Why use organic supplements?

Organic supplements have become extremely popular of late. However, navigating the long maze of organic supplement fact sheets, benefits, and claims can be truly confusing. Are organic supplements really better for your overall health? Do the GMOs and pesticides found in non organic supplements cause cancer and other ailments? What do all the labels and certifications mean? This guide can help you make better choices when shopping for organic supplements, including what to look for and how to tell when your being cheated.

What does "organic" mean?

The term “organic” refers to the way the agricultural products and herbs inside the supplements are grown and processed. The regulations vary from country to country. In the U.S., any product that wants to be called organic must be grown without the use of synthetic pesticides, genetically modified organisms (GMOs), petroleum-based fertilizers and sewage sludge-based fertilizers. Yuck!

Any supplements that include derivatives taken from livestock raised for meat, eggs, and dairy products must have access to the outdoors and be given organic feed. Antibiotics are not allowed and growth hormones or any animal by-products are forbidden.

 

Organic Supplements vs. Non-Organic Supplements

 

Organic Supplement Ingredients:	Conventionally-grown Supplement Ingredients:
Grown with natural fertilizers (manure & compost).	Grown with synthetic or chemical fertilizers.
Unwanted weeds are controlled naturally (crop rotation, hand weeding, mulching, and tilling).	Weeds are controlled with chemical herbicides.
Pests and bugs are controlled using natural methods (birds, insects, bats) and naturally-derived pesticides.	Pests are controlled with synthetic pesticides
Organic meat, dairy, eggs:	Conventionally-raised meat, dairy, eggs
Livestock are given all organic, hormone- and GMO-free feed.	Livestock are given growth hormones for faster growth, as well as non-organic, GMO feed.
Disease is prevented with natural methods such as clean housing, rotational grazing, and healthy diet.	Antibiotics and medications are used to prevent livestock disease.
Livestock must have access to the outdoors.	Livestock may or may not have access to the outdoors.

The benefits of organic supplements

How the ingredients in your supplements are grown or raised can have a major impact on your physical and emotional health as well as the on the environment. Organic ingredients often have more beneficial nutrients, including antioxidants and vitamins, than their conventionally-grown counterparts and many people with chemical or food allergies, or problems with preservatives often find their symptoms lessen or go away when they consume only organic items.

Organic ingredients contains fewer pesticides. Chemicals such as fungicides, herbicides, and insecticides are used in conventional agriculture and dangerous residues remain on and often inside the ingredients.

Organic supplements are fresher & more potent because they doesn’t contain preservatives that allow a long shelf life. Companies who sell organic supplements have to take more care to ensure the items stay fresh and that means a better quality product in the end.

Organic farming is better for the planet. Organic farming practices minimize pollution, conserve water, minimize erosion, increase soil fertility, and use less energy. Growing without pesticides is also better for nearby animals as well as people who live close to farms.

Organic Ingredients are higher in certain nutrients. Results of a 2016 European study show that levels of certain nutrients, including omega-3 fatty acids, were up to 50 percent higher in organic meat and milk than in conventionally raised versions. Similar results have been shown in plants and other agricultural crops.

Organic supplements are GMO-free. Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) or genetically engineered (GE) organisms are plants whose DNA has been altered in ways that don’t occur in nature or in traditional breeding. They most commonly are created to be resistant to pesticides and herbicides. Plants that are resistant to herbicides can then be showered with chemicals and suffer no harm. That means loads of toxic chemicals can be applied to them and that is bad for all involved.

Understanding GMOs

The ongoing discourse about the effects of GMOs on health and the environment is highly controversial. In many instances, GMOs are engineered to make the crops resistant to herbicides or to an insecticide. Soy is a huge crop grown this way. Many supplements especially protein powder contain soy derivatives.

GMOs are common to U.S. crops such as zucchini,soybeans, canola, alfalfa, squash, papaya and are present in many breakfast cereals and much of the processed supplements that we eat. If the ingredients on a package include corn syrup or soy lecithin, chances are it contains GMOs.

