{"id":9187,"date":"2019-02-16T06:00:07","date_gmt":"2019-02-16T06:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/?p=9187"},"modified":"2026-05-25T09:52:27","modified_gmt":"2026-05-25T09:52:27","slug":"what-is-organic-food","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/what-is-organic-food\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is Organic Food, and Is It Healthier for You?"},"content":{"rendered":"As consumers, it\u2019s confusing when trying to decide whether to \u201cgo organic.\u201d We want to make the best decisions for our health and our families, but we also must consider our tight budgets. Those that buy organic food do so because they believe it\u2019s healthier. But is it? Here\u2019s some information that will hopefully give you some insight.What makes food organic? The word \u201corganic\u201d refers to the way food is grown and produced. There are certain methods and requirements that must be verified in order to put \u201corganic\u201d on a food label. Organic produce and other foods must adhere to the following standards in order to be classified as \u201corganic.\u201d* No pesticides* No synthetic fertilizers* No sewage sludge* No genetically modified organisms (GMOs)* No ionizing radiation* No antibiotics or growth hormones for livestockWhat do the labels mean? 100 percent organic \u2013 All ingredients are certified organic and has a USDA Organic seal.Organic \u2013 95 percent of the ingredients are certified organic and has a USDA Organic seal.Made with organic ingredients \u2013 70 percent of the ingredients are certified organic and does not have the seal.Organic ingredients \u2013 Less than 70 percent of the ingredients are certified organic and does not have the seal.Is organic food healthier? There are varying opinions whether organic food is more nutritious. Some studies have shown that organic and conventional produce are very similar in nutritional value. Organic growing practices are costlier for the grower, which then makes buying organic food more expensive for the consumer. Reasons for this are increased labor, slower growing time, and cost of the USDA certification.If we are talking about pesticides and synthetic fertilizers, then yes, organic food may be safer to consume than conventionally grown foods. Is there a safe limit? That\u2019s an answer we don\u2019t have. But we should talk about how these chemicals can negatively impact our health. Since pesticides are used to kill pests and disease, they can be toxic to humans as well, potentially causing respiratory issues, endocrine disruption, and other health issues (1). Fertilizers can get into water sources and cause contamination and air pollution.What are the benefits of organic food? * Less pesticides* Farming practices better for the environment* Fresher food because less preservatives* Animals not given antibiotics or growth hormonesSo how do we decide? Do we need to buy everything organic? The Environmental Working Group (EWG) is a great source to help you make decisions when buying organic produce. They have put together some lists called the \u201cDirty Dozen\u201d and \u201cClean Fifteen,\u201d which are updated every year. The \u201cDirty Dozen\u201d are the more contaminated fruits and vegetables, therefore more pertinent to buy the organic version. The \u201cClean Fifteen\u201d are the least contaminated, usually because they have thick skins and are therefore more protected. These are fine to buy non-organic. One more tip: Make sure to wash your produce very well.Many people look to organic foods when trying to make healthier choices. While organic foods are certainly a good path for this, there are other steps you can take to increase overall wellness. Supplements and vitamins, for instance, can help fill the nutrition gaps in your diet that you may not be getting from your food every day.If you are looking for the highest quality Vitamin and Mineral Supplements personalized for you, please go to www.personanutrition.com and take our on-line questionnaire providing individualized vitamin and mineral recommendations. Persona is the only Science Based supplement provider on the web today! Take advantage of our knowledge and use it to your health\u2019s benefit!","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As consumers, it\u2019s confusing when trying to decide whether to \u201cgo organic.\u201d We want to make the best decisions for our health and our families, but we also must consider our tight budgets. Those that buy organic food do so","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":14175,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[672,7,675,27,8,10,18,266,247],"tags":[12,38],"class_list":["post-9187","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fitness","category-health-and-diet","category-immunity","category-mental-health-2","category-micro-nutrients","category-minerals-2","category-vitamins","category-vitamins-supplements","category-wellness-2","tag-antioxidants","tag-food"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9187","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/30"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9187"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9187\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14177,"href":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9187\/revisions\/14177"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14175"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9187"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9187"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9187"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}