With meditation, the physiology undergoes a change and every cell in the body is filled with more prana (energy). This results in joy, peace, enthusiasm as the level of prana in the body increases.

On a physical level, meditation:

Meditation brings the brainwave pattern into an Alpha state that promotes healing. The mind becomes fresh, delicate and beautiful. With regular practice of meditation:

Meditation makes you aware - that your inner attitude determines your happiness.

It cleanses and nourishes you from within and calms you, whenever you feel overwhelmed, unstable, or emotionally shut down.

When you meditate, you are in the space of vastness, calmness and joy and this is what you emit into the environment, bringing harmony to the Creation/planet.

Meditation can bring about a true personal transformation. As you learn more about yourself, youll naturally start discovering more about yourself

To experience the benefits of meditation, regular practice is necessary. It takes only a few minutes every day. Once imbibed into the daily routine, meditation becomes the best part of your day!

Meditation is like a seed. When you cultivate a seed with love, the more it blossoms.

Busy people from all backgrounds are grateful to pause and enjoy a refreshing few minutes of meditation each day. Dive deep into yourself and enrich your life.

Go here to read the rest:

Benefits of Meditation | The Art Of Living Australia

What is meditation?

Meditation is a means of quieting your internal chatter. There are many different ways to achieve this and you might have tried one way, such as sitting crossed legged and trying to think of nothing, listening to relaxing music, concentrating on your breathing, or any type of exercise that you can be involved in. Tai chi and qi gong, yoga, jogging or walking are some ways that people find to relax the mind. Because there are so many ways to slow the mind chatter you have to find the way that suits your lifestyle and personality. Studies have shown changes in brain waves of people who meditate, and each type of meditation could have its own unique set of effects. Many publications still report that there is insufficient evidence to support it, but if it works for you and helps you, that doesn't matter. It is a way to connect the mind/body.

Meditation helps you to reduce your stress level. If you allow your body to do its job of living while you use your mind as the organizer you have more energy, are less depressed, less anxious and less angry. When you are relaxed and alert you are better equipped to deal with everyday life and its problems. Many studies have stated that meditation reduces symptoms of chronic pain, depression, heart disease, cancer, asthma and high blood pressure to name a few. This is probably due to the calming effect that it has on the body.

Pain source release supports your body so that it feels safe and secure. Some people say that they feel like they are disappearing into the table. As your tightness and restrictions start to soften you relax more deeply into your body. Your mind becomes still as your body relaxes. The relaxation helps you integrate the changes that happen during a treatment. Or you may start to understand what must happen next. Changes are sometime so subtle that you may not notice them, but it might be enough to start you on your road to healing. People have found that pain source release helps them get out of their head and into their body, even though they might not feel it on a conscious level.

Read the rest here:

Pain Source Release :: Meditation

Chapter 2 of The Breath of Life

The Meditation Word

Practitioners of Breath Meditation, whatever their tradition, have found that sometimes in meditation the mind just refuses to calm down and be absorbed in the breath. When that happens a Meditation Word, a single word that best symbolizes the Supreme Consciousness to the meditator, can be employed to soothe and refine the mind and the breath (since they are fundamentally the same), and lead to the silence that is the essence of Breath Meditation. This is done by mentally intoning the Meditation Word once during inhalation and once during exhalation, fitting the single intonation to the length (or shortness) of the breath, while being aware of the tip of the nose. (If the Meditation Word has two syllables, you might like to intone the first syllable during inhalation and the second syllable during exhalation.) As soon as the mind calms, the Word is dropped and the silent contemplation of the breath at the nosetip continues on its own.

If, at the beginning of meditation, you find your awareness easily becoming absorbed in awareness of the breath, then there is no need to intone the Meditation Word. But whenever you find your mind a bit restless, distracted or tending to drift from the breathwhether right at the beginning or at any time during the meditationthen intone your Meditation Word mentally in time with your breath while remaining aware of the nosetip, as already described. Then when the mind begins to calm, drop the intonations and silently remain aware of the breath at the nosetip.

Do the same when during the day, or at night before going to sleep, if you have trouble just being aware of the nosetip and the breath.

Meditation Words

Many are the possible Meditation Words, and whichever is used should be chosen by the meditator according to personal preference. A simple Meditation Word is more helpful in Breath Meditation practice than longer, formal mantras.

