As a Naturopathic Physician, I specialize in nutrition. I advise my patients about healthy food choices and using food as medicine. One reason I am interested in nutrition is because I like to eat and feel good afterwards – morally, ethically and physically. Many people ask me if it is worth the extra money to eat organic. My answer is YES!!! “FOOD IS YOUR BEST MEDICINE” to quote a title of a book from 1965 by Dr. Henry Bieler, a wonderful turned-holistic Medical Doctor. But we must be aware of the QUALITY of our food. Healthy, nutrition-rich, organic fruits and vegetables, free-range poultry and eggs, and grass-fed animals are our best medicine.
Go see the current movie “Food Inc.” for some very graphic reasons why to buy and eat organic foods. It shows part of what has happened to the meat, chicken, corn and soybean industries in our country. The damage is much deeper than the movie portrays. The movie “Food Inc.” shows factory-style feedlots, slaughterhouses, chicken warehouses and meat packing plants. It also shows a small organic farm with grass-fed animals and free-range chickens. The comparison is shocking.
The moral of their story is that if you don’t like what you see, don’t support these industries by buying their products. Don’t support the fast food, factory-processed food, and genetically-modified food industries. If you want to be healthy, eat foods that lived healthy lives before they ended up on your plate! Buy from small farms and ranches that treat their soil, plants, birds and animals with respect and keep them healthy. Buy what grows locally and in season. These small actions have long range impact, on our and our environment’s health.
Dr. Wendy Van Dilla is in private practice in Santa Fe and Los Alamos, New Mexico. Please go to her website at www.drwendy.info for more information.
