Is Organic Produce Healthier Than Non-organic Produce?

It seems I’m reading headlines like “Organic food not nutritionally superior to conventional food” all the time these days! So not surprisingly, I often get asked what my opinion is regarding organic food. Without going into the nitty-gritty of certification requirements, growing requirements and labeling laws, in order to answer the question regarding whether or not organic food is actually better for our health, let’s take a look at the evidence.

As far as the vitamins and minerals are concerned, organic food actually doesn’t appear to have any real benefit over non-organic food. A well-known large systematic review concluded that “there is a lack of strong evidence to suggest that organic foods are significantly more nutritious than conventional foods”.

The Pro’s

We must remember that food is MUCH more than just vitamins and minerals! Here are just some of the reasons why I DO believe that organic produce is much healthier than non-organic produce:

1. Eating organic foods reduces exposure to pesticide residues (1). Evidence suggests that pesticides may in fact be a contributing factor in diseases such as Type 2 Diabetes, Obesity, Parkinson’s disease, endometriosis, respiratory diseases and food allergies.
2. Childhood leukaemia and lymphoma have been found to be higher in children with maternal exposure to pesticides, and brain cancer is higher with paternal exposure to pesticides (2)
3. Eating organic foods may reduce exposure to antibiotic-resistant bacteria (1)
4. Studies also suggest pesticide exposure during the prenatal period is linked to behavioural problems such as autism and ADHD (3)
5. Organic food may be better for the economy. Research suggests that organic farms provide 30% more jobs per hectare than non-organic farms.
6. We eat more seasonally when we eat organic
7. Organic food production confers additional environmental benefits such as biodiversity, soil building and sustainability.
8. Organic produce contains higher levels of phytochemicals than conventionally grown produce. In the past, researchers have focused on old-school vitamins and minerals when making comparisons, instead of focusing also on new-age nutritional superstars… phytochemicals (secondary plant metabolites or antioxidants). Big mistake!

The Phytochemical Advantage

If you think about, it makes perfect sense! Plants produce phytochemicals as a response to the growing cycle stress of warding off insects and disease. So, when pesticides, herbicides and chemical fertilizers are added to food crops during the growing cycle, plants react by producing fewer phytochemicals, thus diminishing their health value to humans. It seems that potentially the greatest advantage of organic produce is their ability to general higher levels of health-protective phytochemicals when compared to chemically grown crops, because they have to work harder to protect themselves against insects and disease.

In one very cool study which ran over 10 years, it was revealed that “comparisons of analyses of archived samples from conventional and organic production systems demonstrated statistically higher levels of quercetin and kaempferol in organic tomatoes. Ten-year mean levels of quercetin and kaempferol in organic tomatoes were 79-97% higher than those in conventional tomatoes” (4). This is one of MANY studies which highlight this very important nutritional advantage organic produce has over non-organic produce.

What happens after a week of eating organic produce? 

A recent Australian randomised, cross-over study (5) demonstrated that just ONE week of consuming over 80% organic foods significantly reduced the level of organophosphate exposure in adults compared with a conventional diet. Urine samples revealed that DAP; a metabolite of organophosphate (a pesticide commonly used in conventional food production) was a whopping 89% lower in the organic group compared with the conventional group. Pretty impressive reduction in such a short period of time don’t you think?!

Keep in mind…

This evidence and benefits apply to organic foods which are PLANT-BASED, and does not mean that there isn’t a whole lot of organic “junk” food available to us. Organic powdered cheese and organic donuts are just cleverly marketed junk foods. Finally, organic produce generally won’t come in a packet, but if you’re opting for organic packaged foods, click here to find the 7 registered accredited certifying bodies.

Until next time, Stacey.

References:

1. Smith-Spangler, C et al. Are Organic Foods Safer or Healthier Than Conventional Alternatives?: A Systematic Review Ann Intern Med. 4 September 2012;157(5):348-366
2. Vinson F et al. Exposure to pesticides and risk of childhood cancer: a meta-analysis of recent epidemiological studies. Occup Environ Med 2011;68:694-702 doi:10.1136/oemed-2011-100082
3. Bouchard MF. Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and urinary metabolites of organophosphate pesticides. Pediatrics. 2010 Jun;125(6):e1270-7. doi: 10.1542/peds.2009-3058.
4. Mitchell et al. Ten-year comparison of the influence of organic and conventional crop management practices on the content of flavonoids in tomatoes. J Agric Food Chem. 2007 Jul 25;55(15):6154-9.
5. Oates, L, Cohen, M, Braun, L et al. Reduction in urinary organophosphate pesticide metabolites in adults after a week-long organic diet. Environmental Research, 2014; vol 132, 105-111