For complete poll question see my post!

[ScarletBegonias]

i have my own opinion on this, but i'd like to hear from other natural-minded mamas and what you think and why you feel that way! thanks for playing!

Do you feel it is healthier *in the long run* to eat an all organic diet (no microwaves, no plastic, no teflon, no canned foods, and home-cooked meals) with very little fresh produce than it is to eat a balanced, conventional diet with lots of fresh conventionally-sprayed produce (including produce from mexico & south america)?

[Drummer's Wife]

I would say the second option is the healthiest because I think fresh fruit and vegetables are super important. At least for my own family, I would go that route if these were truly the only options.

[Arduinna]

How do you eat an all organic diet with no cans and very little fresh produce? Just frozen veggies and fruits?

[robugmum]

Do you live in the Arctic or something?? I can't imagine not having access to quality fresh veggies and fruits - even if you have to grow your own.
If all we had was conventionally grown produce - we would eat it. We'd still follow most of the plans you outlined in option 1 though.

[lil_earthmomma]

Right now due to our budget we strike a balance. We buy local produce in the summer/fall months, and conventional during the winter/early spring. I freeze some fruit for the winter months.

Once we have more money we will buy more organic produce, and hopefully grow much of our own veg, as well as buy ethically raised meat.

I think fresh fruit/veg is important (and I hate most cooked veggies) so I couldn't live without fresh produce!!!

[velochic]

I don't think there's enough information to really make a decision. What does microwaving and plastic have to do with eating organically? We get our CSA (organic) shares in a plastic tub. We microwave the organic potatoes sometimes.

The two options don't make any sense because I can't think of a single scenario where those would be the only two options.

[mamadelbosque]

I voted no. And thats how we live too. If I insisted on 100% organic, we couldn't eat hardly any fresh fruits or veggies unless I felt like driving a good hour or two every few days (or at the least every week), JUST to go grocery shopping. And my food budget would go up hugely too. I buy what I can organic (whats available, what looks decent & *what I can afford*). If its not available/decent/semi-affordable I go with conventional. Personally, I despise canned veggies, and I don't mind *some* frozen veggies. But overall, I prefer fresh by far. And some just aren't available frozen/canned (like carrots & celery & onions & potatoes), in a usable form anyhow.

[Llyra]

This is really hard to answer, because I don't know what you ARE eating.

However, we only eat fresh produce when it's in season, except for some tropical fruits, and some winter greens that we keep under a cold frame. We rely on our home-frozen, root-cellared, and home-canned produce out of season, for the most part. That means that our produce is 100% local and organic (a huge part of it homegrown) but not fresh. I feel good about our diet. The only canned foods we eat are tomato paste and sometimes beans. Our animal products come from reliable local/organic/humane sources, too.

Often produce grown in good soils that's been frozen by careful methods, while it's very fresh, has more nutritional value than "fresh" produce that's been grown in cruddy soil and then transported a thousand miles on a truck.

[Drummer's Wife]

This is an odd poll just b/c I can't imagine not eating either fresh produce or canned goods... I guess if there is enough organic frozen fruits and veggies available (I honestly don't know), otherwise, I'm not sure what would be left to eat, either.

Also, I don't consider not using plastic/teflon/microwave to be in the "organic only" category. I mean, it is possible to eat all or mostly organic foods and still use tupperware from time to time, right?

Basically, I'd love some more clarification b/c it's hard to imagine how these two specific options would really be all there is to choose from. We rarely do eat canned or frozen stuff, b/c I prefer fresh, but I'm trying to picture how it could be healthier than conventional pesticide sprayed produce to only eat frozen fruits veggies... and whatever else this diet would include.

[ju1ia]

yeah those are some weird stipulations.
but my take is it's probably healthier to lead the first lifestyle than the second. it would mean living more simply, and without any appliances (microwaves, computers and tvs included), you'd probably have time to illegally farm some fresh produce. and then I'd invite you all over for some contraband salad!

[Sol_y_Paz]

Neither.
Is someone trying to sell you a fruit and vegetable supplement pill, remember fresh and real is better!

[treemom2]

Perhaps the OP lives in a place where there are no organically grown fruits and veggies but there are organic grains, cereals, dairy, etc. . . I live in a place like this. . .no organic fresh fruits or veggies but I can get organic milk, coffee, cereal, frozen strawberries, bread (I think that's it)

I honestly think a combination of both is the healthiest (which is what we do). We always go for organic first (not much available), then local (tons of farmer's markets), then whatever is available. We try to stay away from the most heavily sprayed fruits and veggies when we have to buy conventional. We don't own a microwave, have only one teflon pan (for making tamagoyaki--which is very rare), don't store foods in plastic (we do buy things in plastic containers, but no leftovers or bulk foods go in plastic ever--we use glass containers), don't buy canned foods (unless we're making a certain recipe that calls for something--but that's very rare), and we eat 80% at home (we have an eating out problem, but we mostly limit it to locally owned establishments with healthier choices).

