Organic food may be more natural, but that doesn't mean it can't be full of fat.

The main premise behind organic is that the foods are not treated with an intense array of chemical pesticides, fertilizers and herbicides like most other foods. In the case of meat, they are not given antibiotics or growth hormones. Organic foods are all natural and are maintained using natural fertilizers like manure.

But these health foods' ever-increasing popularity has many consumers using this health fact to justify eating traditionally unhealthy food items such as cookies simply because they are labeled as organic. The overall, sweeping notion of organics' healthiness has overshadowed the reality that these foods still retain their other dietary and nutritional facts.

Senior dietetics major and president of the UD Student Dietetic Association Sarah Garchar can understand this misconception and urges individuals to continue to look at nutritional content in these foods.

"It's definitely a false notion that organic is healthier from a nutrient standpoint. I can see why people would think that, but organic and conventional foods contain the same amount of calories, nutrients, fats and sugars," she said. "You always need to read the food label because that tells you what you're eating."

If an individual is aiming to go on a no or low fat diet, simply eating all organic foods might not be the answer. Checking food labels for caloric and fat content will be crucial for such a weight loss program. Blindly eating all and any organic foods may not produce wanted results.

It is also crucial, Garchar said, to remember that conventional food options, ones that have been treated with chemical pesticides, still undergo thorough inspection by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), and thus are deemed safe and acceptable to eat.

Patricia Dolan, a registered dietician and professor of dietetics at UD, said that there is a controversy in the health sector on whether or not the chemical pesticides used to treat products really have an adverse effect on the consumer.

"In studies, the chemicals themselves have been tested and have not shown to have long-term effects [on people]," she said. "So, no one really knows the answer to this question because there is no substantial evidence. I think people have to make their own choice and decide if it's something important to them."

UD's Dining Services offers the Amy's brand line of frozen organic foods at The Emporium. In the past they have offered organic products in the dining rooms, but due to low sales they have been discontinued. Upon request, Dining Services is willing to accommodate any students' needs for such products.