Is Organic Food Better for You?
Study Shows Benefits of Eating Organic Foods
Is eating organic food better for your health? Does it have more nutrients than conventional food? A landmark analysis of organic vs. conventionally grown food provides answers.
No surprise, but good news. A comprehensive study from Newcastle University confirms that organic food is better for you and the world. Analyzing 343 studies on the differences between conventional and organic crops, the science team found that organic foods have more healthy antioxidants and have dramatically lower levels of toxic metals and pesticides than conventionally grown crops.
The Newcastle study, published by the British Journal of Nutrition, is considered a landmark because of its extensive evidence base, and the use of systemic literature review and meta-analysis. “The evidence from this study is overwhelming—that organic food is high in antioxidants and lower in toxic metals and pesticides,” said Professor Carlo Leifert, who led the study.
“The evidence from this study is overwhelming—that organic food is high in antioxidants and lower in toxic metals and pesticides.”
More Antioxidants in Organic Food
Study results: Organic foods are up to 60% higher in key antioxidants. Eating organic produce provides antioxidants equal to eating one to two extra portions of conventionally grown fruits and vegetables per day.
Antioxidants help your body fight off harmful oxidation, which can damage cells. The antioxidants found in organic produce, such as vitamin C, polyphenols and carotenoids limit oxidation. Many of the antioxidants found in organic foods are linked to reduced risk of chronic diseases, including certain cancers, cardiovascular disease and neurodegenerative diseases. With more antioxidants than conventional produce, organic fruits and vegetables offer protective health benefits.
Lower Levels of Toxic Heavy Metals
Study results: Organic crops have substantially lower concentrations of the heavy metal cadmium (on average 48% lower) than conventionally grown crops.
Cadmium is a highly toxic metal that accumulates in the human body (especially in the kidneys and liver) and can lead to renal failure. According to the study, there is evidence that organic farming practices (e.g. non-use of mineral “synthetic” phosphate fertilizers) are linked to lower cadmium levels in organic food crops.
Lower Incidence of Pesticide Residue
Study results: Pesticide residues were four times more likely to be found in conventional crops than in organic crops.
Pesticides, chemicals applied to crops to kill plant-damaging insects, are a mainstay of conventional industrial agriculture. However, scientific studies cite pesticides as prime suspects in the dramatic decline of beneficial insects such as bees, and other wildlife. Pesticides accumulate in the food chain. These pesticides may be a significant factor in a variety of human diseases.
In addition, the harmful effects of pesticides can continue over several generations, even after exposure has ended. Organic crops grown without pesticides or synthetic fertilizers avoid these problems.
10 Reasons to Eat Organic Foods
Why eat organic? Organic farming practices and organic food not only benefit human health, but the health of the land we depend on for food.
• Eating organic helps reduce your body’s toxic load. Certified organic foods are not treated with herbicides, pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, growth hormones, antibiotics, or ionizing radiation.
• Organic foods are non-GMO (not genetically modified).
• Organic crops offer more nutrition than conventionally-grown crops. Organic foods have higher levels of nutrients and antioxidants.
• Eating organic encourages more farmers to grow organically.
• Organic farming encourages crop diversity as a natural strategy to reduce insect losses. Diversity in agriculture and in eating helps maintain healthy farms and healthy bodies. Maintaining diversity in the environment builds climate change resilience.
• Organic cropping practices reduce soil erosion and build sustainable soil fertility.
• By avoiding pesticides, organic farming helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
• Organic farming protects water quality from chemical runoff into lakes, rivers and oceans.
• Organic farming protects the health of farm workers from pesticide exposure.
• Organic agriculture builds a food culture that preserves traditional varieties and enhances the qualities of our lives.
Vancouver Island Farms & Food Map
Search for “certified organic” and “grown without pesticides” farms on Vancouver Island and Salt Spring Island.
More articles:
Tests Reveal Benefits of Eating Organic
Pesticide Free? A Low-Cost Way to Detect Pesticides in the Food We Eat
