Amazingly, organic food has grown about 20 percent a year, which is up to 10 times faster than total food sales. Seems like more and more people are beginning to appreciate the value and importance of consuming food that is free of synthetic chemicals and pesticides.

For most of us the major challenge was finding organic foods. I don't know about you but in my neighborhood it has been a relative nightmare to find organic produce. Thankfully, Whole Foods has been the best and most consistent supplier for some time now.

Their success and consumer interest have stimulated the availability of ogranic foods in conventional grocery stores so now it seems most conventional grocery stores where I live, in the northwest suburbs of Chicago, carry organic foods. This makes it far easier and less expensive to obtain. No longer is a one-hour round trip to Whole Foods required.

This reminds me of the gradual acceptance of whole-grain breads. Thirty years ago, the only place you could find them was in the health food store. Now they are available in nearly every grocery store, including many gas stations.

If you carefully examine them, however, you will find that the bulk of them are deceptively packaged. Most are only darkly colored highly processed breads made to look like whole grains, but not provide the benefits of whole grain nutrition.

I would strongly encourage you to read Dr. Colleen Huber's article on How Your Family Could Be Eating Organic Food for the Same Price or Less. It is loaded with information that will help you affordably integrate healthier food into your diet.

On a side note, one of the easiest ways you can distinguish healthier breads is to pick up the loaf and see and feel how heavy it is. The better breads are far denser and much heavier.

Please do not accept this as an endorsement to go out and purchase whole-grain breads. I still believe very strongly that at least 75 percent of the population would be best served avoiding grains until they normalized their insulin dysfunction.

However, there are clearly some people who not only enjoy whole-grain breads, but whose health actually thrives with them. It is just that they are a very small fraction of the population.