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Nutrition and Health
Comparative Studies: organic vs
conventional
A recent Danish literature estimated, from the limited amount of
evidence so far, that organically grown vegetables will tend to have 10-50 per
cent more phytonutrients than conventionally cultivated vegetables. It also
concluded" 'if phytonutrients are an important determinant of the nutritional
value of fruits and vegetables in the diet of developed countries, then
vegetables and fruit products grown in organic agriculture would be expected to
be more health promoting than non-organic ones.' (Brandt & M Igaard 2001)
Shane Heaton, 'Food Additives Are Bad News' in Clean
Food Organic: Your Complete Australian Organic Lifestyle and Shopping Guide,
McGuire Guide, Coogee NSW Australia, 2006 page 23,24
Antioxidants
Danish review cites
antioxidants 10-50% higher in organic fruit and vegetables
Brandt K and
Molgaard JP, 2001, Organic Agriculture: does it enhance or reduce the
nutritional value of plant foods? Journal of the Science of Food and
Agriculture 81, p 924-931
US study says 30% higher
http://www.organic-center.org/science.htm?articleid=54
More lycopene in organic
tomatoes (Pither & Hall 1990)
More flavanols in organic
apples (Weibel 2000)
More resveratrol in
organic red wine (Levite et al. 2002)
Vitamin
C
US findings cite Vitamin C is 27% higher in
organic fruit and vegetables (Organic farming, food quality and human health, a
review of the evidence. UK
Soil Association, 2001)
30% more vitamin C in organic oranges (Professor Theo Clark, Truman State
University, Kirksville, Mo)
Dairy
The Danish Institute of
Agricultural Research claims milk from organically reared cows contains higher
levels of key vitamins and nutrients than non-organic milk, including 50% more
vitamin E, 75% more betacarotene, higher levels of omega 3 fatty acids, 2-3x
higher levels of antioxidants (lutein and zeaxanthin)
Vitamins
and minerals
Reviewing 41 published
studies comparing the nutritional value of organically grown and conventionally
grown fruits, vegetables, and grains, certified nutrition specialist Virginia
Worthington has concluded there are significantly more of several nutrients in
organic crops. These include: 27% more vitamin C, 21.1% more iron, 29.3% more
magnesium, and 13.6% more phosphorus. In addition, organic products had 15.1%
less nitrates than their conventional counterparts. She also noted that five
servings of organic vegetables (lettuce, spinach, carrots, potatoes and
cabbage) provided the recommended daily intake of vitamin C for men and women,
while their conventional counterparts did not. Worthington said the results are consistent
with known soil dynamics and plant physiology.
Source: "Nutritional Quality of Organic Versus Conventional Fruits,
Vegetables, and Grains," by Virginia Worthington, published in The
Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, Vol. 7, No. 2, 2001 (pp.
161-173), available at: www.foodisyourbestmedicine.com/organic.pdf.
A World Health Organisation (WHO) meeting of 70 health
experts concluded in 1997 that "Resistant strains of four bacteria that cause
disease in humans have been transmitted from animals to humans and shown to
have consequences for human health. They are Salmonella, Campylobacter,
Enterococci, and E.coli". The WHO has called for a reduction in the use of
antibiotics in agriculture because of the risk to human health, adding that
healthy animal husbandry would lessen the need for drugs which, it said, should
never be used to prop up inadequate hygiene.1
Food facts
www.freshorganics.com.au
(Shane Heaton website) includes benefits of F&V: apples, avocados, bananas, carrots, chilli
peppers, garlic, mushrooms, onions, oranges, potato, pumpkin, tomato.
Additional sources: Rating of pesticide
levels in certain foods - http://www.foodnews.org/
Pesticides and toxins inked to
Parkinson's Disease.
