Organic for Health by Sandy Powers

How many times has your New Year's resolution included maintaining a healthier lifestyle? I put that in every year and a month shy of 40 I'm still a junk food junkie.

When I heard about Sandy Powers's new book Organic for Health my interest was more than piqued. I've tried growing my own vegetables--which is time consuming--and I've also bought organic vegetables from the grocery store. I figured organic foods are better for me, but I didn't really know why it is so important to choose organic foods over non-organic ones.

I asked Sandy to give us three advantages of eating organic foods. Here's what she had to say:

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has mandated that no organic food can contain added hormones, antibiotics, synthetic pesticides, irradiated components, genetically modified organisms, or reprocessed sewage. No such mandate exists for conventionally grown food, which is most of the food sold in grocery stores.

1. Hormones and antibiotics: Dairy farmers inject hormones into cows to increase production of milk. This increase milk production requires frequent milking which, in turn, causes udder irritation and infections. Antibiotics are given to combat the infections. Unfortunately, the infections don't always clear up so the government permits a certain amount of pus to remain in conventional milk. Residue hormones in our food are believed to be one of the causes of early puberty in girls, a decrease of semen in boys, and a link to breast cancer. Residue antibiotics in our food are beginning to cause our immunity to the antibiotics that fight disease. Organic milk has no added hormones or antibiotics.

2. Pesticides: Most of our food crops today are grown by large agricultural businesses that employ the practices of intensive farming to increase yields. The overuse of pesticides to achieve these yields have resulted in pesticide-resistant insects. More pesticides are needed to combat the insects that threaten the crops. This results in our fruits and vegetables absorbing harmful amounts of toxic pesticides that are linked to Parkinson’s disease, brain cancer, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and leukemia. Organic fruits and vegetables cannot be grown with these toxic synthetic pesticides.

3. Additives: Many additives, such as preservatives, artificial sweeteners, artificial flavorings and colorings, MSG, hydrogenated fat, and phosphoric acid, are prohibited in the production of organic food. Studies are confirming that the use of these additives in conventionally produced foods can worsen hyperactivity and illnesses, like asthma, in children.

After reading this, I wondered if I would ever be able to eat non-organic foods again.

More about the Book:

Organic for Health will convince you to avoid conventionally grown foods laden with the biggest offenders, and more importantly, to fill your body with the clean, potent vitamins and minerals in organic foods that truly honor your health.

"Sandy Powers has created the type of book that will change lives. She approaches the subject matter from a basic, introductory standpoint. This allows any reader to ease into the idea of major dietary changes, progressing at a comfortable pace. If there was any doubt the US government allows profit to prevail over general well-being, Organic for Health will eliminate that doubt."

--Front Street Reviews

"Genetically-altered additives, pesticides, antibiotics, and reprocessed sewage - and that's just breakfast! "Organic for Health" will convince even the most indifferent eater that organic foods are the way to optimal wellbeing."

--ReaderViews

About Sandy Powers:

A breast cancer survivor who battled liver disease, Sandy Powers turned to organic foods to heal her liver and fight cancer recurrence. She and her husband live in Englewood, Florida, where they enjoy chasing after their grandsons.

You can visit her website at www.organicforhealthsite.com

ORGANIC FOR HEALTH VIRTUAL BOOK TOUR '08 will officially begin on July 7, 2008 and continue all month long. You can visit Sandy's tour stops at www.virtualbooktours.wordpress.com in July!

As a special promotion for all our authors on tour, Pump Up Your Book Promotion is giving away a FREE virtual book tour to a published author with a recent release or a $25 Amazon gift certificate to those not published who comment on our authors' blog stops. More prizes will be announced as they come available. One lucky winner per author will be announced on this blog on July 31!


This virtual book tour has been brought to you by: