( organic and gluten-free nibbling habits can lead to healthier lives )

organic and gluten-free nibbling 
habits can lead to healthier lives
by jennifer hetrick

in recent years, the trend toward searching for and eating organic foods is grabbing the attention of more and more consumers, especially with research building the argument for how counterproductive unnaturally produced and processed chow-time ingredients can be to establishing good health.
 

a local store specializing in selling plenty in the way of organics is kimberton whole foods, which has one of its four locations at 1139 ben franklin highway east in douglassville.

“anything that is chemically-based or genetically modified is completely against what we stand for,” store coordinator alicia sullivan said about why kimberton whole foods chooses to operate with numerous organic food products on its shelves.

 

this branch of kimberton whole foods opened its doors in march of 2007.

“a lot of chemicals and preservatives cause or aggravate the food allergies that people already have,” sullivan said, “so we focus on organic and gluten-free items.”

sullivan added that the unnatural ingredients in non-organic foods can cause digestive and bodily troubles as well as worsen allergies.

“the main benefit of organic food is that you know there’s nothing added to it—it’s just food,” Sullivan said. “your body is meant to be eating what has the truest ingredients possible, actual food.”

sullivan noted that a large portion of their customers are those with celiac disease or a dietary sensitivity to gluten.

according to the national digestive diseases information clearinghouse run by the national institutes of health, “celiac disease is a digestive disease that damages the small intestine and interferes with absorption of nutrients from food.”

“people who have celiac disease cannot tolerate gluten, a protein in wheat, rye, and barley,” the clearinghouse continues. “gluten is found mainly in foods but may also be found in everyday products such as medicines, vitamins, and lip balms.”

in offering an assortment of gluten-free foods, kimberton whole foods is catering to a portion of those in the community whose numbers are increasing as many people are learning that their stomach discomfort after eating is linked to a sensitivity to gluten.

“some people get stomachaches when they eat wheat,” sullivan said, “and they feel really sluggish, carrying around extra weight because it’s not being digested.”

“these people need to be gluten-free,” sullivan said.

“a bunch of people were begging us to search for gluten-free soft pretzels because apparently they were impossible to find,” sullivan said, confirming that the store then fulfilled the requests of customers by supplying them with the wish-list food.

one of the top selling organic foods in the store is bananas, sullivan said, with about five cases sold per week.

in the past, sullivan said she had an allergic reaction to ordinary store-bought bananas. when she tried organic bananas, she experienced no disagreeable side effects.

so from this, she suspected that the pesticides sprayed on past-eaten bananas were what made her sick.

raw milk from yellow house’s wholesome dairy farms is unofficially organic but nonetheless a big seller from the refrigerated stock.
 

 ( notice the news, not blues mascot snooping at the milk ! )

organic eggs are another top-selling food.

“we try to take a lot of it on ourselves,” sullivan said about fact-checking the safety of certain foods they carry in order to ensure that they are workable for specialized diets or for those who are looking to eat the most naturally grown foods.

sullivan said she keeps literature regarding healthy eating or specialized diets on hand for any new customers who want to educate themselves about improving their dietary intake with alternative food choices in leaning toward organic-suited meal options.

freebie alert ! comment on this story to enter for a chance to win a $25.00 gift card for kimberton whole foods. please include your e-mail address in the comment. this contest ends sunday the 15th of august. good luck !