Drinking during the Festive Season & drug interactions

Written by Dr Harold Gunatillake-health writer

These days’ health conscious people go for organic foods. Let’s discuss whether it’s worth-wise and purse-wise the changeover. Organically grown foods are considered good for the environment, but for human consumption supposed to be questionable. The price of most organic foods is about 30% more than the conventional produce. Have you ever bought organic milk- oh! It is expensive, and you’ll invariably revert to your conventional low fat milk from your supermarket.

These foods are grown without being exposed to chemicals and artificial ingredients, but not really. The term organic is used to the way food is grown, handled and processed. It is the protection of the environment in mind of the farmers and not your health in mind. Of course the government has laid down strict guideline for labelling of organic foods. Conventional pesticides, fertilizers that are not natural and not exposed to radiation, genetically modified organisms are prohibited to be used during the growth of the crops. Animals cannot be given antibiotics and hormones at any stage of their growth.

The product should carry a “100 Percent Organic” Some growers used the words “all natural” , free-range, “farm raised” “hormone free” labels and they are not regulated products and not organic.

Organic food is not necessarily ‘pesticide free’. Farmers are allowed pesticides and fertilizers made from natural ingredients which are dangerous to your health, too. These pesticides made from natural ingredients may be harmful to the environment, too. These natural ingredients used are soaps, lime sulphur and hydrogen peroxide

Buy organic Beef

Cows raised non-organically are given hormones to expedite growth. These hormones trigger early puberty in young girls, and also effect children in other-ways Expectant mothers should avoid non-organic beef. Organic beef has omega-3 fats as they are grass-fed.

Grass feeding is a practice not yet familiar to all consumers. 100% grass-fed cow’s milk comes from cows having grazed in pasture year-round rather than being fed a processed diet for much of their life. Grass feeding improves the quality of cow’s milk, and makes the milk richer in omega-3 fats, vitamin E, beta-carotene, and CLA (a beneficial fatty acid named conjugated linoleic acid

The following ‘Organic products’ are recommended to the consumers

Peanut butter: Poultry and Pork: (Seafood buy conventional):

Thick skinned fruits like avocados, melons and pineapples are free of pesticides as the latter does not penetrate deep.

Strawberry crops are sprayed with multiple chemicals, and the strawberries you eat are full of pesticides.
All fruits must be thoroughly washed before consumed to minimise the intake of pesticides in the fruit.

As far as vegetables are concerned spinach and Kale must be washed thoroughly, as they are typically high in pesticides.

Vegetables you see on the road-side going up to Nuwara Eliya via Peradeniya are generally organic. The fertiliser they use is cow-dung mixed with straw. They do not have much money to spend on pesticide but however the crops are fresh though smaller than the ones you purchase from the super-markets. In Sri Lanka, smaller the fruit the more organic it is, for example bananas.

Root vegies can take in pesticides, and it is best to buy locally grown from the farms.

Discussing about organic farming is all about protecting the ecosystem, including conserving of water, and soil, it must be mentioned that in Sri Lanka in the district of Kandy protests were made when the Digena Victoria Golf course was being constructed, to stop the project as the regular fertilising the links will harm the environment especially the Mahaweli River and Victoria reservoir running approximating the links. The water inevitably gets polluted and the fish will be harmed. Furthermore, the local families bathe in the river, will affect their health. The project continued ignoring the protests made by the local people including the Chief Mahanayake priest in Malwatte temple (personal communications).

The protests did not carry any weight and the project went ahead and today is considered as one of the best golf courses in Sri Lanka and very popular among the Japanese tourists.

In Sri Lanka, people have got used to visiting the supermarkets, even in the rural areas and going for organic food at a price may not be popular. Furthermore, organic foods are not available freely.