we are sure that they will not be full of harmful substances such as pesticides. This certainty assures the consumer a healthy product because it is free of toxins which the body, otherwise, would have had to dispose of, favoring the pollution of toxic and harmful substances in the blood.
Organic meat is certainly less fat, with a lower calorie content, but with a high intake of unsaturated fatty acids.
As far as the benefits in humans are concerned, organic foods improve the defenses of the immune system in a natural way (by consuming chemically untreated fruit and vegetables and therefore rich in all their nutritional components). In addition, they are products with antioxidant properties that improve blood quality.
Organic foods are also indicated in diets: they are naturally healthier and often coincide with ketogenic foods present in one's personalized plan for lose weight.
Furthermore, they are specifically recommended by paediatricians for feeding children, because they contribute to regular growth and are rich in nutrients because they are made with natural and non-chemically treated ingredients.
Organic foods: where to find them
Given their importance from a healthy point of view and the need to find an authentication of their biological component, these natural products cannot be sold everywhere following the rules of mass trade.
Here too rules and controls are needed. So where to find them?
The most direct way to buy organic food is to buy directly from the farm. Here you can see for yourself how animals are treated or how farmland is maintained. They often offer the possibility of buying freshly harvested products, fresh ricotta or fresh eggs of the day.
A trip with the children to this type of company immersed in nature is the healthiest way to spend a day, make accurate and organic purchases and breathe the pure air that only open spaces can still offer.
And who doesn't have the opportunity to travel outside the area to visit the manufacturing companies? Don't worry, there are retailers specializing in organic products, both in the city and on the web, and they give you the opportunity to verify that each product has organic certification.
Even in supermarkets you can find organic foods: they are usually checked before reaching the counter but it is always good to double check and verify firsthand that they have all the requisites to be present in that department.
After understanding their importance, are you ready for an organic shopping?
