Last week, we celebrated Earth Day and the wondrous gifts Mother Earth provides us with, including natural herbs and food, such as organic fruits and vegetables.

This week, we’ll discuss the benefits of choosing organic and why it’s best for our health, as opposed to store-bought produce that is full of synthetic or chemical fertilizers and herbicides.

What does “organic” mean?

The term “organic” means relating to or derived from living matter. In the world of food, it refers to farming methods used without pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers, and other artificial agents. Both are correct and refers to the way agricultural products are grown and processed. Depending on where you live, organic crops must be grown without the use of synthetic pesticides, bioengineered genes (GMO), sewage sludge-based fertilizers, or petroleum-based fertilizers.

Organic vs. Non-Organic

Organic produce  

• Grown with natural fertilizers like manure and compost
• Weeds are controlled by mulching, hand weeding and tilling instead of chemicals
• Pests are controlled using organic methods, such as with birds, insects, as well as naturally-derived pesticides

Organic meat, dairy and eggs

• Organic, hormone-and GMO-free food is given to livestock
• Natural methods, including a healthy diet, clean housing and grazing prevents disease
• The outdoors must be accessible to livestock

Non-organic produce

• Grown using chemical or synthetic fertilizers
• Chemical herbicides kill weeds
• Synthetic pesticides control pests

Non-organic meat, dairy and eggs

• Growth hormones are given to livestock to accelerate growth, along with non-organic, GMO feed
• Antibiotics and medications are given to prevent livestock disease

Benefits of Selecting Organic

As you can see, there’s no comparison with selecting organic and fueling your body with natural food. There are many positive effects that will have a significant impact on your health and mood, particularly when it comes to allergies or food intolerances. Here are some great health benefits, as well as environmental ones.

Organic food is fresher - When preservatives aren’t included in food to make it last longer, you get fresher food that has nothing added. Some people may have reactions to preservatives, or they add empty calories that are problematic to your health. Organic food is typically grown on smaller farms.

Organically raised animals are not fed growth hormones, antibiotics, or animal by-products - These additives can increase mad cow disease and antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria. Organically grown animals have more room to move around and enjoy the sunlight, which helps to keep them healthy.

Organic produce has fewer pesticides - Chemicals that include insecticides, fungicides, and herbicides are widely used in conventional agriculture, with residue that remains on the produce we eat.

Organic farming is better for the environment - The best part about organic farming is that it reduces pollution and soil erosion, conserves water, increases soil fertility, and uses less energy. It’s also suitable for birds and animals, as well as people who live nearby. 

Contemporary farming methods, which include excessive use of chemicals, have led to a decrease in fertile soil, and an increase in salinity in our waterways over the years. On the other hand, organic farmers minimize environmental damage as best they can by using physical weed control as well as animal manure.

Organic Food is GMO-free - Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) are plants that have altered DNA that doesn’t allow for natural growth habits or traditional cross-breeding (most commonly for resistance to pesticides or to produce an insecticide). 

Organic meat and milk are more abundant in particular nutrients - Omega-3 fatty acids and other nutrients are upwards of 50 percent higher in organic meat and milk than in conventionally raised versions! 

The nutritional Content of Organic Food

Nutritionists have compared the nutritional content of organic and traditionally grown plants, and most have shown no significant differences in vitamin and mineral content. Whilst the differences are minor, research has shown that some organic food contains:

 

• Higher vitamin C levels
• Higher levels of Selenium, an essential trace mineral that is crucial for cognitive function, a healthy immune system, and fertility
• Lower nitrate levels

Organic Honey

Since ancient times, honey has been used as both food and medicine, as it’s very high in plant compounds beneficial for people’s health. It’s been documented that native Australian aborigines used organic methods to source wild bush honey as a food source from native bees.

Harvested from healthy bees that forage from mother trees thriving in the pristine Bungawalbin Valley, Meluka Australia’s organic honey range has the sweetest smell and taste —without added preservatives or sugars. 

The features of organic honey include its nutritional value. One tablespoon of honey contains approximately 70 calories and 15 grams of sugar (fructose, sucrose, glucose, and maltose). It contains essentially no fat, protein, or fiber, but it has bioactive plant compounds and antioxidants, which have numerous benefits. Some of the many benefits you can derive from eating organic honey or using it for a salve, include it being safer for diabetics and the ability to lower blood pressure and cholesterol, 

Other brands of organic honey may also be pasteurized and heated, losing all of the natural and healthy honey benefits. 

Do you have an interest in medicinal honey? For a functional food and topical wound healing solution, Meluka Australia’s Native Honey Infused with Tea Tree can help promote burn and wound healing and possibly suppress coughs when taken by the spoonful or in a warm water and lemon juice drink. 

About Us

Meluka Australia is proud to be an Australian operated company, producing a range of tea tree and honey derived products, in the unspoiled healing grounds of the Bungawalbin Valley in the Northern Rivers area of New South Wales, Australia. Shop now, and don’t forget to sign up for our newsletter to receive 10% off your first order. 

Yours, the Meluka family.

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