Some Meditation Words are: Om, Aom, Soham (SoHum), Brahman, Vishnu, Hari, Shiva, Krishna, Rama, Kali, Durga, Tao, Buddha (Pali: Buddho), Amida, Amitabha, Kwan Yin, Guan Yin, Kannon, Jehovah, Hayah (I Am), Adonai, Elohim, El Shaddai, Jesus [In Sanskrit: Isha (Ee-shuh], Mary, Allahaccording to the spiritual tradition or preference of the individual.

Next Chapter inThe Breath of Life:The Hindu Tradition of Breath Meditation

Read more:

The Meditation Word

The mere fact that we are alive today is a testimony to the great kindness of others.

The five stages of the meditation:

We sit in the meditation posture as explained above and prepare our mind for meditation with breathing meditation. If we like we can also engage in the preparatory prayers.

All living beings deserve to be cherished because of the tremendous kindness they have shown us. All our temporary and ultimate happiness arises through their kindness. Even our body is the result of the kindness of others. We did not bring it with us from our previous life it developed from the union of our fathers sperm and mothers ovum. Once we had been conceived our mother kindly allowed us to stay in her womb, nourishing our body with her blood and warmth, putting up with great discomfort, and finally going through the painful ordeal of childbirth for our sake. We came into this world naked and empty-handed and were immediately given a home, food, clothes, and everything else we needed. While we were a helpless baby our mother protected us from danger, fed us, cleaned us, and loved us. Without her kindness we would not be alive today.

Everyone who contributes in any way towards our happiness and well-being is deserving of our gratitude.

Through receiving a constant supply of food, drink, and care, our body gradually grew from that of a tiny helpless baby to the body we have now. All this nourishment was directly or indirectly provided by countless living beings. Every cell of our body is therefore the result of others kindness. Even those who have never known their mother have received nourishment and loving care from other people. The mere fact that we are alive today is a testimony to the great kindness of others.

It is because we have this present body with human faculties that we are able to enjoy all the pleasures and opportunities of human life. Even simple pleasures such as going for a walk or watching a beautiful sunset can be seen to be a result of the kindness of innumerable living beings. Our skills and abilities all come from the kindness of others; we had to be taught how to eat, how to walk, how to talk, and how to read and write. Even the language we speak is not our own invention but the product of many generations. Without it we could not communicate with others nor share their ideas. We could not read this book, learn Dharma, nor even think clearly. All the facilities we take for granted, such as houses, cars, roads, shops, schools, hospitals, and cinemas, are produced solely through others kindness. When we travel by bus or car we take the roads for granted, but many people worked very hard to build them and make them safe for us to use.

The fact that some of the people who help us may have no intention of doing so is irrelevant. We receive benefit from their actions, so from our point of view this is a kindness. Rather than focusing on their motivation, which in any case we do not know, we should focus on the practical benefit we receive. Everyone who contributes in any way towards our happiness and well-being is deserving of our gratitude and respect. If we had to give back everything that others have given us, we would have nothing left at all.

We might argue that we are not given things freely but have to work for them. When we go shopping we have to pay, and when we eat in a restaurant we have to pay. We may have the use of a car, but we had to buy the car, and now we have to pay for petrol, tax, and insurance. No one gives us anything for free. But from where do we get this money? It is true that generally we have to work for our money, but it is others who employ us or buy our goods, and so indirectly it is they who provide us with money. Moreover, the reason we are able to do a particular job is that we have received the necessary training or education from other people. Wherever we look, we find only the kindness of others. We are all interconnected in a web of kindness from which it is impossible to separate ourself. Everything we have and everything we enjoy, including our very life, is due to the kindness of others. In fact, every happiness there is in the world arises as a result of others kindness.

Our spiritual development and the pure happiness of full enlightenment also depend upon the kindness of living beings.

Our spiritual development and the pure happiness of full enlightenment also depend upon the kindness of living beings. Buddhist centres, Dharma books, and meditation courses do not arise out of thin air but are the result of the hard work and dedication of many people. Our opportunity to read, contemplate, and meditate on Buddhas teachings depends entirely upon the kindness of others. Moreover, as explained later, without living beings to give to, to test our patience, or to develop compassion for, we could never develop the virtuous qualities needed to attain enlightenment.

