Should I Eat Organic Foods?by Pattie Hughes | More from this Blogger 12 Feb 2009 07:12 PM During pregnancy, we all pay more attention to what we are eating. The nutritional needs of pregnant women and growing babies include several servings of fruits and vegetables each day. This leads to concern about pesticides and fungicides used in commercial food production. Chemicals aren't confined to the produce aisle. Grains, fruits or vegetables can be found in breads, juices, cereals, yogurt and a broad range of other food in nearly every aisle. Some health conscious people are moving toward an all organic or mostly organic diet. You may be wondering if this is something you should consider. For many families, the budget dictates how many organic products are in the shopping cart. In most stores, organic foods come at a higher price than their traditionally grown equivalent. This is true in the produce aisle and in the snack aisle. The healthier versions of Cheetos and chips cost more, just like the organic strawberries are more expensive. If the budget is limited, switch to organic varieties of fruits and vegetables in the varieties known to have high levels of pesticides. The Environmental Working Group has a Shopper's Guide that lists the most and least contaminated produce items. Peaches, apples, nectarines and strawberries are the most contaminated fruits. Sweet bell peppers, celery, lettuce and spinach are among the most contaminated vegetables. For the full shopper's guide, click here. In the snack aisle and for other foods, compare the ingredients of the organic and non organic foods. Make decisions based on the overall quality of the ingredients and what you can afford in your budget. If you want to include more organics, start shopping the sales and clipping coupons. The deals section of families.com is a good resource for saving money at the store, while buying healthy foods. Related Articles: The Importance of Diet Before Pregnancy Changes to Make in Your Diet Now Learn more about Pattie Hughes  Pattie Hughes is a freelance writer and mother of four young children. She and her husband have been married since 1992. Pattie holds a degree in Elementary Education from Florida Atlantic University. Relevantpregnancy tags User Comments Samual (11722) 13 Feb 2009 01:16 AMIf you take an organic/free range chicken and compare the nutrients to a cruelty chicken, it should be enough to stop people supporting animal cruelty, there are more nutrients in a Mcdonalds beef burger than there is in a whole cruelty chicken and a higher amount of fat in the chicken per 100g. Not to mention all the hormones and steroids. Discuss this article
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