1. Overview

Organic foods can improve the health of a person. Eating organically grown food is a great way to reduce exposure to contaminants commonly found in foodstuffs that have been grown using conventional agricultural practices.

These contaminants can include not only pesticides (considered to be potential cancer-causing agents) as well as heavy metals (lead, mercury), solvents (toluene and benzene). By minimizing the exposure to these potentially toxins will bring important health benefit for anyone.

Heavy metals can damage nerve function and can trigger the emergence of diseases such as multiple sclerosis. Also could interfere with hemoglobin production, increasing the risk of anemia.

Solvents can damage white blood cell function and may reduce the immune system’s ability to resist infection. In addition to reducing exposure to these potentially harmful substances, most organically grown foods contain high levels of nutritive substance, including vitamins and minerals.

These two view on ecological consumption (low intake of contaminants and high amount of nutrients) were controversial topics in many studies. However, some experts are firmly convinced that organically grown foods contain fewer contaminants and have a higher amount of nutrients than those grown conventionally.


Contents

1. Overview
2. Pesticides in food
3. Nutrients in food
4. Tips for food safety
5. ‘Organic’ and ‘natural’ mean the same thing?
6. Examples of organic foods

2. Pesticides in food

One of the largest studies worldwide, lately, has found the presence of a proportion of 75% pesticides in conventionally-grown fruits and vegetables composition, compared with 25% for those organically grown.

Almost half of the pesticides detected in organic vegetables were DDT or their metabolites (DDT is a pesticide whose use has been banned in food all over the world since 2004, but because it is very resistant in the environment, it is still found in food composition).

After the results excluded DDT and its metabolites, the percentage of pesticides in organically grown foods has decreased to about 13%. The studies were conducted in Europe and the Mediterranean countries, comparing one or two specific foods, but with different ways of organic and conventional cultivation. The results showed consistently lower levels of toxins in organically grown foods.

3. Nutrients in food

Speaking about the nutrient content of organically grown fruits and vegetables, this is about 15% higher compared to those grown conventionally.

Following the analysis of several studies it was demonstrated that organically grown foods had similar or lower amounts of protein but their quality was higher (including amino acids were present), a higher level of vitamin C by about half and values between 5 - 20% higher mineral with most types of minerals than conventionally grown foods.

Also, organic food from non-organic ones had a higher content of flavonoids. Concentrations of nutrients in organic foods versus non-organic foods are another matter. Soil quality can vary greatly from one region to another, and this cannot be compensated even by organic farming practices.

In short, nutrient composition is the result of several factors that interact in a complex way, while organic agricultural practices have not a major influence in terms of nutrient content of foods.

Basically, you need to combine several alternatives to find solutions to food exposure to be significantly lower in contaminants. In this way, we can achieve additional nutrients between 5-20% for certified organic products. And this is further proof that these foods should become part of any person’s diet.

4. Tips for food safety

Whether a person chooses a diet composed only of organic foods or organic and conventional, should select a variety of foods from a variety of sources.

By doing this, the nutrients may be higher and will reduce the likelihood of exposure to one type of pesticide. It is important to eat fruits and vegetables of the season, from a local market rather than the supermarket.

Be sure to read food labels carefully. Just if the information on the label say that the product is organic or contains organic ingredients, this does not necessarily mean that it is a healthy alternative. Some organic products may be high in sugar, salt, calories or fat.

Wash and clean fruits and vegetables under running water. By washing will remove dirt, bacteria and traces of chemicals on the surface of fruits and vegetables. Not all pesticide residues can be removed by washing, but in some cases their skin can be removed.

5. ‘Organic’ and ‘natural’ mean the same thing?

‘Organic’ and ‘natural’ does not mean the same thing. The term ‘naturally’ or ‘without hormones’ meet on the food labels should not be confused with the term ‘organic’. Only foods grown and processed according to organic standards can be labeled as ‘organic’.

6. Examples of organic foods

If a label says ‘organic vegetable soup 100%’ means that all ingredients are organic. If the label says ‘vegetable soup’ and included the phrase ‘contains organic carrots and tomatoes’ means that a minimum of 70% of the ingredients are organic, and the difference could be represented by non-organic ingredients - the fact is that they will not be changed genetically irradiated or fertilized with pesticides.

In other cases, on the label we can simply read ‘vegetable soup’ and the word ‘organic’ is written next with others on the back of the pack, such as organic water, potatoes, carrots and beans is possible that in this case carrots and potatoes were not grown organically.

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