[MyLilPwny]

I voted yes because I think that frozen organic fruits, vegetables and meats would be fine and healthy. Currently, most of my meats are frozen (I order them frozen online from U.S. Wellness Meats and Vital Choice) and about half of my produce that I consume is frozen. I don't think that freezing damages a significant enough amount of nutritional content, and frozen food would still be far superior to the nutritional content of conventional food without the added chemicals, pesticides, etc.

Originally Posted by Llyra

Often produce grown in good soils that's been frozen by careful methods, while it's very fresh, has more nutritional value than "fresh" produce that's been grown in cruddy soil and then transported a thousand miles on a truck.

I agree.

[ScarletBegonias]

thanks for playing along!

i should clarify one point: i am mostly concerned about toxic build-up of chemicals in the organs, cells, and fat tissues. microwaving alters food cells, food absorbs chemicals from plastics and cans, and obviously conventionally sprayed produce/grains puts a strain on all organ filter systems, down to a cellular level (as in most chemicals are stored in fat cells).

i feel that in the long run to protect health, immunity and organ and cell integrity, it would be better to focus on a purely organic diet, with a small ratio of fresh produce (or possibly frozen), to avoid toxic buildup of pesticides and such in the body.

i also feel that why bother buying anything organic that comes in a can or that you are microwaving - anything you would gain by lack of pesticides you would cancel out in BPA's and chemicals in can liners or by altering food at a cellular level with a microwave.

yes, fresh produce is important, but at what cost to your body, when most fresh produce is grown with harmful and deadly pesticides?

of course, this is just my crazy opinion, and i was wondering if any one else in the world thought the same way!

eta: just for info purposes, nearly all the rest of our diet (staples, spices, oils, grains, teas, coffees, meats, dairy etc) is organic/all natural. we do eat fresh produce everyday (organic greens and org bananas and org apples) but not a whole lot of variety due to budget and seasonal availability. i home cook 99% of our food, we don't use plastic or own a microwave, and i generally don't cook with canned items (the occasional tomato paste usually) and we own no teflon coated products. we store leftovers in glass. i personally feel that it is better to not eat a sprayed bell pepper, for instance, than to eat one. again, whatever is gained by the "freshness" factor is lost by the chemical factor. i don't feel comfortable feeding my children sprayed produce, as their little bodies and organs are so much more taxed by chemicals. jmo though! i am not aiming to offend or judge!

[ScarletBegonias]

Originally Posted by Drummer's Wife

This is an odd poll......

Basically, I'd love some more clarification b/c it's hard to imagine how these two specific options would really be all there is to choose from.

Originally Posted by ju1ia

yeah those are some weird stipulations.
but my take is it's probably healthier to lead the first lifestyle than the second. it would mean living more simply, and without any appliances (microwaves, computers and tvs included), you'd probably have time to illegally farm some fresh produce. and then I'd invite you all over for some contraband salad!

both these posts made me at myself! because i am odd and these ARE weird stipulations! the only reason they are the only two options is because they are the only two options in my little world!

[Sayward]

WHat do you mean 'microwaves change food at the cellular level'? In what way are the foods changed? How does this make them less nutritious (in a different way than any sort of applied heat would)?

I hear this claim made all the time but whenever I press the issue the person can't give me any specifics. I'm actually open to the possibility and use my microwave maybe once a month, but I don't like the idea that this is considered 'common knowledge' but nobody actually seems to know anything! =D

So do you have any research articles you could link to? Any source for this information? Like I said, I don't even really doubt it, I just want actual data.

[Drummer's Wife]

Scarlet, now that you have further explained, I think I agree with you for the most part. I guess I was picturing a diet pretty void of fresh fruits and veggies, but you are still eating them daily, including greens which to me is the most important. I also don't do canned foods for the most part (occasional tomatoes, but we don't use them often, even fresh), but we also don't do much, if any, frozen foods. I completely skip those aisles except for the occasional frozen, non-organic pizza .

I think eating less 'good' food is healthier than eating more 'not-so-good' food. Just like the whole grass-fed meat once a week instead of conventional meat 5 times a week, kinda thing.

I'm not 100% sure about the canceling out aspect, though. Like that using the microwave on occasion or even eating from a BPA lined can will necessarily negate the nutrients in those foods. (same for using teflon, etc.)

[MyLilPwny]

Originally Posted by ScarletBegonias

yes, fresh produce is important, but at what cost to your body, when most fresh produce is grown with harmful and deadly pesticides?

of course, this is just my crazy opinion, and i was wondering if any one else in the world thought the same way!

Yup, I'm in agreement with you and everything else you said in your post. I do not buy any "fresh" produce or meat that is conventional. It has to be organic. I don't use a microwave at all either (haven't in 5 years now).