If you’ve ever taken the time to examine your produce labels in the store, you probably noticed the numeric code on it. What do these numbers mean? Well, if the code has only four digits, this means it is commercial produce, making it a lower grade than organic produce.

 

Studies show that commercial produce contains, on average, 40% less nutrients than organic produce. One reason for the lower nutrient levels has to do with the chemicals required to give the produce a longer shelf life. These chemicals both cause the produce to taste bad and be potentially dangerous for the body.

 

It has been proven that an orange can lose up to 75% of its nutrient quality within its first 10 hours of removal from the tree. What this means for the consumer is that it becomes even more difficult to stay lean and healthy, because essentially we need the nutrients not the calories.

 

So what else do the labels tell us? Well, if the numeric code contains five digits and doesn’t begin with an 8, it is organic; however, a code that does begin with an 8 indicates a GMO (genetically modified organism). This garbage, perhaps the worse produce you can buy, is created when we ‘create’ plants that produce their own pesticides and garbage.

 

Here’s a free tip: NEVER consume anything that is genetically modified. (You may not be aware that virtually all soy products are genetically modified in some way.) Mother nature intended you to eat things the way they occur in nature — so whenever you eat food that has been altered in an unnatural way, differently from the way Mother Nature intended it, you are inadvertently causing harm to some part of your body.

 

No one would argue that our technology has made things much more convenient for us, but the downside to all this advancement is that it is also causing us to have more diseases and health problems — and making us fatter and fatter everyday.

 

Do your best not to alter your food too much. Microwave ovens are very bad for you  because they radiate your food and change its molecular structure. For optimal health, stay away from this device that destroys the nutrients in your food…unless you want more disease, more health problems, and to keep on getting fat.

 

Your level of health — and that of your family — truly is up to you.

 

Scott White is a certified personal trainer and nutritionist located in Scottsdale, Arizona. For more information about nutrition and fitness, you can reach Scott at 480-628-1607, [email protected], or www.personalpowetraining.net