Is Organic Produce More Nutritious Than Non-Organic Produce?
It’s an interesting question I’ve been considering lately as I’ve moved towards purchasing more organically grown groceries. So I decided to look into some research. Here’s a review of Organic Foods from the Mayo Clinic:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/organic-food/NU00255
Organic food: Is it more nutritious?
The answer isn’t yet clear. A recent study examined the past 50 years’ worth of scientific articles about the nutrient content of organic and conventional foods. The researchers concluded that organically and conventionally produced foodstuffs are comparable in their nutrient content. Research in this area is ongoing.
Here’s another review of the literature regarding the nutrition of Organic foods:
http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/90/3/680.full
Conclusions: On the basis of a systematic review of studies of satisfactory quality, there is no evidence of a difference in nutrient quality between organically and conventionally produced foodstuffs. The small differences in nutrient content detected are biologically plausible and mostly relate to differences in production methods.
I personally try to purchase Organic items when I can. For my family its knowing were eating less bad stuff.
Less pesticide, less genetic modification, less herbicides and in general less chemistry.
I also realize that the Organic food supply has problems as well. Things like pollution, cross-breeding of GMO seeds with non-GMO crops, and nutrient poor soils mean that Organic foods aren’t as wholesome as they are marketed to me. I also believe there are lots of non-organic foods that are perfectly fine in comparison to organic foods. Have the seeds been genetically modified? Can the pesticide to washed or cut off?
I’m not convinced that Organic foods have more nutrients though, there just isn’t any evidence of that to be true.
I feel it’s healthier to eat organic, just not necessarily more nutritious.
What about you? Do you buy Organic foods? If so, Why?