Want to know more about organic farming? Interested in learning why pesticides are bad for you, and the environment? Read on...
Selected articles and links of interest:
10 health benefits of avocados
From prostate cancer prevention, to lowering cholesterol, avocados have a myriad of health benefits. Here are ten reasons to eat, enjoy and know you're benefitting your health!
Can Orange Juice Make Your Heart Healthier?
The health benefits derived from eating oranges are well documented. Rich in vitamin C, which offers antioxidant protection and helps boost the immune system, oranges are also a good source of fiber and other important nutrients like folate, thiamine, potassium, vitamin A and calcium, crucial for maintaining strong bones.
Eating organic on a budget -- it can be done!
Don't let anyone tell you that eating organic on a budget can't be done. In fact, it's the best eating in the world.
Orange Juice: A Nutritional Powerhouse!
Orange juice naturally contains more than 60 phytonutrients. Many of them are known as flavonoids. Research has shown that flavonoids are natural antioxidants and may help support a healthy cardiovascular system and immune system.
The Benefits of Organic Food
In recent years, many farmers across the United States have abandoned synthetic pesticides, fertilizers and hormones in favor of organic growing methods. The result is healthy, naturally grown food that’s better for our health and the environment.
Orange Juice Health Benefits – Fulfill your requirement of Vitamin C
Orange juice is an integral part of any healthy diet from time immemorial. The flavor of orange is world's third favorite flavor next to chocolate and vanilla. Oranges have additional nutritional contents than other citrus fruits. This article discusses the major nutritional contents and health benefits of orange.
Can Orange Juice Make Your Heart Healthier?
This cover story in the May-June 2009 issue of "Organic Processing Magazine" covers six ways that organic food can help prevent disease throughout life, with special focus on obesity, diabetes, and birth defects.
The Organic Factor -- Tilting the Odds Toward Healthy Development (PDF)
This cover story in the May-June 2009 issue of "Organic Processing Magazine" covers six ways that organic food can help prevent disease throughout life, with special focus on obesity, diabetes, and birth defects.
Promoting Sustainable Food Systems through Organic Agriculture: Past, Present and Future
Overview of the benefits of organic food and farming published by the Hunger and Environmental Nutrition Dietetic Practice Group of the American Dietetic Assocaition.
Pesticide Exposures Increase Risk of Gestational Diabetes
Occupational exposure to pesticides during the first trimester of pregnancy more than doubles the risk of gestational diabetes.
The Organic Center releases 'Organic Essentials' pocket guide for minimizing pesticide dietary risks
Do you know that the greatest risks from pesticides in the diet come from eating conventionally produced fruits and vegetables? A new complimentary pocket guide can help consumers avoid the highest-risk fresh produce during both the summer season and winter, when a significant share of fresh produce is imported. Download the guide here.
Organic food sales see healthy growth
A far cry from the farmers' markets and food co-op's of years ago, organic products are now marketed in major supermarkets across the country, and the industry is enjoying double-digit annual growth.
A Side-by-Side Comparison of the Benefits of Organic Versus Conventional
What do you get (really) when you buy a conventional tomato versus an organic, locally grown tomato? Click this link to find out.
Superior nutrient content reported in organic blueberries
The Bluecrop variety of highbush blueberries were grown on five organic and conventional farms in New Jersey. The farms shared comparable soils and weather conditions, and the berries were harvested in precisely the same way. The scientists carrying out the study are based at the USDA's Genetic Improvement of Fruits and Vegetables Laboratory in Beltsville, Maryland, and at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. The team found consistent and significant differences in nutrient content. The organic blueberries contained 46 ORAC units, a measure of total antioxidant capacity, while the conventional berries contained 31 ORAC units. Accordingly, the organic berries had over 50% more total antioxidant activity. They also contained about 50% higher levels of total anthocyanins, the natural plant phytochemicals that give blueberries their dark color. The organic blueberries also had 67% more total phenolics. The authors' concluding sentence reads: "Blueberries produced from organic culture contained significantly higher amounts of phytonutrients than those produced from conventional culture." Source: Wang SY, Chen CT, Sciarappa W, Wang CY, Camp MJ. Fruit quality, antioxidant capacity, and flavonoid content of organically and conventionally grown blueberries. J Agrc Food Chem 2008;56:5788-94
Citrus flavanones show neuroprotection potential
Antioxidant compounds in citrus fruit may have a role to play in protection against neurodegenerative diseases, suggests a new lab study from Taiwan.
