Organic Foods vs. Non-organic Foods (which is better for you?)

In this post, I will discuss a recent article by the L.A. Times, which conducted a study to answer the research question: Is organic food better for you? Now I’m grateful for this study, because you learn something. I learned a lot in this study. I will discuss.

Now, I try my best to buy as organic as I can. For example, if I’m eating the skin of certain fruits and vegetables, I will tend to buy those organic. These include apples, strawberries, pears, celery, tomatoes etc.

 Why? Because foods grown organically tend to use little to no harmful chemicals, such as pesticides and growth hormones in or on them. 

Will I stop buying organic foods, because of this article? Heck No.

I will explain.

From what I’ve heard concerning this article especially on the news is that the study did not find strong evidence that organic foods are consistently more nutritious than conventional foods. 

The study then showed that organically grown food was also somewhat higher in total phenols, plant compounds that have antioxidant activity. These results varied a lot, however, possibly because of conditions under which plants were grown such as amounts of rainfall, soil type and ripeness at the time of harvesting. 

Plant phenols, compounds, and antioxidants are exactly why so many choose organic foods over conventionally grown foods. Research has shown over and over again, the benefits of antioxidants and phenols in foods. If the soil is healthy, containing what it needs to sustain life then the plants grown in this soil will include this as well. More on soil used to grow foods is discussed in the video below (courtesy of ihealthtube).

In my opinion, organic foods are better, because they contain less harmful chemicals. And this is very important. No one willingly wants to eat a whole bunch of chemicals, because of the foods that they put in their mouths. 

In fact, the study found a 30% lower rate of detectable contamination in organically grown produce. Two studies found that children who ate conventional produce had higher levels of pesticide residues in their urine, and the levels fell when the children switched to organic foods. 

I’m surprised that this isn’t discussed in news outlets. It is important to know this, because we need to know how these chemicals are affecting us, our children, ourselves. And what are those chemicals which were not discussed in the articles. This is important as well.

All in all, please do your best to consume as much veggies and fruits as possible for optimal health and wellness.

These are my thoughts on the article. Do you eat organic foods?

Here is a link to the article: http://www.latimes.com/health/boostershots/la-heb-is-organic-food-better-20120831,0,4185111.story

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