It’s taken about two months for me to go from believing the organics label is simply a way for grocers to charge more, and the health aids label is just a “buncha bunk,” to becoming a convert. All right, I’m not totally converted. But my feet are pointed in that direction.

It started with the nurse educator at my HMO who told me that most toothpastes contain alcohol. She recommended some that are alcohol-free and suggested teas to aid with digestion.

From there, I looked for foods to build up the white blood cell count in order to fight colds and infection. I found a few of these: beef, broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, pumpkin, carrots, and shitake mushrooms.

The best discovery was free-range chicken eggs. Just two of these makes a fluffy omelet so large it’s hard to consume in one sitting. My husband also brought home a second type--brown, fertilized eggs--this weekend. He cracked a couple of them open for breakfast and said, “Whoops, there’s a feather. Here comes the beak.” Funny man, my husband.

We wondered whether fertilized eggs are consumable. Here’s what http://www.sciencebuzz.org/ had to say: “If an egg has been fertilized, then the embryo inside has already divided several times but remains a group of unspecialized cells (at the time the egg is laid).” So yes, a fertilized egg is edible.

I’m not so convinced when it comes to the organic lettuces from the supermarket. The pre-washed spinach and the butter lettuce packaged in plastic, complete with roots, tastes the same to me as the “regular” lettuce.

A restaurant I discovered in Oakland, Calif. last summer served salad with the most wonderful lettuce. According to the restaurant, some nice ones can be had from these organizations, which often sell through farmers markets: Coke Farm, Star Route Farms, Blue Heron Farms.

I'm liking the "raw" sugar over the refined white sugar. It seems to sweeten without being too sweet. And I am a fan of milk soaps, another new find. These help keep the skin from drying out, though the scent is a little odd.

It is fun and interesting to try these new things, whether or not they become a permanent part of our lives. I’m looking forward to discovering more. Please comment on this blog if you’ve found some healthy foods you especially love.