A growing employee benefit is the delivery of fresh fruit to the workplace. Looking after your employee health and wellbeing is increasingly important to assist with employee engagement in the workplace.
This month is Organic September so Health Shield is looking at why organic food is best for your employees.
Organic food refers to how it is grown and processed. Organic produce is grown with natural fertilizers and weeds and pests are controlled using natural methods.
If you have employees that suffer with allergies or sensitivities to specific foods, chemicals or preservatives, their symptoms can be alleviated or abolished completely they eat foods grown organically only.
This is often because:
- Organic food is fresher – mostly due to being produced on smaller local farms. You may find that there is a farm nearby to your workplace that produces organic fruit and vegetables
- Organic food contains fewer pesticides – the chemicals used in the production of regular fruit and vegetables tend to remain on them after distribution to markets
- Organic food is GMO free – no altered DNA in these foods
- Organic foods contain 27% more vitamin C, 21.1% more iron, 29.3% more magnesium
In fact, there are studies that have suggested that the decreased use of pesticides on organic foods actually helps decrease the risk of certain cancers like leukaemia, brain tumours, breast cancer and prostate cancer. So by providing organic foods for your employees you are assisting them with better health now and in the future.
On top of this, a study at Newcastle University in 2014 suggests that the antioxidants in organic food that assist in preventing cancer and heart disease and boost immunity are 19–69% higher.
Other benefits of organic food in your employees’ diets include:
- Reduced occurrence of adult obesity and type 2 diabetes
- Reduced chances of cardio-vascular disease
Providing a selection of organic fruit and vegetables for your employees as an added benefit will not only make them feel valued but also improve their health and in turn their production and absenteeism levels.
Organic Food Shopping – some facts:
- Consumers spend 25p more on 2 pints of semi skimmed organic milk
- 45p more on an organic 800g wholemeal bread
- £1 more per kg on organic white grapes
- 40p more on a 340g tub of organic crunchy peanut butter
To discover more about our Health Cash Plans and wellbeing products please visit the Health Shield website.