In short, we need others for our physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being. Without others we are nothing. Our sense that we are an island, an independent, self-sufficient individual, bears no relation to reality. It is closer to the truth to picture ourself as a cell in the vast body of life, distinct yet intimately bound up with all living beings. We cannot exist without others, and they in turn are affected by everything we do. The idea that it is possible to secure our own welfare whilst neglecting that of others, or even at the expense of others, is completely unrealistic.

Contemplating the innumerable ways in which others help us, we should make a firm decision: `I must cherish all living beings because they are so kind to me. Based on this determination we develop a feeling of cherishing a sense that all living beings are important and that their happiness matters. We try to mix our mind single-pointedly with this feeling and maintain it for as long as we can without forgetting it.

We dedicate all the virtues we have created in this meditation practice to the welfare of all living beings by reciting the dedication prayers.

When we arise from meditation we try to maintain this mind of love, so that whenever we meet or remember someone we naturally think: `This person is important, this persons happiness matters. In this way we can make cherishing living beings our main practice.

Go here to read the rest:

Loving kindness meditation - How to Meditate

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We write and create high quality Guided Meditations videos that are freely viewable on YouTube. We have been creating these meditations since 2009.

The meditations were begun with one purpose: simply to try and help people. Every meditation is produced with genuine care and love for those people who use them, because we too, have needed the kind of help our meditations are trying to offer others.

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GUIDED MEDITATIONS Feeling tired or stressed? Sit back, relax and let the gentle guiding voice take you into a profound and deep state of relaxation. https://www.youtube.com/pla...

EPIC POWER-MEDITATIONS Epic power meditations are a new form of meditation/visualizations using the amazing skills of some outstanding composers and musicians. https://www.youtube.com/pla...

MIDDLE EARTH MEDITATIONS Escape the hustle and bustle of everyday life with these guided retreats into Middle Earth. Each story averages around 18 minutes and is designed as a powerful and effective respite for the mind, from the stresses and strains of daily life. Each story is unique, with narration, music and ambient sound effects brought vividly to life within your own mind. https://www.youtube.com/pla...

RELAXATION MUSIC & MEDITATION TOOLS These videos are designed to be played in the background, to help with study, sleep and relaxation. https://www.youtube.com/pla... .................................................. Show less

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TheHonestGuys - YouTube

Latest Articles

In towns like Saulx-les-Chartreux, small-scale farming is driven by a thriving market for organic food.

By BENOT MORENNE

With investment up in hydroponic and aquaponic systems that grow plants without soil, the question rages over whether the produce can be labeled organic.

By STEPHANIE STROM

As growers and enterprises see more competition, a new labeling program may help them stay competitive. Just dont call it organic.

By MURRAY CARPENTER

A different, hotter pasteurization process helps explain why organic milk has a longer shelf life than the other stuff.

By C. CLAIBORNE RAY

A new $20 million center in the Bronx aims to expand access to high-quality vegetables and fruits as part of a growing food-to-institution movement.

By WINNIE HU

The organic version will be made up of seven ingredients, will come in lemon, strawberry and mixed berry flavors and will be sold in select markets this fall.

By CHRISTOPHER MELE

As demand for local and organic produce has ballooned in the last five years, so have other ideas for connecting farmers to customers.

By JULIA MOSKIN

Catering to people who want to know about where their food comes from, the group is telling its farmers stories and inviting consumers to tour member farms.

By JANE L. LEVERE

Demand for organic crops so outstrips the supply that some food brands are underwriting farmers arduous and costly transition to organic production.

By STEPHANIE STROM

Two camps jockey to shape the future of food in an oasis of organic agriculture.

By KIM SEVERSON

A couples search for sheets led them to found a company dedicated to producing high-quality bedding using good farming and labor practices.

By DAVID GELLES

The agency inspected a plant near Boston and found substandard equipment cleaning and employee hygiene, among other practices.

By STEPHANIE STROM

This noodle is made from beans and is gluten free.

By FLORENCE FABRICANT

Even the most educated consumer cant know what the food label all natural means.

By ANAHAD OCONNOR

The new venture, the subject of fierce rumors, is aimed at competing with conventional grocery stores, which have taken a bite of Whole Foods profits.

By STEPHANIE STROM

This past week, in a move that was long expected, Fairways parent company, Fairway Group Holdings, filed for bankruptcy.

By GINIA BELLAFANTE

Eduardo Rivera, a Mexican-born farmer living in Minnesota, is striving to make organic vegetables accessible to the Latino community.

