Organic or Not

Two years ago a study released by Stanford University questioned the value of purchasing and consuming organic foods.  Is it really worth the extra expense to purchase a brown banana that goes bad twice as fast?  Stanford concluded that the nutrient levels found in conventional vegetables are actually very similar to that of the organically grown variety.  Other studies dispute these findings, but even if Stanford has it correct, there are other important advantages to purchasing organic you should know about.

There have been 343 studies looking at the advocacy of organic vegetables over the last couple decades.  All these studies agree on a couple of things.  First it is well recognize that organic fruits and vegetables contain anywhere from 18-69 percent more antioxidants than conventionally grown foods.  These antioxidants are known to reduce the risk of numerous chronic diseases and in particular several varieties of cancer.  Antioxidants are also linked to how quickly you age by reducing how quickly you oxidize or degenerate.  Think of this process similar to rusting.  This alone would justify the expense for eating organically, but there’s another important reason.  Studies agree that organic foods have fewer toxins and pesticide residues.  In fact, the difference in the levels of cadmium alone is thought to be on average 48% less.  Cadmium is a toxic metal that is known to be linked to numerous concerns.  Likewise, the levels of pesticide residues are found to be four times higher in conventional fruits and vegetables than in their organic counterparts.  These pesticides kill off the bad bugs that would eat away at the crops, but they also kill off the good bugs that should be found in healthy soil and should be passed onto the fruits and vegetables.  These are the probiotics that promote a healthy digestion and immune system and serve to reduce overall inflammation in the body.  The other bigger problem with the pesticides is that they too have been linked to different cancers and they are directly related to thyroid problems as I’ve reported on in the past.  The thyroid maintains your metabolism and energy level and when it starts malfunctioning, this leads to many health problems but also increased weight particularly around the hips and thighs.

While the experts will still argue about the nutritional value of organic over conventional, I hope this other information makes a strong enough case to choose organic.  In my experience with thousands of clients, most of us simply need to eat more fruits and vegetables more regularly.  If you truly are looking for the very best source, then you’ll want to do your own homegrown organic vegetables or find a good source through a farmers’ market.  This takes more work and time, but these sources have been shown to have the highest levels of nutrition and probiotic levels as long as the grower is well trained in organic methods.