Which Organic Foods Are Worth the Extra Cost

Organic foods are increasingly becoming more popular and there are a number of reasons why. Organic products are usually more natural, contain fewer unhealthy substances, and they can even have more taste than their non-organic counterparts. Of course, there is a downside to all this, which is that they cost more than regular foods. The price of food is certainly an important consideration, especially in the current economy, so the question many people have is, which organic foods are worth the extra cost?

Unfortunately, this question is not easily answered and the answer will probably be a little different for each person. If you have an unlimited budget for food, then things are easy, because you should just buy all organic products. However, the rest of us need to pick and choose, because some foods are probably worth spending some extra money on, while others are not. If you want to eat as healthy as possible while minimizing the cost, here are a few tips you can use.

One of the main reasons to eat organic foods is to avoid the unhealthy substances found in regular foods, such as pesticides, hormones, and antibiotics, just to name a few. Fortunately, some foods have natural protection against these substances, namely their skin. Oranges, bananas, and other fruits containing a thick skin that you peel off and do not eat prevent many of the unhealthy substances from being absorbed, so they are closer in healthiness to organic fruits. Therefore, an easy way to save money is not to buy the organic versions of these foods.

Another item you can avoid buying organic is eggs, although I would definitely not buy regular eggs either. Regular eggs contain a significant amount of unhealthy substances because the healthiness of an egg is dependent on the healthiness of the hen that laid it. Regular eggs are usually made by hens that never move from their cage, are fed poor quality foods, and are given antibiotics to help prevent them from getting sick. These hens are very unhealthy and the eggs they produce have decreased nutritional value and substances like the antibiotics get absorbed into the eggs as well.

Fortunately, there is a cost-effective alternative, which is to buy free-range eggs that are not organic. These are much closer in quality to organic eggs, so they have a greater amount of nutrients and they do not have the unhealthy junk found in regular eggs. They are usually more expensive than regular eggs, but depending on where you live, the price may be less than 2 cents more per egg. This is much better than organic eggs, which tend to cost about twice as much as regular eggs.

Things are more difficult when it comes to meat because organic meats usually cost at least twice as much as the regular meat and sometimes even more. As with eggs, organic meats are healthier, because the animals they come from are healthier and better-taken care of than the average animal. If you want to maximize the amount of food you get for your dollar, then it most likely won't be possible to buy organic meat, but you still have some options when it comes to your health.

To avoid paying the high price of organic meat and still buy relatively healthy products, the best thing to do is buy meats that contain low amounts of fat, such as chicken/turkey breasts and lean red meat. The fat in meat is primarily saturated, which is not healthy, to begin with, but perhaps more importantly fat is also used to store toxins. Eating fat with high levels of toxins is not good, because the toxins can get into your system and they are bad for your overall health and your ability to lose fat.

In general, the unhealthier the animal (or person), the more toxins are stored in the fat cells. Since most animals that our meat comes from are unhealthy, their fat stores will have a significant amount of toxins. Therefore, by eating lower-fat meats, you will consume fewer toxins and of course, less unhealthy fat as well. This meat is not as healthy as organic meat, but it is at least somewhat of an improvement over higher fat meats and it is a big improvement over the cost of organic meat.

Fortunately, most organic products are not as expensive as organic meat and some of them are about the same price as non-organic products. The most reasonable organic foods are grains, especially when bought in bulk, which is when the grain is loose in a container and you buy as little or much as you want. Bulk grains, such as rice or couscous, can even be less expensive than similar packaged non-organic products. Even when they do cost more, they are still cheaper than almost anything else in the store when you calculate the cost per serving of food.

Going back to the original question of which foods are worth the extra cost, individual grains are definitely worth buying organic, because they are healthier than regular grains and they do not cost much more. It is also important to note that organic foods are almost always more reasonable when you buy them as single items, such as bulk rice or fruit, as opposed to packaged products that contain many organic ingredients mixed together, such as in organic frozen dinners.

One final bit of advice is to watch the weekly sales, especially on in-season fruits and vegetables, because occasionally these items are available at significantly discounted prices. Hopefully, this gives you some ideas to help get the maximum amount of nutrition for the minimum amount of money. In the end, it is really up to you to evaluate your situation and decide which organic products work with your budget and which ones you are willing to live without.