We try to buy organic and in fact

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Do you try to buy them wherever possible, or only if you happen to pick them up in error? If you intentionally buy them, why? Do they taste better, are they better for you, do you believe you're helping the environment?

http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/diet.fitness/04/13/cl.organics/index.html

Organic vs. conventional: What do experts say?

By Amy Spindler
CookingLight.com

The organic market is growing at a steady pace of nearly 20 percent annually, and that translates into organic alternatives in nearly every grocery aisle -- from snack foods to frozen meals to baked goods. "Everyone wants to be healthy and these foods convey an aura of health," says Marion Nestle, Ph.D., professor of nutrition, food studies, and public health at New York University and author of "What to Eat." Here, experts compare some of the benefits and drawbacks of going organic.

Are organic products more nutritious?
A few small studies have shown that some organic foods contain higher nutrient levels than conventional ones. For example, a recent study showed that organic ketchup had 57 percent more of the antioxidant lycopene than regular ketchup. But the wholesale claim that organics are more nutritious than conventional is ahead of the science. "More research is needed before it can be stated that organic foods provide more nutritional value," says Connie Diekman, M.Ed., R.D., director of university nutrition at Washington University in Saint Louis, Missouri.

Organic foods may have other benefits, though. Charles Benbrook, Ph.D., chief scientist at The Organic Center, asserts that some organic products are less processed, which means they may contain fewer chemically adulterated ingredients (think hydrogenated oils, high fructose corn syrup, and preservatives).

Bottom line: "Read labels and look at each product in its own right," Benbrook says. An organic potato chip may contain as many calories and saturated fat grams as a conventional chip. "The price premiums associated with processed organic food are not as great as the premiums charged for organic whole foods," Benbrook says.

Are organic products healthier for the environment?
What's best for the environment is hotly debated among experts. "There is no scientifically accepted evidence that organic foods are better for the environment. Organic production allows natural pesticides, which can be toxic to humans and wildlife," says Alan McHughen, Ph.D., professor of botany and plant sciences at the University of California, Riverside. Organic fertilizers may also contain harmful bacteria, such as E. coli. Plus, organic farming yields only 75 to 90 percent of the crop of conventional systems, meaning that more land must be planted in order to have an equal return.

Organic advocates counter that chemicals used in conventional farming spread far beyond the fields where they are applied and have unintended consequences. "Synthetic pesticides have been linked to developmental and neurological problems," Benbrook says. "Organics eliminate synthetic pesticides and the damage they do to farmers, land, and drinking water."

Organic regulations also prohibit the use of genetic modification -- another thorny issue with as-yet unclear implications for the environment.

Bottom line: Focus on foods' benefit to your immediate environmen -- i.e. your body -- first. "A good diet means variety, balance, and moderation, regardless of the farming method that produced the food," McHughen says.

To my family, the price is a concern. However, when we can, we like food out of our little garden best.

We serve nutritious foods with what we can provide. This week we ate strawberries and canteloupe because they were on sale. We've been using bell peppers in about everything for the same reason. However, next week might be broccoli everything. We are big bean eaters around here; they're cheap, nutritious, and good. Only Cargill a couple blocks away from here smells worse than us.

I don't really buy into the organic hype, but I've bought organic things, usually if they were cheap. I could read studies until I'm blue in the face about how the pesticides will give me hemorrhoids and foot fungus and whatever the study is about; I revel in the thought that my chance of death is eventually 100%.

Don't mind my ramble. Thank you for the article, though. I found it informative.

...is a very good sign. It means that she hasn't entirely given up hope yet. But she needs all the support she can get. I don't know what resources are available in your area or what she has already tried, but she needs to get into therapy immediately and she needs to find a way to obtain her medications and start taking them again. There are agencies which can help with problems like these - you can help her search for them and help her do whatever is required (filling out applications, etc.) to get her going - because of her depression, she may not have the energy to do all of this on her own right now.

The most important thing you can do is to let her know that you are there for her, that she is important to you, and that ALL problems are solvable - maybe not in exactly the manner we would prefer (it is possible she may lose her house) but sometimes a situation that seems so dire at the time may end up having an unexpected, positive affect on our lives. Believe me, I speak from personal experience.

My husband and I have used porn during our marriage to "spice things up," and I was perfectly okay with that. The OP is not. This is an area of marriage where I think there must be either agreement or acceptable compromise, or the marriage will not work.

Yes, they should try to work things out before giving up on their marriage. But it doesn't sound promising.

I just noticed my back STOPPED itching. I had an itchy back for the longest time...always rubbing against doorways like a crazed grizzly bear rubbing on a tree trunk, using a coat hanger to scratch myself, bathroom towel, you name it.

I think what was causing my problem was my chair! Whatever the fabric was on it was causing my back to get really heated and probably caused it to sweat and caused the itchies. I have a new chair and it just dawned onto me that I don't itch anymore! Well, I mean aside from the usual wintertime dryness, but nothing like before.

Anyway, it's just a thought. By the way, I'm jealous that you have Valium. Always wanted to try the stuff but no one likes to prescribe it anymore it seems. I just down some cheap wine instead. Works just as well I guess.

"I enjoy reading books by Judy Blume" Is this fact or opinion. DS says fact, I say opinion.

"My mom loves for me to wear blue shirts" fact or opinion.
I say opinion, he says fact.

I'm confused now because if I were to say that I enjoy reading a certain book, I would consider it fact for me.

I am under a lot of stress with an elderly mother who has a grim prognosis. She is 90 years of age and has CHF with another recent hospitalization last week. She is home now, but her doctor called me the day of her discharge and gave me a complete detailed summary of her condition and prognosis. I have been more anxious since the discussion with him, although he is to be commended for his frankness and the sensitive way he handled the situation.

I know counseling is beneficial after we lose someone close to us, but I feel I need some help now just dealing with this now. The only way I can explain how I feel is to say I feel like I am carrying a bomb and not able to put it down. I know what will happen and still not able to prevent the inevitable. The nurse told me last week at the hospital that the normal BNP level is not to be above 50. My mother's BNP this last time was over 4600. The doctor told me the same value on the telephone and told me it almost blew his socks off, in his words exactly. They removed 5 1/2 liters of fluid this admission. She also has chronic renal failure. I am blessed to have her this long, but it makes it no easier to let go. I have such a heaviness in my heart. Thank you for listening.

Please do your own research on this. The poster was correct, these websites are all over the web about what is taught in Korean schools!