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Living Maxwell

Better Choices

Study: Organic Ketchup Has Higher Levels of Antioxidants than Conventional Ketchup

Last year, I wrote about a groundbreaking study from Washington State University that said that organic strawberries have higher antioxidant activity and concentrations of ascorbic acid than conventional strawberries.

This research was the subject of much conversation in the organic industry because now we could point to objective, independent research that validated the superiority of organic.

Well, for those who still don’t believe that organic is a better option, maybe a recently released report from Spain will make them think differently.

In a study performed at the University of Barcelona Science and Technology Centres and reported in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, ketchup made from organic tomatoes proved to have higher levels of polyphenols than ketchup made from conventional tomatoes. (Polyphenols are biomolecules with antioxidant properties and protective effects in the human body.)

Researchers focused on the biochemical and metabolomic analysis of a range of branded ketchups and studied the environment in which tomatoes are grown.

Needless to say, their conclusion should not surprise any organic food advocate in the least.

The different agricultural management models, comprising a range of cultivation and fertilization techniques that vary between organic and conventional crops, impact the nutrient content of agricultural and commercial products.

The way in which organic tomatoes are grown results in a greater level of bioactive compounds and other metabolites. Like I say all of the time, it’s all about the soil.

If you nurture, nourish and treat farmland with respect and care, you get a very rich soil.

If you spray farmland with toxic chemicals and never rotate crops, you get a very poor soil.

It’s no real big mystery here, and this Barcelona study is empirically proving this to be the case. Again.

MY TAKE

Here we have another university research report declaring organic to be superior than conventionally-grown.

While organic may be slightly more expensive, largely because it is does not receive the same level of subsidies as conventional, consumers who continue to purchase non-organic will be paying more in the end. Why?

Because what they get does not have the same level of nutrition. And what good is eating food that is devoid of nutritional content?

I never eat food with the objective of simply trying to fill my stomach. My objective is to eat food that is going to support and strengthen my body.

As a result, I eat organic.

It’s not only a safer option, but it’s a more nutritious one as well.

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Living Maxwell

Better Choices

Pure Rooms are a MUST for Wellness-Minded Travelers

Having recently returned from Natural Products Expo West, a very intense and long five days visiting hundreds of trade show booths and meeting with dozens and dozens of people, one thing is very clear — I felt incredibly fortunate to have stayed in a Pure Room.

Launched by a company called Pure Wellness, a Pure Room is an extremely unique hotel offering that is addressing the needs of wellness-minded travelers in a way that I have never seen before. For people who place a serious priority on health, such as myself and many Living Maxwell readers, it is reassuring to know that this lifestyle can be maintained when on the road.

And now that I have stayed in a Pure Room on three separate occasions — most recently at two different hotels in the Los Angeles area for Natural Products Expo West — these hotel rooms have completely changed the way that I think about travel and how I book my accommodations.

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Living Maxwell

Better Choices

What is Biodynamic and Why Do The Products Taste So Good

Whenever I get asked the question of which are the best tasting organic foods, my response is always the same: the Biodynamic ones.

For quite some time, I have been wondering why exactly Biodynamic tastes so delicious, so I went digging for an answer.

THE BASICS

To understand why Biodynamic tastes so good and different from the rest, let’s first discuss its origins and then define it.

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Living Maxwell

Better Choices

Another Reason to Buy Organic – Conventional Tea Contains Illegal and Highly Toxic Pesticides

While we constantly hear about the tremendous health benefits of drinking tea, one thing that almost never gets mentioned in this message is just how critical it is to drink organic tea.

In a recently released report called Tea Steeped in Toxics, the excellent non-profit Beyond Pesticides gives us an inside look at what is going on in the tea industry. Needless to say, what they uncover is very ugly and very scary.

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livingmaxwell: a guide to organic food & drink