Organic, Natural, Healthy - Same thing?

Lots of words are used to describe food in general and food that is proported to be good for us in particular. But what do those words really mean and is the food that is described really better for us? Let's take a look.

• Healthy - foods that are called 'healthy' are generally understood to be those that contribute to keeping our bodies working and feeling the way they should work and feel. The general consensus is that this means foods that contain a lot of vitamins, minerals, fiber, and/or other components that supply the body with what it needs and have only a little or none of the things that cause problems. However... it is very general, subjective and individual depending on the needs of each person. In other words describing a food as healthy has little meaning.


• Natural - foods that are assumed to be minimally processed and do not contain hormones, antibiotics, artificial sweeteners, food colors or flavorings. In reality neither the FDA or USDA has rules for 'natural' and FDA discourages the food industry from using the term. All food is derived from the natural products of plants and animals and therefore any definition of natural food results in including some foods and excluding others arbitrarily. Also since all foods are processed in some way either mechanically, chemically or with temperature, it is difficult to determine which type of processing is natural. For example - is milk and cheese natural? They are both processed through pasteurization, homogenization and temperature. Vitamin D is added to milk through another process. Whole wheat flour is made by milling wheat into flour, a mechanical process. You can see it is a complex issue with not good answer.

Organic - food that must adhere to specific standards regulated by the USDA. Crops are typically grown without synthetic pesticides, artificial fertilizers, irradiation or biotechnology. Animals on organic farms eat organically grown feed, aren't confined 100% of the time and are raised without antibiotics or synthetic growth hormones. Sounds good right? Does that mean that organic is healthy and/or natural? Consumers may choose to buy organic food because they believe them to be more nutritious than other food. However, the balance of current scientific evidence does not support this. Another consideration is the cost. Organics constitute 1-2 % of the market and typically cost 10-40% more. Most experts agree that the cost is not worth any perceived difference.

So - organic, natural, healthy - are they the same thing? Clearly not. Organic assumes rigid criteria in order to be labeled as such; healthy means different things to different people and natural is not definable. My suggestion - choose foods most of the time that contain a lot of nutrient(s) and a reasonable amount of calories in order to maintain a level of balance. You see, that's what the body really wants - balance and nutrients. But above all enjoy your food.

Happy, Healthy Eating!

Marcia