The first time I heard about organic food was when Linda McCartney, Paul McCartney’s first wife, was diagnosed with cancer. I was still naive, inexperienced and ultimately clueless at the time but Paul McCartney was in the Beatles and my dad was a huge fan of the group so their music made an indelible impact on my childhood taste in music. Anybody affiliated with them had the golden ticket into my heart and soul. I wondered if Linda had made a change in diet and health in her youth if she would still be alive today.

Years and years later, after a few minor health risks of my own, I had been practicing yoga for about a dozen years and eavesdropping on the many conversations about plastic vs glass, switching to a vegetarian or even vegan diet, going on cleanses, etc. None of that, except for the glass water bottle and Tupperware discussions resonated with me until people started talking about organic. The movement and conversation became more compelling aka I eavesdropped more about how it changed people’s health and ultimately their lives.

Not wanting to take random yogis advice to heart, I did my own research and experimentation. I borrowed “Organic, Inc.” from the library. It was not at all what I expected. First of all, farmers deserve so much of our respect and admiration because their lives are so arduous and very routine with little room for error. Secondly, never ever, and I mean never, eat non-USDA certified organic strawberries. Each one, when tested, has up to 20 pesticide residues. Spinach comes a close second. My husband eats quite a bit of strawberries and I love my daily 4 p.m. spinach salad snack! I was horrified that we were essentially poisoning ourselves on a daily basis.

I had to evaluate and ultimately make the decision that any and all food that I cook from scratch had to be USDA certified organic. Side note, regular organic without the USDA seal essentially means that the soil has not been sprayed with pesticides for 3 years and that essentially, it was in transition. Quite a bit of Whole Foods’ produce has that label. I veer away from those but in times of scarcity, I will acquiesce.

Though I cannot say that my mostly organic diet has kept me as slim as I was in my 20’s and even in my 30’s, I am quite healthy. I eat organic eggs everyday and don’t have any issues with my cholesterol. I squeeze my own organic grapefruit juice every morning. I have my organic 4 p.m. spinach salad with organic Persian cucumbers and organic salad dressing. I even end each evening with a double bag cup of organic Moroccan mint tea.

Most things work perfectly on any given day. Everybody has their off day depending on stress, weather and sleep patterns. I can’t guarantee the tenacity of my system to resist any and all ailments but I do feel I am investing in myself, my health and my longevity by choosing organic food as a primary means to feed myself and that alone helps develop my mindset and gives me the energy and positivity to do it all over again tomorrow and each day after that.