Higher Levels of Vitamin C and Lower Concentrations of Nitrogen Found in Organic Oranges
An Italian team explored whether nitrogen levels and forms in conventional and organic oranges could be used to distinguish between organic and conventionally grown fruit. Detailed fruit quality data was collected on two cultivars of oranges grown under conventional and organic methods. Two key food quality parameters were consistently different, and organic food was found to have higher quantities of Vitamin C.
New Evidence Confirms the Nutritional Superiority of Plant-Based Organic Foods
The Organic Center just published a State of Science Review (SSR) on the nutrient content of organic versus conventional food. We encourage you to download and read the PDF.
Going green: Resources for your entire family
Make saving our planet a part of your daily life with easy changes. Start today with help from these resources.
100% Orange Juice Ranks First in Maintaining a Healthy Immune System
A new analysis by the Florida Department of Citrus, Lakeland, FL, of beverage consumption among participants of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) study shows 100% orange juice ranked first in delivering essential nutrients such as vitamin C and folate to support long-term health, even though it was the sixth most consumed beverage.
Organic challenges conventional for yield potential in current Rodale tests
Decades of soil improvements produce better soil quality and allow organic corn production to move beyond yield parity, while providing better resilience in drought and wet years.
Citrus extracts get cholesterol-lowering boost
Hesperidin and naringin, compounds found in oranges and grapefruit, cut cholesterol levels by about 25 per cent in lab animals, says a study that may boost interest in these citrus flavonones.
Citrus peel extract shows benefits for diabetes
A daily supplement of an extract from citrus peel could reduce insulin resistance in hamsters, suggesting the extract might also help prevent diabetes in humans, says a North American study.
More fruit could mean less asthma in adults
People with an antioxidant-rich diet could reduce their risk of developing asthma in adulthood, say Cambridge researchers - adding to a growing body of science on the subject.
Orange juice may protect against osteoporosis
Drinking more orange or grapefruit juice may reduce bone loss and decrease the risk of osteoporosis in later life, suggests an animal study from Texas.
Pesticide exposure raises risk of Parkinson’s
Exposure to pesticides – even at relatively low levels – may increase an individual’s risk of developing Parkinson’s disease by 70%, according to a study of more than 140,000 people. Researchers say that the findings strengthen the hypothesis that such chemicals somehow promote the development of the disease.
Uncle Matt’s Organic Orange Juice Product Review
Uncle Matt’s Organic Calcium and Vitamin D Juice is a blend of fourth-generation Florida Hamlin and Valencia oranges and tastes as if it is freshly squeezed. One of our younger testers even exclaimed, “It’s just like eating an orange!” Uncle Matt’s juices are lower in acid than most of the competition, and they are certified organic, kosher, and pareve. And, Uncle Matt’s juices are made without any additional flavorings or oils. In addition to the Calcium and Vitamin D variety we tested, the juice is also available in pulp and pulp-free blends and is packaged in 56-, 32-, and 10-oz. sizes. Also available in a 59-ounce carafe style bottle made from recycable PET #1 plastic.
Source: www.organic.org
Study indicates organic foods are best for children
Switching to organic foods provides children "dramatic and immediate" protection from widely used pesticides that are used on a variety of crops, according to a new study by a team of federally funded scientists. Concentrations of two organophosphate pesticides --malathion and chlorpyrifos -- declined substantially in the bodies of elementary-school age children during a five-day period when organic foods were substituted for conventional foods.
Red grapefruit could lower heart disease risk
Eating a red grapefruit a day could reduce cholesterol by 15 per cent and triglycerides by 17 per cent and protect against heart disease, according to research from Israel.
Higher levels of vitamin C and lower concentrations of nitrogen found in organic oranges
Many scientific teams in Europe are trying to develop reliable and affordable tests to differentiate between organic and conventional foods. For many crops, pesticide residue levels are considered the best way to make such a determination, but in the case of citrus, this approach is unreliable.
Citrus carotenoid may fight polyarthritis
Increasing intake of the carotenoid beta-cryptoxanthin, found in citrus fruits, may reduce the risk of developing inflammatory disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis, report UK researchers.
