| "Organic" has of late become such a catchphrase that | | | | nutrients will be lost, an unfortunate by-product of |
| it has entered the vernacular of the everyday | | | | cooking food in general. Most organic baby food is |
| American to almost everyday use. It's a word of | | | | salt- and sugar-free, and what baby needs more of |
| which many people believe they know the meaning, | | | | either? |
| but few do. A few seconds of hard contemplation | | | | There have been recently claims that organic baby |
| produces a myriad of questions: What is unique about | | | | food is lacking in iron at a 20 percent clip. This can be |
| organic food as opposed to the garden-variety | | | | reduced, however, by making your own or feeding |
| supermarket wares? And what about organic baby | | | | baby more iron-rich food. |
| food? Is it significantly different or superior? What are | | | | What are the benefits? |
| the benefits? Can I trust the labels? Below run some | | | | Well, this is the selling point of organic product. Less |
| frequently asked questions and brief answers; just | | | | salt means smaller chance of kidney, liver or blood |
| doing my part to assist in your education... | | | | pressure problems. Fewer toxins in your diet mean |
| What is unique about organic food as opposed to the | | | | avoidance of certain industrial maladies. Preservatives |
| garden-variety supermarket wares? | | | | have been shown to be dangerous (even potentially |
| Essentially the differences on your plate take place in | | | | lethal) to your health, but only after occupying space in |
| two spheres: additives and preservatives. The former | | | | products for decades. Organic ingredients make it |
| can mean anything that changes the quality of the | | | | possible for the average consumer to understand |
| food in color, consistency, taste and characteristics. | | | | exactly what they are eating. And, once you've |
| The latter is anything that keeps food fresh for longer | | | | experienced this phenomenon, you are unlikely to look |
| amounts of time and is typically some sort of sodium | | | | at non-organic food labels the same way again. |
| product. | | | | Can I trust the labels? |
| Many additives, particularly food dyes, have been | | | | This one is tricky. Just as there are zillions of lobbyists |
| attacked as toxins. A handful of dyes have been | | | | and concerned citizen action groups, there are zillions |
| made illegal on the American market due to reasons | | | | of corporate employees and attorneys finding ways |
| of human health. As the American diet is already | | | | around existing law. Simple research helps a lot to cut |
| dangerously high in sodium, there is no need for the | | | | through the claims and counterclaims. Some |
| consumption of further salts as preservatives. | | | | information may surprise you. |
| On the farm level, the differences become even more | | | | For example, if a baby food label is marked "chicken," |
| dramatic. Organic food contains no genetically modified | | | | this means that chicken must comprise as little as forty |
| organisms, has no trace of poisonous pesticides and in | | | | percent of the ingredients' total mass. If two ingredients |
| grown in environmentally safe soil free of chemicals. | | | | are listed, the first need only make up ten percent and |
| And what about organic baby food? Is it significantly | | | | in the second less is allowable. It can get depressing. |
| different or superior? | | | | The way I figure it, check the website. If it's loaded with |
| Organic baby food boasts all the same advantages as | | | | flash, slippery promotional promises and a dearth of |
| regular organic food listed above. Since baby's body is | | | | solid information, become suspicious. In general, small is |
| much more sensitive to toxins than is an adult's, the | | | | better. With babies of six to nine months, a few |
| benefits of avoiding additives increase substantially. | | | | vegetables and simple grain products a week suffices |
| The elimination of additives and preservatives in | | | | in tandem with breast milk or formula - a very small |
| organic baby food also quite simply means that there | | | | amount of organic product to find. Plus, a large supply |
| are fewer ingredients to which baby may develop | | | | is made up in little time at home. |
| allergies and that digestion of organic baby food is | | | | Does organic food taste better? |
| easier. | | | | Yes. |
| Organic baby food is quick-cooked so that fewer | | | | |