Study organic foods are healthier

Study: Organic foods contain more healthy antioxidants and less pesticides

07/14/2014

Organic food is more in demand than ever in Germany. After the USA, Germany has become the second largest market for organic products. This is also reflected in the seven billion euros that the Germans spent last year on food with the organic label. Most people who are aware „bio“ They want to eat organically grown foodstuffs that are more environmentally and animal friendly than conventional products and have a positive effect on their health. The fact that organic foods are actually healthier has now been confirmed by a British study. Thus, organic products contain more antioxidants and less pesticides.

Organic food contains ten to a hundred times less toxic pesticide residues
As part of their meta-study, researchers led by Professor Carlo Leifert of the University of Newcastle, UK, evaluated 343 individual studies comparing foods from organic and conventional production. They came to a clear conclusion - organic food is healthier!

„This study shows that the choice of food produced according to ecological standards is accompanied by an increased intake of nutritionally desirable antioxidants and a reduced exposure to heavy metals“, Agrarian researcher Leifert writes in an accompanying commentary on the Metastudie, which is published in the Fachmagazin „British Journal of Nutrition“ has been published. „This is an important addition to the information currently available to consumers, which has been confusing and contradictory in many cases. "

Organic food contains half as much toxic cadmium
According to the researchers, wheat, fruit and vegetables from organic farming contain ten to a hundred times less pesticide residues than the same products from conventional production. In addition, significantly more antioxidants were found in organic foods, which are said to have a health-promoting effect. From this, the researchers conclude that a smaller amount of organic products is sufficient to feed equally healthy.

Another result of the metastudy concerns heavy metal pollution. „Significantly lower levels of toxic heavy metal cadmium were found in biologically produced foods (48 percent lower on average)“, According to the researchers, pesticides and herbicides could make the plants more receptive to the heavy metal. In addition, it is included in conventional fertilizer. Cadmium is considered genotoxic and carcinogenic.

Study should reignite debate on organic foods
However, other meta-studies from 2009 and 2012 did not come to these conclusions. At that time there were no significant differences between „bio“ and conventionally produced foods. However, the researchers included only 55 or 240 sources in their evaluation.

One criticism of metastudy in general concerns the quality of the included investigations, which is not rated. In addition, geographical differences in pesticide and herbicide use are not taken into account.

Nevertheless, the results of this metastudy point the way to further investigations. „Because this study should only be a starting point. We have undoubtedly shown that there are differences in the composition of organic and conventional cultures. Now there is an urgent need for well-controlled diet interventions and cohort studies to identify and quantify, in particular, the health effects of switching to organic foods, "writes Leifert.

Picture: Gabi Eder