Organic Eating Is NOT Safer, Says Harvard Professor

You may not want to put down that hot dog just yet. As healthy, organic eating is NOT safer, says a Harvard professor.

Wait, tap the breaks! You mean all of those expensive trips to Whole Foods have been a waste of time? Does this mean I won't have to travel to three different markets, one for fruit, one for meat and one for paper towels?

What about all of those scary 60 Minutes episodes on pesticides? Don't get me started about Round Up. 

When I was a kid growing up in Worcester the words organic foods, didn't exist. Dad went to two places for food. One was the supermarket for the usual items. The other was his favorite vegetable and fruit stand.  Mom made dinner, and life went on.

With the invention of the internet, we are deluged with data and studies of various opinions on what's good for us and what's bad for us. First, coffee was bad, now it's good. Vegan is good, but now makes some people sick and weaker. Drinking alcohol is bad, but wine is good, in moderation.

Last year, I got an EKG. Thank goodness it came back fine. But the doctor and I got to talking about the legalization of marijuana. He was NOT a fan, saying that the THC in marijuana is WORSE than tobacco. Add to that the American Lung Association is concerned about the legalization of weed, saying that ANY SMOKE in the lungs, is not good for our lungs.

So, who really knows? We have to do our own research and come to our own conclusions.

Today, I'm happy to say, I'm not on any meds. Sure, like many I have to keep an eye on my blood pressure, but I'm not any BP medicine. When we shop today, we try to eat organic foods as much as possible. Today, to me, it's getting easier to find organic foods right next to non-organic foods. Of course the organic elephant in the room is that organic foods are VERY expensive. But now, have I wasted money?

In his bombshell book, “Resetting the Table: Straight Talk about the Food We Grow and Eat”  Robert Paarlberg, an associate professor at Harvard shocked the organic eating camp saying it's time to cut the BS.

Consumers tend to favor organic food because they believe the advocates who claim it is safer and more nutritious to eat, but there is little or no scientific evidence to support these claims. Most organic food on the market today comes from highly specialized, industrial-scale farms, not so different from those that produce conventional food.

So what professor Bob is saying here that it's a myth that organic food comes from smaller farms. Another voice that agrees with the professor is Louise O. Fresco, trained as an agronomist, is the president of Wageningen University in the Netherlands, the world’s leading agricultural university. She says in her book: Hamburgers In Paradise:

“Organic farming as a whole is a mish-mash of valuable goals and ideals that have either been insufficiently tested or are completely misguided.” She goes onto say that the organic movement speaks to our yearning for the small, the local and the personal. 

I'll mull it over tomorrow while eating at the Big E.

More than ever people need positive phrases to the help them everyday, and luckily an esteemed Harvard Psychologist has determined the nine positive phrases we should use everyday. Let's face it, times are tough, we have been through a lot in the past few years. We endured a global pandemic that has probably changed our world forever in more ways than we could have ever imagined. Is it true that tough times make tough people? Perhaps, but knowing how to deal with stress is the key.

Having confidence in yourself is more vital than ever. Let's face it, even with the advent of social media and the internet, we are more isolated than ever. Sure, you see your friends and family everyday online, but we see them less often now in the digital world. You are relying on yourself to "coach up" and "build up" the confidence needed to navigate this brave new world.

Forget the axiom that stress builds character, it also builds emotional scars that can last a lifetime. If you find yourself in need of some motivation, these simple nine positive phrases just might give the added lift of confidence that you're looking for.  Of course none of us will get through life without a modicum of stress, and the idea that we can all lead stress free lives is fantasy.

Dr. Cortney S. Warren, PhD, is a board-certified psychologist and author of “Letting Go of Your Ex.” She specializes in marriages, love addiction and breakups, and received her clinical training at Harvard Medical School. She has written nearly 50 peer-reviewed journal articles and delivered more than 75 presentations on the psychology of relationships. Follow her on Twitter @DrCortneyWarren.

The Dr says, "developing resilience requires getting to a place where you can see difficult life circumstances for what they are, and actively choosing to let them go." When you can let the little and sometime big things go, you are on your way to a better you!

"The key to resilience is not denying reality or seeking out a reason that makes us feel better about why something happened." Like football coaches preach, you are what your record says you are.

"We are hardwired to notice threats to our well-being but people who are resilient find a way to turn towards the positive even in times of difficulty." As your grandmother might have said, "count your blessings."

"A key component of resilience is emotional flexibility, or the ability to regulate your feelings, and reduce their intensity in a given situation." Sometimes you need to step back and take stock of things, you might have a better perspective with just a little more time.

"Openness to experiences and ability to shift your perspective. Ask, why did this happen to me too what can I take from this to help me grow? Can help you better navigate through life‘s inevitable ups and downs." Life's learning lessons continue long after you finish school.

"For resilient people believe that setbacks and challenges can feel horrible in the moment, but that nothing in life is permanent. It doesn’t mean that the pain will go away entirely, but it does mean that we can work to make them less traumatic over time."

"Resilience is associated with a basic acceptance that life isn’t always fair and that we all experience emotional hardships excepting this truth helps people to not take things personally." Nobody ever said life is easy, it can be hard a lot of the time, so when you accept that it's natural to have struggles, the more you will be able to face those hardships.

"Being resilient means that when you experience the pain of this treatment you shift your perspective from I’m a victim and powerless to help myself to. How can I grow from this?

"Emotional resilience is associated with grit and mental toughness. There is an understanding that we have to be strong and overcome adversity without letting it break us." This is a powerful affirmation that you should use whenever you're feeling up against a hard time, remind yourself that yes, I can get through this, than you give yourself a fighting chance.