Health Wanted: Postpartum Psychosis

The Episode

Having a baby is supposed to be a joyous occasion, a time to be surrounded by love and support for your growing family. But for some people, the postpartum period comes with mental health changes that put them in crisis. This week on Health Wanted, we’re talking about what we do, and don’t, know about postpartum psychosis.

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The Listener Questions

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Is it safe to thaw chicken at room temperature on the counter?

Frozen chicken should always be thawed at a temperature of less than 40 degrees Fahrenheit. That means either in the fridge or in a leak-proof container submerged in cold water that’s changed every 30 minutes.

The water method is faster, but requires more attention.

The reason you can’t just leave it out is because any bacteria that was present on the meat before freezing can start to rapidly multiply at 40-140 degrees Fahrenheit. So, the outside of the chicken might be covered in germs while the inside is still frozen.

There are no shortcuts when it comes to food safety!

Is it actually worth it to pay for organic food?

It's important to understand that “certified organic” is a marketing term. It is not actually any sort of indication of the food’s safety or nutritional value.

So what does it mean to be organic and use the USDA’s seal? It means the product follows strict production, handling, and labeling standards and goes through a certification process. The standards are:

• Organic produce must be grown in soil that has no prohibited substances (like most (but not all) synthetic fertilizers or pesticides) for three years prior to harvest.
• Organic meat has to have certain living standards, be fed organic feed, and not receive antibiotics or hormones.

While the certification process ensures certain standards are being met, there are a lot of misconceptions out there about what it means to be organic. For example:

• Some people think organic means that they don’t use pesticides. That’s not true. They do use pesticides, but they use ones approved for organic farm: basically non-synthetic pesticides and fungicides (with a few exceptions).
• There is perception that organic foods are safer because they have “natural” origins, but research shows that conventionally farmed produce has negligible exposure risk to harmful substances.

There’s also the idea that organic farming is better for the environment. Some farms probably are better, because they don’t use synthetic products that impact surrounding areas. But factory organic farms often have to use more of their “natural” pesticides, because crops that have been genetically modified to be resistant to pests are not allowed to be organic. So, it takes more pesticide to grow fewer crops, which can also have impacts on the land. Plus, if your concern is the environment, you could be buying certified organic that was grown in South America and had to be put on a plane to get here, meaning it doesn't exactly have a low carbon footprint.

Also, just because something is organic doesn't mean it’s free from contaminants. Farms that use animal manure instead of synthetic fertilizers can sometimes have a higher risk of pathogens like E. coli, because those are spread through the fecal-oral route.

None of this is to say that organic products are bad. Organic farming began in the 1900s and was focused on regenerative farming. That includes putting nutrients back into the soil by the use of compost and crop rotation and more natural grazing practices for livestock, which are all good practices themselves. Mostly, it’s good to be aware that not all products with the organic label are created equally.

Also, remember: Just because your local farm stand doesn’t have an organic certification, that doesn't mean it's not engaging in the same rigor when it comes to farming techniques. The certification process is lengthy and expensive so smaller farms might not have the ability to invest in getting the sticker.

Catch all the listener questions and Laurel’s answers on the full episode of Health Wanted by:

• Streaming at wabe.org or the WABE app
• Subscribing on Apple or Spotify
• Watching on WABE's YouTube channel