01.04.05 - An Increasingly Popular Consensus - back
Increasingly Popular Organic Foods Can Improve Quality Of Life
Thursday, March 31, 2005
source: Daily Southtown (US)
Vickie Snow
Six months after her mother died of colon cancer, Christina Pirello was diagnosed with acute leukemia. She was given nine months to live. Only 26 at the time, Pirello was referred to a friend of a friend, her future husband, Robert Pirello, who was known for following an organic, macrobiotic diet.
Within a year of changing her diet, Christina Pirello was cancer free.
"I wasn't one of those believers (in organic diets)," Pirello said on the phone recently from her home in Philadelphia, Pa. "I figured I'd be dead in six months, so I'd might as well try it."
More than two decades later, she's still healthy and hooked on organic food — food in its natural state, free of pesticides, growth hormones and other chemicals. She hopes to encourage others to try it through her PBS cooking show, "Christina Cooks," and public engagements, including programs focusing on organic cooking and gardening April 7 and 8 at the Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe.
Pirello, an Emmy Award winner who has a master's degree in nutrition, is not alone in her fondness for natural foods.
Campbell's, Kraft Foods, General Mills, Quaker Oats, Dean Foods, Kellogg's and other large companies are adding organic products to their offerings.
Jewel Food Stores and Dominick's also stock more organic items, too.
"We strive to offer a good variety of organic items as they are available seasonally," said Juanita Kocanda, public affairs manager at Albertson's Inc., parent company of Jewel. She said the amount and variety of organic products offered "varies from store to store based on overall shop size."
Organic items continue to be a growing sector in the grocery business, she said.
Pirello said, "Everybody's jumped on the (organic) bandwagon. This is a direction American consumers want to take. It is the fastest-growing segment of the food industry."
Some stores specialize in organic foods, such as Trader Joe's, Sunshine Foods, Whole Foods and Wild Oats. Some experts say more of these kinds of stores will be opening.
"(Organic) is the thing people seem to be focusing on," said Lisa Micetich, a registered dietitian at Little Company of Mary Hospital in Evergreen Park. "Before, it was the low-carb craze."
Micetich said some studies have shown that organic produce contains more minerals and antioxidants than nonorganic foods. Those factors can help protect the body from aging, cancer and cardiovascular disease.
Nutrients in organic products also are more dense and richer in flavor, Pirello said. Organic produce "may not look as pretty, but that's a good thing," she said.
"If people changed their diet just 30 percent, by eliminating junk and replacing it with organic vegetables, we'd never see things like arthritis, obesity, plaque in our arteries," Pirello said.
Organic food can boost the immune system, reduce aches and pains, and improve one's overall well-being, she said. Even if someone has had a serious health problem for years, it's never too late to incorporate organic food into daily meals.
"You'll always change your quality of life (by eating organic foods), even if what you have eventually gets you," Pirello said. "If you're looking for dramatic change in your health, you have to be willing to make the choices that are appropriate to getting better. There's no excuse to not try it."
Everyone, not just those with health issues, can benefit from organic food, she said.
"It's better for you and the environment," Pirello said. "It's a win-win situation."
The experts agree that organic food should be introduced into one's diet little by little.
"Start with what you enjoy most, maybe organic fruit, and then introduce organic vegetables," Micetich said.
"Healthy food doesn't have to taste like cardboard," Pirello said.
