How I eat organic

I’m very proud of how healthy I eat.  It hasn’t always been this way but I’ve evolved to truly appreciate the quality of my food.  I would say at least 95% of my diet is organic.  How do I do that on a budget?  Let me share some of my practices.

First of all I grow as much of my own produce as possible.  During this past winter I had my first cold season garden.  I grew several different types of lettuce, kale, swiss chard, carrots and turnips.  Even though it was a long, cold winter, all I used was 4ml plastic over my containers and I ate fresh food from my back yard all winter long.   I was amazed at how easy it was.  In my opinion, it’s simpler and less work than a warm season garden.  But having said that, I love my summer garden.  I have several types of tomatoes and peppers growing, plus cucumbers, melons, and squash (summer and winter).  By growing my own food, it saves me time and money since I’m not running to the grocery store as frequently. 

I’m also trying to eat food in season and that is produced locally.  This past winter I didn’t eat any fresh tomatoes or zucchini as they weren’t in season.  Food like this has to be trucked in from places like California, Argentina or even China and that just adds to the carbon foot print of the item.  Plus the cost is quite high during the off season.  That said, I do like bananas and avocados and will indulge in them intermittently. 

Many of my patients that do not grow their own produce participate in Community Sponsored Agriculture or CSAs.  You can learn more about them at www.localharvest.org for more info.  Papa Spuds is very popular in the area as well as http://www.theproducebox.com/. 

I buy as many food items as possible in bulk whether from a natural foods store or online.  I buy my beans, nuts, seeds, and grains in bulk and store them in ½ gallon mason jars at home.  I no longer by canned beans as that is significantly more expensive then buying the dry beans.  I keep my eye on sales flyers as well.

As for meat and dairy, I get most of mine from farmers.  There are farmer’s markets all over the Triangle and are a great place to get meat that has been from humanely treated animals without the use of hormones or antibiotics. 

For most of this year, Earthfare has had an email/coupon program that you sign up for and every Wednesday they email you a coupon for an item in the store.  Twice now I’ve gotten a free pound of shrimp.  Organic coffee, ice cream, produce and many others I can’t recall right now have been available free with these coupons.  Go to Earthfare.com to sign up. 

I believe both Whole Foods and Earthfare offer case discounts on items in their stores.  I believe it’s 10% in both stores.  This is another way of buying bulk and making fewer trips to the grocery store!

Lastly, there are coops available to participate in.  At work, we have a coop/buying club that about 7 of us participate in with Frontier Natural Foods Coop and Wilderness Family Naturals.  Check the companies out online to learn how to start your own buying club.  Other opportunities for buying clubs can be found through http://www.montanawheat.com/ and http://www.organicsproutedflour.net/.  I’m constantly looking for more opportunities to pass on to folks.  So, if you know about a buying club/coop opportunity, please let me know at drgreenfield@yahoo.com.  It’s a fantasy of mine to start a non-profit, community owned food coop in the area!

Is Sally Fields Telling the Truth? The truth about Boniva and bone loss

You’ve probably seen the TV commercial with Sally Fields championing Boniva, a medication designed to maintain healthy and strong bones.  However, what’s not conveyed in this and other advertisements for similar medications is that over the long term, these medications damage bones. 

Boniva, like Fosamax is included in a class of drugs called bisphosphonates.  Bisphosphonates prevent the body from breaking down old bone, which is the body’s way of repairing and maintaining bone.  Normally within the human body there are cells that regularly make new bone but also breakdown older bone that is weak.  This is called bone remodeling and is a dynamic process that continues throughout one’s lifespan.  The bisphosphonates interfere with this normal process which eventually results in new bone not being created as it should. 

Research over the past few years is associating “atypical femoral fractures” with long-term use of bisphosphonate drugs.  What this means is that many women who have been taking Fosamax for 4-8 years have been breaking their hips from routine activity and not from trauma.  A study conducted at Columbia University Medical Center discovered that post-menopausal women taking a bisphosphonate drug initially experienced  bone improvements but after 4 years of taking the drug, the improvements disappeared and then regressed.  This trend is even more alarming for women on traditional Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT). 

Osteoporosis and osteopenia are conditions of weakened bones but as recent research has demonstrated, bisphonates are not the long term answer to healthy bones.  Diet and weight bearing exercise continue to be two gold standards of natural treatment to maintain healthy bones.  Let me know if you have questions or need additional information on healthy bones.