Nutrition Tip: Buying Organic is Not What’s Most Important

Posted January 14, 2009 in Diet, Nutrition Tip 2 Comments »
Dr. John Berardi
John Berardi

Since the late 1990’s Dr. John Berardi has published 8 scientific abstracts; 15 scientific papers and textbook chapters; presented at nearly 50 scientific, exercise, and nutrition related conferences; and published countless articles online.

His first articles at Testosterone Magazine so many years ago, provided me with the basis for everything I know about nutrition today. Now I will turn some of that knowledge over to you in the form of Nutrition Tips written by Dr. Berardi himself.

Today’s Topic – The Organic Debate

Why do we need organic foods?

Well the theory is that organic foods are grown without herbicides or pesticides, and so they contribute less carcinogens to our bodies. Besides that, organic food supposedly has more nutrients because better care is paid to the quality of the soil and the nutrition fed to the plants during growth.

In my opinion organic foods are a waste of money. Sure you might get an extra 5% of vitamin c, or a couple extra IUs of beta-carotene, but does it really matter? Why would I spend hundreds of dollars extra to buy organic food, when I can just wash my veggies and take a multi-vitamin to make up the extra nutrients?

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Get Precision Nutrition

Your first concern should be whether or not you are getting an adequate intake of fruits and vegetables. After that, you can worry about the minute details… if you have the time.

Let’s see what JB has to say about it:

Tip: The Organic Debate

“The average person should consume two pieces of fruit and three servings of vegetables per day as a minimum. Athletes probably need even more – I recommend 10-15 servings per day for each of my athletes.

Experts often spend too much time arguing about organic vs. regular fruits and veggies. I agree that raw, organic fruits and vegetables are best since they have a higher micronutrient count, but any fruits and veggies are better than none!

Get sufficient fruits and vegetables in your diet before worrying about whether they’re organic or not. Once you’ve done that, worry on.”

See Also

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2 Responses to “Nutrition Tip: Buying Organic is Not What’s Most Important”

  1. @Claudia

    In so called “organic” farming more plants go bad due to bugs/weeds. Thus more land will be needed for farming. Say goodbye to the rain-forest. I agree that pesticides are bad, but for now they are necessary.

    The term “organic” is very misleading. I’m pretty sure that it means the molecule question has Carbon chains. It should not be used to mean pesticide free, etc.

  2. How trite of an argument. Eating organic is not only better for you, but most importantly, the entire planet. Organic fruits and vegetables do less harm to the Earth than conventionally farmed ones.

    If your arguement is simply from a “health” perspective, I do extend some understanding. But to be honest, a sick planet means sick people. Your six pack won’t mean much if our water and food are so toxic, or our soils are so depleted that nutrition through food will become a thing of the past.

    If we keep going where we are going, we will HAVE to get our vitamins from pills, and that’s not what our Creator intended.

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