ALL VEGETARIAN, Organic and Natural

...Keys to Better Health

While making an effort to help protect and sustain the earth and all her splendor is surely a worth-while endeavor, protecting and sustaining our bodies can have a much more significant impact on our personal quality of life. That’s because what we eat can cause or worsen illness and premature death associated with cardiovascular disease and stroke, obesity, osteoarthritis and osteoporosis, cancer, and diabetes, among other diseases.

So what is the prescription for a healthier body, both now and in the future? Simple. Reject meat, which all too often has been blamed for these diet-related illnesses, and replace it with an all-vegetarian, organic, and natural diet:

All Vegetarian

Virtually all the major scientific and medical institutions in the world agree that the risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke, obesity, osteoarthritis and osteoporosis, cancer, and diabetes, among other diseases is linked to a meat-based diet consisting of highly processed foods laden with fats and artificial ingredients. These institutions further agree that the risk is greatly reduced by adopting a healthy low-fat, high-fiber diet.

At Down to Earth, we believe this result is best achieved by adopting a healthy vegetarian diet consisting of organic produce and natural foods.

Therefore, all the products in Down to Earth stores are 100% vegetarian. Shopping at Down to Earth is truly cruelty-free because its products contain no ingredients from slaughtered animals and none are tested on animals.

Down to Earth sells no meat, poultry, fish, eggs, or their by-products such as animal rennet contained in cheese or the gelatin capsules of dietary supplements, etc.

The company sells certain animal products such as milk and honey, which can be obtained without slaughtering the animal. However, it deplores the practices of many individual farmers and huge factory farms that exploit and mistreat the animals, particularly the cows, who are compared to a mother as they freely provide their milk to mankind.

Down to Earth’s vegetarian beliefs are based upon the following ethical, environmental and health reasons:

• Eating animals is unnecessary because nature has provided ample vegetables, fruits, grains, legumes and dairy products for human sustenance.
• Eating animals causes extreme pain and suffering to billions of innocent creatures.
• A meat-based diet is an extremely wasteful use of the earth's limited resources, as it requires many times more resources to create a pound of animal flesh than a pound of vegetarian foods.
• The meat industry desecrates the environment through topsoil loss, deforestation, water pollution and contributes to global warming.
• Meat, fish, and eggs have high cholesterol. Their wide-scale consumption has contributed to the dramatic increase in the number of deaths from heart disease, strokes and cancer; and meat based diets contribute to a host of other health related problems.

Organic

There is mounting evidence that organically grown fruits, vegetables and grains may offer more of some nutrients, including vitamin C, iron, magnesium and phosphorus, and less exposure to nitrates and pesticide residues than their counterparts grown using synthetic pesticides and fertilizers.¹ In this regard, a study published in Environmental Health Perspectives showed that consuming organic products may lower children's exposure to potentially damaging pesticides.²

Reviewing 41 published studies comparing the nutritional value of organically grown and conventionally grown fruits, vegetables, and grains, certified nutrition specialist Virginia Worthington concluded there were significantly more of several nutrients in organic crops. These included: 27% more vitamin C, 21.1% more iron, 29.3% more magnesium, and 13.6% more phosphorus. In addition, organic products had 15.1% less nitrates than their conventional counterparts. She also noted that five servings of organic vegetables (lettuce, spinach, carrots, potatoes and cabbage) provided the recommended daily intake of vitamin C for men and women, while their conventional counterparts did not. Worthington said the results are consistent with known soil dynamics and plant physiology.³

To help protect your health, Down to Earth seeks out and offers a wide-selection of organic produce, which is grown without using most conventional pesticides; fertilizers made with synthetic ingredients or sewage sludge; ionizing radiation or genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Our organic dairy products come from animals that are given no antibiotics or growth hormones.⁴ Since the FDA does not require that foods containing GMOs or growth hormones be labeled as such, look for the Organic Label when you buy produce.

Down to Earth supports organic farmers, who work with the natural environment, using methods that create ecological harmony. These farmers emphasize the use of renewable resources and the conservation of soil and water to enhance environmental quality for future generations.⁵

For all these reasons, Down to Earth works with local and out-of-state vendors to provide customers with a wide selection of certified organic fruits and vegetables in our produce section.

Natural

The best natural foods, supplements and body-care products are all-vegetarian, free of artificial flavors, colors and preservatives, and are minimally processed.

The use of vitamins, herbs, and dietary supplements is important to help improve your health and well-being. Choose supplements that have no artificial binders or fillers, and are made from natural ingredients and contain no synthetic chemicals. There’s no point in taking supplements to improve your health if they are loaded with potentially harmful ingredients.

And, when it comes to ingredient labels, a simple rule of thumb is that, if you cannot pronounce it or have only seen it in chemistry class, don't eat it! Synthetic additives and preservatives can collect in the fat stores of your body, increasing in toxicity over the years.⁶

To help you adopt a natural lifestyle, Down to Earth offers:

• Grains and grain products that are minimally processed and have not been bleached or bromated.
• Prepared foods that are free of artificial sweeteners, flavors, additives, colorings, and have minimal preservatives, and
• Natural living, eco-friendly products for the household that create a sense of balance for your body, mind, and spirit, and
• A wide range of natural bulk foods that protect the environment by reducing packaging, and allows customers to buy the amount of their choice without having to pay for expensive advertising and packaging that drives up the cost.

Save the whales, save the rainforests, save the cows, just don’t forget to save your own body too!