By NATALIA V. OSIPOVA

Eduardo Rivera is a young farmer who is striving to provide organic produce for low-income Latino communities.

By SAM SIFTON

Elation can quickly turn to fear as small companies must suddenly learn how to produce at larger volumes while maintaining quality and consistency.

By AMY HAIMERL

A guided tour of the Natural Products Expo West trade show in California offers insight into where natural and organic food trends are headed.

By STEPHANIE STROM

In towns like Saulx-les-Chartreux, small-scale farming is driven by a thriving market for organic food.

By BENOT MORENNE

With investment up in hydroponic and aquaponic systems that grow plants without soil, the question rages over whether the produce can be labeled organic.

By STEPHANIE STROM

As growers and enterprises see more competition, a new labeling program may help them stay competitive. Just dont call it organic.

By MURRAY CARPENTER

A different, hotter pasteurization process helps explain why organic milk has a longer shelf life than the other stuff.

By C. CLAIBORNE RAY

A new $20 million center in the Bronx aims to expand access to high-quality vegetables and fruits as part of a growing food-to-institution movement.

By WINNIE HU

The organic version will be made up of seven ingredients, will come in lemon, strawberry and mixed berry flavors and will be sold in select markets this fall.

By CHRISTOPHER MELE

As demand for local and organic produce has ballooned in the last five years, so have other ideas for connecting farmers to customers.

By JULIA MOSKIN

Catering to people who want to know about where their food comes from, the group is telling its farmers stories and inviting consumers to tour member farms.

By JANE L. LEVERE

Demand for organic crops so outstrips the supply that some food brands are underwriting farmers arduous and costly transition to organic production.

By STEPHANIE STROM

Two camps jockey to shape the future of food in an oasis of organic agriculture.

By KIM SEVERSON

A couples search for sheets led them to found a company dedicated to producing high-quality bedding using good farming and labor practices.

By DAVID GELLES

The agency inspected a plant near Boston and found substandard equipment cleaning and employee hygiene, among other practices.

By STEPHANIE STROM

This noodle is made from beans and is gluten free.

By FLORENCE FABRICANT

Even the most educated consumer cant know what the food label all natural means.

By ANAHAD OCONNOR

The new venture, the subject of fierce rumors, is aimed at competing with conventional grocery stores, which have taken a bite of Whole Foods profits.

By STEPHANIE STROM

This past week, in a move that was long expected, Fairways parent company, Fairway Group Holdings, filed for bankruptcy.

By GINIA BELLAFANTE

Eduardo Rivera, a Mexican-born farmer living in Minnesota, is striving to make organic vegetables accessible to the Latino community.

By NATALIA V. OSIPOVA

Eduardo Rivera is a young farmer who is striving to provide organic produce for low-income Latino communities.

By SAM SIFTON

Elation can quickly turn to fear as small companies must suddenly learn how to produce at larger volumes while maintaining quality and consistency.

By AMY HAIMERL

A guided tour of the Natural Products Expo West trade show in California offers insight into where natural and organic food trends are headed.

By STEPHANIE STROM

Link:

Organic Foods and Products - The New York Times

The Gentle Breath Meditation is simply a tool for reconnection through the focus on developing the quality of your breath.

The Free Meditation Library offers a range of supportive gentle breath meditations. These instructional meditations were recorded with a live audience of 150+ participants and are a sample of the many different ways the Gentle Breath Meditation can be delivered.

You may find particular meditations are more useful at different times depending on how you are feeling.

Enjoy meeting yourself there is nothing greater!

Once you know the techniques you can listen and simply apply them until such time that you can do the gentle breath meditation without the audio. Of course, it is also fine to continue with the audio support, as many do. More meditations will also be made available here in coming months.

Download one or the whole series and enjoy some time with yourself.

Filed under

Connection, Meditation, Breath, Gentle Breath Meditation

See the rest here:

Free Gentle Breath Meditations - an introduction | Unimed Living

Courses & Retreats

Our meditation courses and retreats are an ideal way to get a gain experience of meditation and inner peace. These courses examine a particular topic in greater depth than would be possible in a drop-in meditation class.

Our courses and retreats are open to everyone and are suitable for all levels of experience, including beginners. For more information about specific courses or retreats, select a course from the list below or the menu on the right.