GMOs and pesticides

The use of toxic herbicides like Roundup (glyphosate) has increased 15 times since GMOs were initially introduced into the market. The World Health Organization announced that glyphosate is “probably carcinogenic to humans,” there is still some controversy over the level of health risks posed by the use of pesticides. As major court cases are being won AGAINST the companies who produce GMOs, the debate is coming to a close as proof emerges more and more that these chemicals can kill.

Are GMOs safe?

While the FDA and the chemical companies that engineer GMOs say they are safe, many safety advocates point out that no long term studies have been conducted to confirm the safety of the use of GMOs. Some animal studies have indicated that consuming GMOs may cause internal organ damage, slowed brain growth, and thickening of the digestive tract.

GMOs have been linked to increased allergic reactions and gastro-intestinal problems in humans. While many people think that altering the DNA of a plant or animal can increase the risk of cancer, the research has so far proven inconclusive.

Does organic mean pesticide-free?

One of the main benefits of using organic products is to the minimize levels of harmful pesticides. However, despite popular belief, some organic farms do use pesticides. The difference is that they only use naturally-derived pesticides, rather than the synthetic pesticides used on conventional commercial farms. Natural pesticides are believed to be less toxic, however, some have been found to have health risks. That said, your exposure to harmful pesticides will be minimized when eating organic. Not all farms however do use chemical pesticides. Many farms use plants and even hot peppers as pesticides to naturally deter pests.

What are the possible risks of pesticides?

Most of us have an accumulated build-up of pesticide exposure in our bodies due to many years of exposure. This chemical "body burden" as it is medically known could lead to health issues such as headaches, birth defects, and added strain on weakened immune systems.

Some studies have indicated that the use of pesticides even at low doses can increase the risk of certain cancers, such as leukemia, lymphoma, brain tumors, breast cancer and prostate cancer.

The groups most affected by chemical and pesticide exposure tend to be children and the unborn. This is because their body's are still developing and therefore more susceptible to the negative effects of these harmful additives. Being exposed to pesticides at an early age has been shown to increase diseases like autism and cause damage to the immune system.

 

Pregnant women are also more vulnerable due to the added stress pesticides put on their already heavily taxed internal organs. Pesticides can be passed from mother to child in the womb, as well as through breast milk.

The widespread use of pesticides has also led to the emergence of “super weeds” and “super bugs,” which can only be killed with extremely toxic poisons like 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (a major ingredient in Agent Orange).

The best bang for your buck when shopping organic

Organic supplements are often more expensive than those that use conventionally-grown ingredients. The benefits however are well worth the added cost.

 

Supplement Ingredients where having organic is crucial.

 

If you are taking a green superfood powder or organic multivitamin, if your supplement has any of these in it, be careful! Make 100% sure the ENTIRE product is organic!

 

 

How Supplement Companies Scam People

 

Unfortunately many products advertising themselves as having organic ingredients are totally false. A common way companies lie to you is by calling their formulations and bottles "organic" when in fact they only contain a small percentage of real organic ingredients. Pay close attention to how they word the ingredients on their labels. If one ingredient is listed as organic, but the others ingredients do not say organic, chances are only that one ingredient is actually really organic.

 

A good example would be a Turmeric supplement. Many who sell so called "organic" turmeric sell it with Piperine. Yet the Piperine comes from black pepper and is not grown organically and has heavy pesticide use, making the fact that the Turmeric is organic totally useless. Sure, you got half of the ingredients organic, but the other half are not, making it a truly NON organic formula.

 

In conclusion, there are many reasons to buy organic and the added health benefits are well worth the additional cost. We at Nature's Home Pharmacy are dedicated to providing the best organic formulas available. When ever possible we use 100% organic ingredients in our formulas.

 

If you want the best organic supplements checkout our store on this site!

 

Our Organic Turmeric with 100% Organic Black Pepper - See Here