Organic Food- Free Ourselves from Major Health Problems by EATING RIGHT

People who do not eat right develop malnutrition. This can happen from not eating enough-food of any kind (general malnutrition or 'undernutrition'), from not eating the right kinds of foods (specific types of malnutrition), or from eating too much of certain foods.

Anyone can develop general malnutrition, but it is especially dangerous for:

• Children, because they need lots of food to grow well and stay healthy;
  
• Women of child-bearing age, especially if they are pregnant or breast feeding, because they need extra food to stay healthy, to have healthy babies, and to do their daily work;
  
• Elderly persons, because often they lose their teeth and their taste for food, so they cannot eat much at one time, even though they still need to eat well to stay healthy.
  

Children who are malnourished will suffer the following health problems:

• Lack of energy
  
• Thin arms and legs, big bellies
  
• Unable to grow and gain weight normally
  
• Poor vision at night, eye dryness or even blind
  
• Common illnesses and infections will last longer, are more severe, and more often cause death
  
• Respond slower in thinking, talking and even walking
  
• Thinning or loss of hair, or loss of its color and shine
  
• Have sores and mark on skin from face, feet and hand swelling

Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pinksherbet/ / CC BY 2.0

Mid-upper Arm Circumference (MUAC) is a quick and simple way to determine whether or not a child is malnourished. MUAC is suitable to use on children from the age of 12 months up to the age of 59 months. However, it can also be used for children over six months with length above 65 cm.

After 1 year of age, any child whose middle upper arm measures at 13.4 cm to 12.5 cm around is considered at risk of malnutrition - no matter how 'fat' his feet, hands, and face may look.

If the arm measures from 12.4 cm to 11.0 cm, he is in moderate malnutrition state.

If the measurement is lower than 11.0 cm, the child is severely malnourished!

Another good way to tell if a child is well nourished or poorly nourished is to weigh him regularly; once a month in the first year, then once every 3 months. A healthy, well-nourished child will gain weight regularly.

INFO REFERENCE: motherchildnutrition.org

• Always feeling weak and tired
  
• Loss of appetite
  
• Anemia
  
• Sores in the corner of the mouth
  
• Painful or sore tongue
  
• Feet 'burning' or numbness
  

There are also problems that may have OTHER CAUSES, but often made worst by not eating well, such as:

• Diarrhea
  
• Nosebleeds
  
• Headache
  
• Stomach discomfort
  
• Frequent infections
  
• Dryness and cracking of the skin
  
• Ringing or buzzing in the ears
  
• Heavy pulsing of the heart or of the 'pit' of the stomach (palpitations)
  
• Bleeding or redness of the gums
  
• Anxiety (nervous worry) and various
  
• Skin bruises easily nerve or mental problems
  
• Cirrhosis (liver disease)
  

Not only getting poor nutrition by not eating right cause all the health problems mentioned above, it also, and most importantly, WEAKENS the ability of our body to resist all kind of diseases, especially infections.

Most of the food that we consume these days lacks the proper nutritional value that our body really needs. This unfortunate situation is mostly caused by the heavy usage of chemical fertilizer and pesticide in most conventional way of farming, where crops are being rushed for mass production to satisfy the fast growing demand of today's world.

The best way to be sure that we are absolutely eating right is to go ORGANIC. Proven research has shown that organic farming delivers healthier and more nutritionally enhanced food that our body really needs to be healthy.

Another important benefit is that of taste. Organic food definitely tastes so much better than conventional produced food. It is the most delicious type of preventive medicine available to us. Preparing a tasty meal is actually fun and easy. You'll be surprised to find out how easy it is to make various kinds of delicious meals once you learn the simple way to do it.