After
studying 8,000 subjects over 34 years of observation, researchers at the University of Honolulu found that that
increased fruit and fruit drink consumption predicted an increased Parkinson's
risk, after adjusting for other known risk factors. "We speculate that this increased risk
may be due to plant borne toxins, pesticides or herbicides, rather than the
fruit itself," notes study author Andrew Grandinetti.
Andrew Grandinetti, PhD, of the University of Hawaii
Eating organic food helps to prevent asthma
Keeping a
diet free of processed foods, drinking plenty of water and eliminating certain
foods are all essential for asthma sufferers to get on the road to recovery.
Eating foods without chemicals such as pesticides and preservative sprays, in
the form of organic food, works as a preventative method.
Nyema Hermiston- Reg Homeopath,
Naturopath and Reg Nurse, June 1st 2005.
Australians recognise the health conditions
caused by chemicals in non-organic food.
Conditions
that have been linked to pesticides agricultural chemicals include depression,
fatigue, nausea, Parkinson's disease and several forms of cancer- mostly of the
reproductive organs. With around 1/3 of our food supply believed to be carrying
pesticide residues, Australians are embracing organic food. The market is
growing an impressive 20-30% per year.
Heaton S. Organic Food (JCM 2005)
& Organics Investigated (April/May 2005, pp 67-71).
Biological Farmers Association-
Organic Annual Report (December 20th 2004).
An Australian study shows that
Australian mothers are transferring invisible pesticides and organochlorines to their babies via their breast milk. These chemicals come from
the fruit and vegetables they consume as part of their so-called healthy diet.
"Persistence of Organochlorines in Breast Milk of Women in Victoria, Australia"
Ed Chem Toxic Vol.33. No 1 pp.49 - 56, 1995, PM Quinsey, DC Donohue & JT
Ahokas
Trans-fats - Fats that'll kill you
No
hydrogenated fats are used in organic food. Also known as 'trans-fats', they
are created artificially by the hydrogenation process and are included in many
processed foods to make the product more solid and shelf-stable (for example,
in biscuits and margarines). They are rare in nature, and consumption of
hydrogenated fats has been directly linked to substantially increased rates of
heart disease, cancer and skin disease. Higher intakes of trans-fats have been
shown to increase levels of 'bad' LDL cholesterol, and decrease 'good' HDL
cholesterol. The UK Committee on Medical Aspects of Food Policy recommended
reducing the intake of hydrogenated fats way back in 1994, but they're still
widely used and are present in many processed foods. In the United States a
campaign has been launched to purge trans-fats from cakes, snacks and fast
foods. In 2002, a US
expert committee charged with making nutritional recommendations concluded that
there was no level of trans-fats in the diet that could be deemed safe. A US nutritional group called the Center for
Science in the Public Interest, based in Washington
DC, now hopes that its TransFreeAmerica
campaign will raise awareness of the health concerns. It is urging food
manufacturers to eliminate trans-fats and advising consumers to boycott foods
containing them. It is also calling on the US Food and Drug Administration to
outlaw partially hydrogenated vegetables oils, which are even worse for you.
Shane Heaton, "Food Additives Are Bad News" in Clean
Food Organic: Your Complete Australian Organic Lifestyle and Shopping Guide,
McGuire Guide, Coogee NSW Australia, 2006 page 15-16
Food Irradiation
Irradiation
is the process by which food is 'treated' with high-energy ionising radiation,
in the form of gamma rays from radio-active cobalt-60, x-rays or electron
beams. It is used for the purpose of eliminating bacteria that can be found in
food, extending shelf life and killing invasive pests. Many years of research
on feeding irradiated foods to laboratory animals have documented a wide range
of negative health effects. These include premature death, mutations, foetal
death and other reproductive problems, immune system disorders, fatal internal
bleeding, organ damage, tumors, stunted growth and nutritional deficiencies.
Andre Leu, Food Irradiation in Clean
Food Organic: Your Complete Australian Organic Lifestyle and Shopping Guide,
McGuire Guide, Coogee NSW Australia, 2006 page 28
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