Grapefruit seed extract helps stomach ulcers
Grapefruit seed extract appears to help treat stomach ulcers, according to Polish researchers. The findings may surprise many consumers as the citrus fruit is often associated with acidity and irritation of the gastrointestinal tract. But the seed extract actually possesses antibacterial and antioxidative properties that calm the gastric tract, said the researchers at the recent Digestive Disease Week conference in Chicago.
High calcium and vitamin D diet may decrease risk of PMS
A recent study suggests that women with high intakes of vitamin D and calcium from food sources, equivalent to about four servings per day of skim or low-fat milk, fortified orange juice or low-fat dairy foods such as yogurt, may reduce the risk of developing premenstrual syndrome (PMS).
Tests show lab rats thrive on organic food
A team of scientists found rats fed on organic food were slimmer, slept better and had stronger immune systems than others fed on conventionally-grown produce, reports the Danish Institute of Agricultural Sciences.
Health benefits of citrus limonoids explored
Oranges rich in vitamin C offer another important yet lesser-known nutritional bonus: citrus limonoids. In laboratory tests with animals and with human cells, citrus limonoids have been shown to help fight cancers of the mouth, skin, lung, breast, stomach and colon.
Certain organic farming and food processing techniques can increase antioxidant levels
he Organic Center's second State of Science Review (SSR) concludes that organic farming methods have the potential to elevate average antioxidant levels, especially in fresh produce. Charles Benbrook, Ph.D., compiled and analyzed existing scientific information for his report, Elevating Antioxidant Levels Through Organic Farming and Food Processing.
Citrus peel shows cholesterol-lowering qualities
A compound found in the peels of citrus fruit has the potential to lower cholesterol more effectively than some prescription drugs, and without side effects, according to a study by US and Canadian researchers.
Citrus compounds fight child cancer cells
Compounds found only in citrus fruits not only fight colon cancer cells but also halt the spread of the childhood cancer neuroblastoma, according to research in laboratory animals.
Organic food sales see healthy growth
A far cry from the farmers' markets and food co-op's of years ago, organic products are now marketed in major supermarkets across the country, and the industry is enjoying double-digit annual growth.
Organic Farming Research Foundation
Uncle Matt supports the Organic Farming Research Foundation (OFRF). OFRF is dedicated to the education of organic farmers through on-going research. To date, this organization had funded close to a million dollars in farm research. Organic research is a valuable tool that helps farmers overcome the initial learning curve after switching from conventional farming. Uncle Matt's is proud to donate a portion of our proceeds from every carton to ensure the efforts of this worthy organization. If you would like to donate to OFRF, click to DONATE NOW.
Organic Trade Association
Uncle Matt's is also a proud member of the Organic Trade Association. OTA keeps its finger on the pulse of the industry and the media. It is constantly promoting organic agriculture as well as serving as an industry spokesperson and watchdog. Join in the Organic Trade Association's (OTA) Annual Fund Campaign. OTA's 2005 Annual Fund Campaign is now under way, and all OTA members have been mailed a brochure. Special thanks go to Applegate Farms, Chino Valley Ranchers, Aurora Organic, Pet Promise and National Cooperative Grocers Association for making the first pledges. Remember, the annual fund supports OTA's public policy and media advocacy programs to promote and protect organic all year long. Our goal is to raise $500,000- your contribution at any level makes a difference! Make a pledge online by clicking here. Or, contact lstravino@ota.com.
Orange juice is a nutrition powerhouse
Phytonutrients are receiving increased attention because of their powerful and wide-ranging health affects on the body. Orange juice naturally contains more than 60 phytonutrients, many of which are known as flavonoids. Research has shown that flavonoids are natural antioxidants and may help support a healthy cardiovascular system and immune system.
Orange Juice Fortified With Plant Sterols Found to Lower 'Bad' Cholesterol in Healthy Volunteers
Plant sterols -- recognized for their cholesterol-lowering power when added to margarines, salad dressings and other fats -- are just as effective in reducing low-density lipoprotein, or "bad" cholesterol levels, when added to orange juice, say researchers at UC Davis School of Medicine and Medical Center.
Turning the juice on blood pressure
What simple food when added to your diet can reduce your blood pressure as much as some prescription medications? The answer is orange juice.
A report, "Genetically engineered crops and pesticide use in the United States: The First Nine Years," prepared by Dr. Charles M. Benbrook concludes that GE corn, soybeans and cotton have led to a 122 million pound increase in pesticide use in the United States since 1996, primarily in herbicide use.