Buddhism presents scientific methods for improving our happiness and good qualities. The practices presented in Kadampa Buddhism are particularly suitable for our busy modern lives and enable us to transform problems into causes of happiness, improve relationships and create lasting inner peace. On this day course Gen Kelsang Dornying will explain some of the various mind-training techniques taught by Buddha and how to apply them both in meditation and daily life. By practising these instructions we will be able to let go of anger, anxiety and other painful thoughts and feelings, and replace them with peaceful, positive states of mind.

We are alive therefore we will die. This is the simplest, most...

According to Buddha all suffering and sickness, mental and physical, are caused by negative and painful states of mind, which he called the delusions. Normally, these delusions feel deeply ingrained. But throughconnecting to Medicine Buddha we can experience the pure nature of our mind, and heal ourselves of these inner diseases.

These weekend meditation retreats are suitable for everyone, and provide an excellent introduction to meditation.

Empowered by white taras powerful blessings and inspired by Gen Rabtens teachings,...

Read the original post:

Courses & Retreats - Meditation & Buddhism

The Benefits and Basics of Organic Food and How to Keep It Affordable

Organic food has become very popular. But navigating the maze of organic food labels, benefits, and claims can be confusing. Is organic food really better for your mental and physical health? Do GMOs and pesticides cause cancer and other diseases? What do all the labels mean? This guide can help you make better choices about shopping organic, including what to focus on and how to make eating organic more affordable.

The term organic refers to the way agricultural products are grown and processed. While the regulations vary from country to country, in the U.S., organic crops must be grown without the use of synthetic pesticides, bioengineered genes (GMOs), petroleum-based fertilizers, and sewage sludge-based fertilizers.

Organic livestock raised for meat, eggs, and dairy products must have access to the outdoors and be given organic feed. They may not be given antibiotics, growth hormones, or any animal by-products.

How your food is grown or raised can have a major impact on your mental and emotional health as well as the environment. Organic foods often have more beneficial nutrients, such as antioxidants, than their conventionally-grown counterparts and people with allergies to foods, chemicals, or preservatives often find their symptoms lessen or go away when they eat only organic foods.

Organic produce contains fewer pesticides.Chemicals such as fungicides, herbicides, and insecticides are widely used in conventional agriculture and residues remain on (and in) the food we eat.

Organic food is often fresher because it doesnt contain preservatives that make it last longer. Organic produce is often (but not always, so watch where it is from) produced on smaller farms near where it is sold.

Organic farming is better for the environment.Organic farming practices reduce pollution, conserve water, reduce soil erosion, increase soil fertility, and use less energy. Farming without pesticides is also better for nearby birds and animals as well as people who live close to farms.

Organically raised animals are NOT given antibiotics, growth hormones, or fed animal byproducts. Feeding livestock animal byproducts increases the risk of mad cow disease (BSE) and the use of antibiotics can create antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria. Organically-raised animals are given more space to move around and access to the outdoors, which help to keep them healthy.

Organic meat and milk are richer in certain nutrients. Results of a 2016 European study show that levels of certain nutrients, including omega-3 fatty acids, were up to 50 percent higher in organic meat and milk than in conventionally raised versions.

Organic food is GMO-free.Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) or genetically engineered (GE) foods are plants whose DNA has been altered in ways that cannot occur in nature or in traditional crossbreeding, most commonly in order to beresistant to pesticides or produce an insecticide.

Unlike organic standards, there is no specific definition for local food. It could be grown in your local community, your state, your region, or your country. During large portions of the year it is usually possible to find food grown close to home at places such as a farmers market.

Financial: Money stays within the local economy. More money goes directly to the farmer, instead of to things like marketing and distribution.

Transportation: In the U.S., for example, the average distance a meal travels from the farm to the dinner plate is over 1,500 miles. Produce must be picked while still unripe and then gassed to "ripen" it after transport. Or the food is highly processed in factories using preservatives, irradiation, and other means to keep it stable for transport.

Freshness: Local food is harvested when ripe and thus fresher and full of flavor.

Small local farmers often use organic methods but sometimes cannot afford to become certified organic. Visit a farmers market and talk with the farmers to find out what methods they use.

The ongoing debate about the effects of GMOs on health and the environment is a controversial one. In most cases, GMOs are engineered to make food crops resistant to herbicides and/or to produce an insecticide. For example, much of the sweet corn consumed in the U.S. is genetically engineered to be resistant to the herbicide Roundup and to produce its own insecticide, Bt Toxin.

