It is important to evaluate the cost and benefit of eating organic foods

We all know it is not especially cheap to eat organically. But there are cost benefits as well as ways to offset those costs. Staying healthy does save money, especially as we get older. So we need to think about what and why to eat organically and make knowledgeable decisions about when it is not so important. We tend to make these decisions based on our personal health and well being, but of course we also need to consider the environment.

In the US we have certainly become accustomed to eating cheap. Apparently we spend less on our groceries as a percentage of income than any other country. How do we do that? We eat enormous amounts of cheaply processed foods made with government subsidized corn, wheat, rice and soybeans. And we have to eat a lot of it because it sorely lacks in nutrition and fuel for our bodies.

Research consistently finds a correlation between eating organic foods and good health and lower cancer rates among other benefits. However it can also be assumed that people who eat nearly exclusively organic in general eat a healthy well balanced diet and work at remaining physically fit. In general, taking very good care of their overall health. So we need to be careful not to attribute their good health exclusively to eating organic, but it has become clear that it is an important part of staying healthy.

The cost of eating organic is generally about $45 to $70 a month more than eating non organic. That can add up for a tight budget. Although it is hard to put a price on the benefit of good health, there are ways we can offset the higher price of organic food and still eat a very healthy well balanced diet.

• A bag of dried beans costs just a bit more than a can of ready to eat beans but will produce 6 finished cups versus less than 2 cups in a can of beans. Dried beans are easy to cook in bulk and refrigerate or freeze.

• Similar savings exist between bulk bags of rice and boxes of instant rice. Also remember that brown rice offers greater nutrition than white rice, and instant flavored rice or rice kits are processed with a lot of salt and additives. Use whole raw rice and add your own flavors or vegetables.

• Save your vegetable trimmings to simmer up free cooking broth and skip any purchase of canned broth or bouillon.

• Simple food can be very delicious. Save your best quality olive oils, butter or seasonings for an inexpensive simple bowl of beans. You might be surprised how delicious it can be.

• Produce with skin, especially thick skins, can be washed to largely negate the need for buying organic. The chemical fertilizers and pesticides are washed off and much better for your health. Of course the grower is not helping our environment, but your personal health and nutrition is first and foremost, so non-organic piece of fruit is better than no fruit.

• If you are able to buy from local growers and in season you generally will save money. In season produce will be abundant and not require shipping or storage so the price should be much more reasonable than produce being shipped around the world out of season. Fresh produce is also still retaining a high nutrition content.

• Buy flash frozen fruits and vegetables with no additives to fill in when you cannot get fresh. The bulk bags are reasonably priced and when flash frozen do retain fresh taste and good nutrition.

• Organic meat and dairy is generally worth the expense for your health. Meat, dairy, and some fish have high fat content and contaminants are stored in fat. So with non-organic meats you will consume more environmental contaminants.

Sometimes we just need to make sure we at least are eating real whole food, not over processed cheap food with little nutritional value. Make your grocery dollars count with the best decisions for your nutrition and health.