Many people choose organic food to avoid exposure to pesticides, herbicides and chemical fertilizers; however, opinions vary regarding its potential health benefits.
Consuming mostly organic foods may reduce your risk for certain cancers and improve cardiometabolic health, but beware of processed organic products which contain added sugar, salt and fat.
Meat
People choose organic meat due to concerns regarding its environmental impacts, animal welfare issues and use of hormones in raising livestock. Furthermore, many believe organic meat has higher mineral levels as it does not use antibiotics in its growth process.
Organic products have the prestigious distinction of bearing an “organic food label”, signifying that they were produced without synthetic pesticides, fertilizers, genetically modified organisms (GMOs), chemical additives or irradiation – although some products may contain non-organic components which do not qualify for this distinction and therefore cannot be considered entirely organic.
Few observational studies have linked regular organic food consumption with lower rates of preeclampsia, cancer (including lung, oesophageal, colorectum and breast), metabolic syndrome, allergies and obesity. Unfortunately, however, the short duration and reliance on surrogate markers such as antioxidant levels or pesticide excretion makes it difficult to ascertain whether organic foods offer meaningful measurable health benefits.
Dairy
Opting for organic dairy will guarantee it is free from hormones or antibiotics used to treat livestock, and organic meat may provide more of the essential vitamins and minerals than its conventional counterparts.
Clinical trials have demonstrated that eating organic foods can contribute to better health outcomes, though many only studied changes in biomarkers or indirect measures, like antioxidant levels in blood and urine. Meanwhile, observational studies have revealed that people who prefer organic over conventionally produced food tend to consume more plant-based and fewer animal products; they also have healthier microbiota that contribute to improved outcomes such as decreased obesity risk, heart disease risk reduction and an improved microbiota in their gut.
Fruits
Fruits are one of the main organic food items consumers purchase, making up one of the highest market shares for organic sales. Proponents claim that eating organic produce is better for you than conventional options, although evidence on this remains mixed.
Few clinical trials have evaluated direct health impacts of organic food consumption directly, with most studies employing surrogate markers as substitute indicators.
Studies that directly compare organic and non-organic food consumption directly with health outcomes found that women who reported eating organic food “often or mostly” had lower risks of preeclampsia than those who consumed mostly or no organic products at any point during gestation.
Note that observational studies can have inherent biases and limitations. For instance, those who choose organic food tend to be more health conscious, active individuals and in higher income brackets – which could influence their diet differently than people who don’t eat organic.
Vegetables
As vegetables are regularly exposed to more pesticides than fruits, they tend to contain higher residue levels than fruits. Switching to organic vegetables reduces your exposure. Some such as avocados, cantaloupe and pineapple are safe to be consumed regularly while strawberries, spinach, tomatoes and apples may have higher pesticide concentrations – check the Environmental Working Group’s Clean Fifteen and Dirty Dozen lists before purchasing items from either list.
Studies involving organic food intake have linked it with reduced incidences of infertility, birth defects, otitis media, asthmatic reactions and non-Hodgkin lymphomas. But most research is limited to single food substitution trials or short-term diet intervention trials. Long-term, whole-diet substitution studies with certified organic interventions will be the most accurate way to ascertain whether organic food provides any real measurable health advantages over its conventional counterpart. Organic food also benefits the environment: conventional farming uses pesticides that are wiping out entire species of birds, insects and butterflies while polluting groundwater supplies with heavy metals and synthetic fertilizers that threaten ecosystem health.