Scientists report 80% of cancer cases caused by environmental & food carcinogens
Government scientists at the National Cancer Institute have announced that at least 80% of cancer cases are due environmental causes, such as diet, tobacco, and alcohol, as well as radiation, infectious agents, and substances in the air, water, and soil.
New studies on pesticide residues alarm consumers and farmers
The San Francisco-based Pesticide Action Network North America (PANNA) recently released analysis of data on 34 pesticides collected from more than 9,000 people by the CDC. The study showed that two insecticides – chlorpyrifos and methyl parathion – were at levels up to 4.5 times greater than what the U.S. government deems acceptable.
Citrus peel can cut cholesterol
Citrus peel may not be very appetizing, but research suggests it could be very good for you.
Study: An orange a day keeps the cancer away
An Australian study found that consuming citrus fruits could reduce the risk of mouth, larynx and stomach cancers by up to 50 percent.
Making organic foods more affordable
Even as organics move from its health food niche into the mainstream, premium prices remain in many cases. Health-conscious families are left to find creative solutions to eat naturally on a budget. It can involve a bit of hunting and gathering, bulk-buying, and thinking outside the grocery cart.
Grapefruit may be easy weight loss remedy
Eating grapefruit, long recommended by diet programs for weight loss, may indeed impact the body's insulin levels, say researchers from the US-based Scripps Clinic.
New Reports Show GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms) Inevitably Pollute the Environment
A January 20, 2004 report from the National Research Council of the National Academies, commissioned by the USDA National Biological Risk Assessment Program, which is considering how it should regulate genetically modified plants and animals, states that for some GEOs, including modified plants, insects, microbes and animals, "the ecological consequences" of their escape or release "could be serious."
The Organic Consumers Association announces the launch of its new "Millions Against Monsanto" campaign
If you're talking about PCBs, Agent Orange, Bovine Growth Hormone, water privatization, biopiracy, untested/unlabeled genetically engineered organisms, or persecuting small family farmers for seed saving, you're talking about the Monsanto Corporation. Join OCA's campaign to mobilize one million consumers to end Monsanto's global corporate bullying.
USA: Organic Farming Can Curb Global Warming
Discussions of global warming in the popular press seldom fail to note its potentially disastrous consequences for agriculture as we know it: more extreme and unpredictable weather, coastal flooding, even the loss of pollen viability for some crop species at higher temperatures all threaten to push the usual unpredictability of farming into the realm of the completely unworkable.
Organic Food for Thought: Lessening Children's Pesticide Exposure
Parents concerned about the risk to their children's health posed by eating foods sprayed with organophosphorus (OP) pesticides may want to take note: Cynthia Curl and her colleagues at the University of Washington compared the OP pesticide metabolite levels of 39 Seattle preschool children and found that children who consumed organic fruits, vegetables and juices had a significantly lower OP pesticide exposure than those who consumed conventional foods.
More Evidence- Pesticides Cause Brain Damage
Supported by a $1.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Defense, research at the Salk Institute have identified a gene that may link certain pesticides can chemical waepons to a number of neurological disorderes, including the Gulf War syndrome and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder(ADHD). The finding, published in the March 17 online version of "Nature Genetics," is the first to demonstrate a clear genetic link between neurological disorders and exposure to organophosphate chemicals.
More Vitamin C In Organic Oranges Than Conventional Oranges
Organically-grown oranges contain up to 30% more vitamin C than those grown conventionally, it was reported at a Great Lakes Regional meeting of the American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific society.
Organic and Sustainable Foods Have More Polyphenolics Linked to Health Benefits
Organically or sustainably grown berries and corn contain up to 58 percent more polyphenolics, natural antioxidants that are a natural defense for plants and may be good for our health, according to a new study by researchers at the University of California, Davis. The work suggests that pesticides and herbicides may actually reduce the production of polyphenolics by plants.
Vegetables Without Vitamins
Imagine the surprise of going online and discovering that the vitamin and mineral content of vegetables has drastically dropped. That’s what happened to nutritionist, Alex Jack, when he went to check out the latest US Department of Agriculture food tables. The stunning revelation came after Jack compared recently published nutrient values with an old USDA handbook he had lying around. Some of the differences in vitamin and mineral content were enormous.
