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Better Choices

Another Reason to Eat Organic — Organic Apples Contain More Diverse, Healthier Bacteria than Conventional

An apple a day will keep the doctor away.

Thanks to a new study, that saying has taken on even more meaning, particularly for organic apples.

In a recently published paper in the journal Frontiers in Microbiology, it was found that organic apples contain a more diverse population of beneficial bacteria than conventional apples.

Researchers analyzed the peel, flesh, seeds, and stem of both organically and conventionally grown apples, looking to find how much and what kinds of bacteria were present. While organic and conventional apples contained the same amount of bacteria, there was a big discrepancy in the types of bacteria found.

“Organically managed apples harbor a significantly more diverse, more even and distinct bacterial community compared to conventional ones,” said Professor Gabriele Berg, an author of the research study.

And that diversity could be key to improved health.

Our guts are home to approximately 100 trillion bacteria, and it is widely believed in the medical community that the more numerous and diverse the bacteria in your gut, the stronger your immune system is likely to be.

Healthy, diverse colonies of gut bacteria can help prevent and treat many common diseases, and research on mice has linked improved gut health to protection against some cancers.

Furthermore, many conventionally-grown foods are sprayed with the super-toxic herbicide glyphosate, the primary ingredient in Monsanto’s RoundUp and a chemical that has been found to disrupt the gut bacteria in honey bees. Not surprisingly, the Frontiers in Microbiology paper showed that conventionally-grown apples contained fewer beneficial strains of bacteria than organic.

Given that diversity is key to gut health, this makes organic apples an even more obvious choice for those looking to improve their well-being.

As a bonus, organic apples were found to contain more of the microbe methylobacterium. Why is this significant?

This is the bacteria that is known to enhance the biosynthesis of strawberry flavor compounds. As such, it could also be one of the reasons why organic apples taste better than conventional.

What this all tells us that it is not just the human gut that thrives on the diversity of healthy bacteria — so does soil, the bedrock of our food system.

That means that organic products — like apples — aren’t just potentially healthier for you, they’re better for the environment, too.

A message from Tradin Organic

Why Tradin Organic is Prioritizing Regenerative Organic Farming

At Tradin Organic, we believe that regenerative organic farming is key to growing healthy and nutritious food ingredients — for now and for future generations.

And in Sierra Leone, we have grown the world’s first Regenerative Organic Certified cacao.

Learn more.

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Organic Insider

Better Choices

Could Regenerative Organic Coffee Farming be the Key to Reversing Deforestation in Peru?

Nestled in the heart of the mountains in the Andean Paramos region of Peru, there are 182 families who entirely depend on coffee cultivation for their livelihood.

Unfortunately, coffee rust – a fungus also known as “La Roya” — has devastated the coffee trees of 64 of these families, leading to catastrophic economic losses for hundreds of people.

With coffee production their only way to make a living and provide for their families, they have had no choice but to search for nearby land which has not been infected by coffee rust. While this is giving these families a financial lifeline, it has also resulted in the destruction of forests in the region, a territory that cannot that cannot afford this type of displacement.

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A message from Tradin Organic

How Tradin Organic is Helping Coconut Farmers in The Philippines

For more than a decade, Tradin Organic has been working with local partners in The Philippines to bring a diversified range of organic products to the market, such as coconut oil, tropical fruits and even cocoa.

The company is helping to support local farmers by assisting them with technical support and organic certification, in addition to paying Fairtrade premium on top of the organic premium.

Learn more.

Organic Insider

Better Choices

Analyzing the Pew Research Food Report: Millennials Don’t Trust GMOs, We Have Lots of Education To Do

The Pew Research Center recently released its findings from a new report called The New Food Fights: U.S. Public Divides Over Food Science, which largely focused on Americans’ perceptions of organic and genetically-modified foods (GMOs).

It surveyed 1,500 nationally representative adults (whatever that means), and I found the data to be both encouraging and worrisome.

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Living Maxwell

Better Choices

The Most Important Area of Your Health That You May be Ignoring

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For those of us who truly care about health, we eat organic food, we drink ultra-purified water, we exercise, we meditate, we do yoga, we have a positive attitude, we use clean personal care products and the list goes on and on and on.

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livingmaxwell: a guide to organic food & drink