GMOs are also commonly found in U.S. crops such as soybeans, alfalfa, squash, zucchini, papaya, and canola, and are present in many breakfast cereals and much of the processed food that we eat. If the ingredients on a package include corn syrup or soy lecithin, chances are it contains GMOs.

The use of toxic herbicides like Roundup (glyphosate) has increased 15 times since GMOs were introduced. While the World Health Organization announced that glyphosate is probably carcinogenic to humans, there is still some controversy over the level of health risks posed by the use of pesticides.

While the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the biotech companies that engineer GMOs insist they are safe, many food safety advocates point out that no long term studies have ever been conducted to confirm the safety of GMO use, while some animal studies have indicated that consuming GMOs may cause internal organ damage, slowed brain growth, and thickening of the digestive tract.

GMOs have been linked to increased food allergens and gastro-intestinal problems in humans. While many people think that altering the DNA of a plant or animal can increase the risk of cancer, the research has so far proven inconclusive.

As mentioned above, one of the primary benefits of eating organic is lower levels of pesticides. However, despite popular belief, organic farms do use pesticides. The difference is that they only use naturally-derived pesticides, rather than the synthetic pesticides used on conventional commercial farms. Natural pesticides are believed to be less toxic, however, some have been found to have health risks. That said, your exposure to harmful pesticides will be lower when eating organic.

Most of us have anaccumulated build-up of pesticide exposurein our bodies due to numerous years of exposure. This chemical "body burden" as it is medically known could lead to health issues such as headaches, birth defects, and added strain on weakened immune systems.

Some studies have indicated that the use of pesticides even at low doses can increase the risk of certain cancers, such as leukemia, lymphoma, brain tumors, breast cancer and prostate cancer.

Children and fetuses are most vulnerableto pesticide exposure because their immune systems, bodies, and brains are still developing. Exposure at an early age may cause developmental delays, behavioral disorders, autism, immune system harm, and motor dysfunction.

Pregnant women are more vulnerable due to the added stress pesticides put on their already taxed organs. Plus, pesticides can be passed from mother to child in the womb, as well as through breast milk.

The widespread use of pesticides has also led to the emergence of super weeds and super bugs, which can only be killed with extremely toxic poisons like 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (a major ingredient in Agent Orange).

Rinsing reduces but does not eliminate pesticides. Peeling sometimes helps, but valuable nutrients often go down the drain with the skin. The best approach: eat a varied diet, wash and scrub all produce thoroughly, and buy organic when possible.

Organic food is often more expensive than conventionally-grown food. But if you set some priorities, it may be possible to purchase organic food and staywithin your food budget.

Some types of conventionally-grown produce are much higher in pesticides than others, and should be avoided. Others are low enough that buying non-organic is relatively safe. The Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit organization that analyzes the results of government pesticide testing in the U.S., offers a annually-updated list that can help guide your choices.

Fruits and vegetables where the organic label matters most

According to the Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit organization that analyzes the results of government pesticide testing in the U.S., the following fruits and vegetables have the highest pesticide levels so are best to buy organic:

Fruits and vegetables you don't need to buy organic

Known as the Clean 15, these conventionally-grown fruits and vegetables are generally low in pesticides.

While prominent organizations such as the American Heart Association maintain that eating saturated fat from any source increases the risk of heart disease, other nutrition experts maintain that eating organic grass-fed meat and organic dairy products doesnt carry the same risks. Its not the saturated fat thats the problem, they say, but the unnatural diet of an industrially-raised animal that includes corn, hormones, and medication.

According to Animal Feed, conventionally raised animals in U.S. can be given:

Shop at farmers' markets.Many cities, as well as small towns, host a weekly farmers' market, where local farmers sell their produce at an open-air street market, often at a discount to grocery stores.

Join a food co-op.A natural foods co-op, or cooperative grocery store typically offers lower prices to members, who pay an annual fee to belong

Join a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm,in which individuals and families join up to purchase "shares" of produce in bulk, directly from a local farm. Localandorganic!

Buy in season Fruits and vegetables are cheapest and freshest when they are in season. Find out when produce is delivered to your market so you're buying the freshest food possible.

Shop around Compare the price of organic items at the grocery store, the farmers market and other venues (even the freezer aisle).

Remember that organic doesnt always equal healthyMaking junk food sound healthy is a common marketing ploy in the food industry but organic baked goods, desserts, and snacks are usually still very high in sugar, salt, fat, or calories. It pays to read food labels carefully.

Organic food is more labor intensive since the farmers do not use pesticides, chemical fertilizers, or drugs. Organic certification is expensive and organic feed for animals can cost twice as much. Organic farms tend to be smaller than conventional farms, which means fixed costs and overhead must be distributed across smaller produce volumes without government subsidies.

What do food labels such as organic, "natural," "free-range," and "non-GMO" really mean? Understanding the different terms is essential when youre shopping for organic foods. Read Organic Food Labels:What they Really Mean.

Related HelpGuide articles

To find farmers' markets, organic farms, and grocery co-ops in your area:

Organic Foods: Are they safer? More nutritious? Information on the difference between organic and conventional foods. (MayoClinic.com)

Organic FAQs Get Educated a whole section on organics: What is Organic? Myths About Organic, 10 Reasons to Go Organic, and FAQs. (Organic.org)

Animal Feed Details how livestock feed affects animal health, and the health of people who consume animal products. (Grace Communications Foundation)

Organic Meat and Milk Higher in Healthful Fatty Acids Details a review of scientific studies that showed organic meat and milk differ markedly from their conventionally produced counterparts. (New York Times)

GMO Facts Frequently asked questions on the use and safety of GMOs. (Non GMO Project)

Where GMOs hide in your food Details tests that found GMOs in many packaged foodsincluding those labeled 'natural,' (Consumer Reports)

The Problem with Pesticides Examines some of the potential health effects of pesticides. (Toxics Action Center)

Genetic Engineering in Agriculture Article that highlights why both the risks and the benefits of GMOs may have been exaggerated.(Union of Concerned Scientists)

Autism Risk Higher Near Pesticide-Treated Fields Research that shows babies whose moms lived within a mile of crops treated with widely used pesticides were more likely to develop autism. (Scientific America)

Pesticides and Cancer Highlights problems with the evidence linking cancer to pesticide use. (Cancer Research UK)

Find Non-GMO Foods Database of foods verified as non-GMO, including an iPhone app shopping guide.(Non GMO Project)

Organic or Not? Is organic produce healthier than conventional? Find out where to spend and where to save for your health. (EatingWell)

Health Benefits Information on various topics related to the benefits of organics. (Organic Trade Association)

What is local? How to buy and eat local food and why it matters. (Sustainable Table)

Shopper's Guide to Pesticides (PDF) List of the produce with the highest and lowest pesticide levels. (Environmental Working Group)

I loved your article on organic foods. It was really helpful where you showed specifically what foods were better organic, and which weren't, as I've had some confusion along those lines. ~ New York

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Authors: Lawrence Robinson, Jeanne Segal, Ph.D., and Robert Segal, M.A. Last updated: December 2016.

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Organic Foods: What You Need to Know About Eating Organic ...

WHY ORGANIC?

Organic means growing our food, which is to nourish us, without chemical aids during the growing process such as fertilisers, pesticides, fungicides, herbacides, larbicides etc and during the processing like colours, sweeteners, preservatives, colouring, stabilisers, emulsifiers. Why is this important? Well our body knows how to break down and use fats, carbohydrates to sugars, protein, amino acids etc. The question is what about sodium benzoate or potassium sorbate? Well sorry our body does not know what to do with that. So what happens? These chemicals are dealt with by either being stored in the body, normally in fat or in the form of a tumour or syst (not necessarily carcinogenic) or taken out of our body by a white blood cell or bound by a trace element so that it can be identified as "trash" and then removed. This sounds good, but trace elements and white blood cells build our immune system which is supposed to keep us healthy by fighting o and identifying diseases, so in effect our body is fighting what we eat every morning, lunch and dinner. We are constantly under attack by whatever we eat!!! The net effect is that our populations get sick a lot more now, than in the past and diseases like cancer grows. Today we have overweight people that are infact totally malnourished with weak immune systems.

But there is hope. Don't panic just eat organic!

So while organic does not include all the nasties, what does it include? At OFC we make it our mission to buy as many Demeter Certified Biodynamic products because they are our guarantee that crops have been grown slowly and in harmony with nature. This ensures that the crop grows strong so we have the highest amount of nutrients and trace elements possible. These build our immune system and gives our body the tools to repair itself.So my advice is a lifestyle of biodynamic food, with rest rather than fatigue, and peace rather than stress.

This is the recipe for success. Nils El Accad.

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Organic Foods and Cafe