Organic health foods have become an increasingly popular trend. Longitudinal studies have linked increased consumption of these organic products with reduced rates of infertility, birth defects and allergic sensitisation as well as reduced incidences of non-Hodgkin lymphomas.
Organic produce also boasts other advantages, including lower levels of the toxic metal cadmium and an ideal ratio between omega-3 to omega-6 fatty acids, which promote heart health.
Reduced Pesticide Exposure
An organic diet significantly decreases exposure to organophosphate (OP) insecticides and herbicides such as glyphosate – one of the world’s most widely used agricultural chemicals – which have been linked with many health concerns including metabolic syndrome, high blood pressure, non-Hodgkin lymphoma and endocrine disruption.
Multiple observational studies have reported that eating organic is associated with lower levels of organochlorine pesticide metabolites in urine; however, these observations are difficult to translate into clinically meaningful health outcomes.
Recently, families were randomly assigned either a conventional or organic food intervention for twelve days. Over that time period, researchers collected baseline data about family characteristics and diet; conducted home inspections to record pesticide use around the house; collected urine samples; trained parents to complete child food intake diaries, as well as provide them with an organic food shopping list for phase 2.
Reduced Risk of Cancer
This month, JAMA Internal Medicine published the results of a prospective cohort study investigating how often participants selected organic food in 16 categories such as fruits and vegetables, dairy products, meat products, grains and other staples. Their frequency of organic choices were then correlated to cancer incidence over a follow up period of 9.3 years.
People who reported eating organic food most frequently had 25 percent lower cancer risks compared to those who rarely or never did so, particularly for lymphomas and postmenopausal breast cancers.
Researchers took care to account for factors like income, family history of cancer, education and lifestyle habits which might impact results. Yet they acknowledged that organic food consumption might be related to healthier overall diets – for instance people who opt for organic produce are more likely to eat foods with thick skins such as avocados, bananas and watermelons — protecting them from exposure to pesticides.
Better Balance of Omega-6 and Omega-3 Fatty Acids
Organically-grown foods can help boost antioxidant levels, but care must be taken when selecting them for health purposes. As many organic products contain sugar, salt and fat content; when purchasing them for nutritional benefits it is wise to opt for whole fruits and vegetables over processed meats.
Studies have revealed that eating organic food reduces your exposure to toxins, pesticide residues and antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Furthermore, eating only organic produce also has higher levels of vitamins, carotenoids, magnesium and iron than nonorganic counterparts, along with lower levels of toxic metals such as cadmium which has been linked with kidney issues, nerve damage and osteoporosis – something especially crucial when eating raw fruits and vegetables such as apples. Washing, scrubbing and peeling are effective ways of reducing these toxins levels but for total prevention it’s best to only consume organic produce!
Better Taste
Organic foods have gained in popularity because consumers believe that they taste superior. Plus, organic produce, meats and dairy are free from artificial food additives like sweeteners, preservatives, flavoring and monosodium glutamate (MSG).
However, this perception could be partly explained by the “health halo effect.” When people see an organic label they tend to assume it contains healthy ingredients which makes the product more desirable than its conventional equivalent.
Even as the organic food movement has gained more traction, there’s not yet sufficient proof that eating only organic food improves health. Most research on this subject has not demonstrated a substantial difference for human health; moreover many of the studies are limited due to small sample sizes or lack of control groups. Therefore it would be wiser to opt for a diet consisting of various nutritious foods, regardless of whether they’re organic. If buying organic products is an absolute priority then be sure to look for USDA organic labels when purchasing food products.
