With today’s highly technological and very innovative production and manufacturing processes, it is inadvertent that many consumers voice out their concern over the safety as well as the relative nutritional value of food products. It is believed that majority of today’s food products have been largely synthesized using methods that might have altered its chemical composition. Some also believe that many of today’s foods have been laced with toxic and harmful chemicals during its production in farms.
Whatever the concern is, valid or not, this is making a lot of health-conscious consumers to turn to providers of both natural and organic products for their variety of needs. The online health foods store industry is thus, fast becoming a major source of natural and organic products. In fact, it has captured the attention of people, both health-conscious and ordinary individuals, because good health is becoming a major concern in today’s fast-paced era. With stress being a causative issue to health, people would engage to anything that would eradicate this problem. The question is however, are organic and natural products one and the same? Let’s find out.
Organic and Natural: What’s the Difference?
To many individuals, organic and natural food products are one and the same. They both offer the same security perceived by many of today’s health-conscious consumers. However, they are not entirely correct. While in general, both natural and organic food products offer some degree of giving you the sense of security regarding its health benefits, they differ in the way in which they approach this.
Organic food products come from raw materials that have been grown using organic methods of farming and production, often with the addition of commercially prepared pesticides and fertilizers. Natural food products on the other hand have been minimally processed before it reaches the consumer. For example, a freshly picked apple is delivered straight to the fruit stall means that it had to undergo only washing as its fundamental process.
Understanding this can mean that not all natural food products are grown in an organic manner. Because even organically-grown food products can undergo extensive processing before it reaches consumers. This goes without saying that not all organic food products are natural.
Health Benefits of Organic and Natural Food Products
Studies have shown that the health benefits of organic food products are directly related to the higher concentrations of antioxidants and other essential vitamins and minerals that are left unadulterated by the non-use of commercially available pesticides and fertilizers. It is believed that these agricultural products can adversely affect the chemical structure of the different nutrients found in the food product.
Natural foods, on the other hand, anchor its health benefits on the fact that it has undergone very minimal processing which can translate to a better overall nutrition profile. Experts believe that food products brought directly from the farm, without any other processing except for washing, are a lot more nutritious because important nutrients are not lost.
Nonetheless, the health benefits of both organic and natural foods stem from their higher antioxidant properties and better nutritional values. These health food products are known to provide the following health benefits.
- Prevention of premature aging. Because of the higher levels of antioxidants in these health food products they are better equipped with fighting circulating free radicals in the body. The abnormal accumulation of these chemicals often due to what is known as oxidative stress can result in faster aging of the different cells of the body.
- Boosting the immune system. Both natural and organic food products healthful nutrients that would have been otherwise lost if processed very extensively or if grown with chemicals. These vitamins and minerals can significantly boost the body’s ability to ward off diseases and other illnesses.
- Reduces the risk of cardiovascular diseases. Certain animal-based organic and natural food products contain higher levels of conjugated linoleic acid which has a very important benefit in offering protection to the muscles of the heart itself.
- Prevention of certain forms of cancer. Although not yet extensively studied, the benefit of both organic and natural food products in the prevention of certain types of cancers stem from their antioxidant activity. By reducing the effects of oxidative stress on the body, certain more vulnerable cells do not undergo morphologic changes which might lead to neoplastic growth.
More and more people are going for organic and natural food products because of the growing concern for health and safety. By carefully reading the labels of the food products that you buy, you can at the very least feel much safer in the notion that these products have not been laced with harmful chemicals that can significantly alter its nutritional value. By choosing to go natural, you can also be more confident that the food you eat comes in its near-unadulterated form. And you and your family win.