Are organic foods really healthier for you?

The more I work with chronically ill people, the bigger my organic garden gets. As a naturopathic physician I deal with a lot of chronically ill people. Many of them have been through the conventional medical system with no success, so they show up at my doorstep. One day Steve showed up. Over six feet tall and 200 pounds, he dwarfed me, and was quick to mention that my hair was thinning. He was always trying to be helpful. He came to me after numerous doctors were unable to help. By the time he arrived he was sure that he was dying. His long list of symptoms, coupled with his natural tendency to do his best to get your goat had no doubt caused any practitioners to give up on him. Routine blood tests failed to show the cause of his problems, although they did show some irregularities. The really interesting finding came when we checked his blood for pesticides. We tested for eighteen of the more common pesticides and found that he had nine of them running around in his blood. Knowing that there are many more than eighteen chemicals in our environment did not make me feel any better. If he had 50% of the chemicals that we tested for, how many did he have that we didn't test for? Unfortunately, out of the 70,000 chemicals in daily use in this country, only about 250 can be tested for in humans. This obviously makes it very difficult to find out what is causing a health problem if the culprit is one of the remaining 69,750.After finding what I thought to be the source of Steve's problems I had to ask: Where did he get such a high level of toxins? One of the toxins he had in his serum was DDT. This chemical pesticide was banned in 1972 as a direct result of Rachel Carson's book Silent Spring. After being in the body for 6 months, DDT breaks down to DDE. Since we found both DDE and DDT in him, this meant that Steve had gotten DDT with the past year. But how?While DDT is banned for use in this country it is still manufactured here, and then it is shipped to other countries for use in agriculture and mosquito control. DDT makes its way back into this country on the food raised in those countries, or in the livestock that was raised on contaminated feed. Steve was a traveling salesman in the Pacific Northwest. His territory included Washington, Oregon, Alaska, Idaho, and Montana. He ate out at restaurants a lot while he was traveling. Presumably, that is where he was slowly poisoned. After seeing Steve, my backyard organic garden got a little bit bigger. There are numerous benefits to both eating organic foods, and to organic gardening. I personally believe that a huge benefit comes from a renewed relationship with nature. It starts with an "I won't poison you, you won't poison me" attitude, and ends with "I'll nurture and respect you, you nurture and respect me." Doing your own organic gardening makes this a personal commitment. Gardening is just plain good for the soul. One of my patients told me that they refer to their time spent in the garden a "going to see my therapist." There is nothing quite like getting your hands in the soil for really good "grounding".In addition to the mental and emotional benefits of growing and eating organic food, there are also the physical benefits. These physical benefits can be boiled down to nutrients present in organic foods that are not in commercial foods and toxins not in organic foods that are present in commercial foods. A recent article in the Journal of Applied Nutrition gave credence to the notion that organic foods have higher nutrient levels that non-organic food. In this study the mineral content of organic apples, pear, potatoes, wheat, and sweet corn were compared to commercial varieties. Overall the organic foods showed much higher levels of nutrient minerals and much lower levels of heavy metals. Here are a few of the nutrients that were found in higher levels in the organic foods:* Chromium is a micronutrient that is low in Western diets. Its deficiency is associated with the onset of adult diabetes and atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries). Chromium was found to be higher in organic foods by an average of 78%.* Selenium is one of the antioxidant nutrients that protects us from damage by environmental chemicals. It is protective against cancers and heart disease. It was found to be an average of 390% higher in organic foods. * Calcium, needed for strong bones, averaged 63% higher in organics.* Boron, which has been shown to help prevent osteoporosis (along with calcium), averaged 70% more.* Lithium, which is used to treat certain types of depression, was 188% higher. * Magnesium, which reduces mortality from heart attacks, keeps muscles from spasming, and eases the symptoms of PMS, averaged 138% more. In short, many of the minerals that I most often prescribe to my patients are found in much higher levels in organic foods. Other studies have looked at vitamin levels of food plants treated with certain pesticides. They showed that application of some pesticides would significantly lower the vitamin levels in the plants they were applied to. This is different than the notion that plants raised with chemicals are low in nutrients because the soil is depleted. This shows that chemicals actually reduce the amount of nutrients in plants after application. The nutrients most often affected are vitamin C, beta carotene, and the B vitamins. These nutrients are vitally necessary for the body to withstand the onslaught of chemical toxins. Vitamin C has been well documented by two-time Nobel laureate Linus Pauling to prevent and treat cancers. Beta carotene has been shown to be a stimulant of the immune system, and is sometimes able to prevent lung cancer. When they studied organic food for mineral levels, the researchers also looked for the amount of the heavy metals aluminum, cadmium, lead and mercury. Aluminum has been implicated for years in the development of Alzheimer's disease. It's content in organic food averaged 40% less that in commercial foods. Lead toxicity, which has been in the new a lot lately, can adversely affect our children's' IQ. It averaged 29% lower in organic foods. Mercury, which can cause neurologic damage, averaged 25% lower in organic foods. Besides the lower levels of heavy metals, there are the chemical residues themselves. The big question is whether or not the accumulation of pesticide residues in non-organic foods is a real health concern or not. Studies have never been able to conclusively show a direct correlation between residues in food and a decline of human health, but there are numerous problems in doing any such study. The first is that you would need a population of people who are free of chemical residues to compare to, and no one has been able to find such a group. According to an ongoing EPA study of fat samples taken from surgeries and autopsies across the country, we are all loaded with chemical residues. Similar studies done on other countries all show the same results. The clearest studies that we have about pesticide residues and disease are those looking at breast cancer. In the last few years there have been a series of studies, each building upon the other, looking at the level of DDT, DDE, and PCB in women, They have very clearly shown that chemical residues in the serum and fat cells of women greatly increase the risk of breast cancer. Since breast cancer is a major killer of women in this country it is reasonable to say that avoidance of pesticide residues in food (the only known route of exposure to DDT in this country, since we no longer use it to spray for mosquitoes) could save numerous lives and reduce our health care cost dramatically. After 50 years of "Better Living Through Chemistry" scientists have finally shown that breast cancer is associated with pesticide residue, They have yet to prove that it causes numerous other maladies. I am not waiting for them to prove it before I change my eating habits. As a clinician who sees numerous environmentally poisoned people with health problems, I am convinced of an association between chemicals and disease. The biggest source of exposure for many people is their workplace, then their homes, followed by air, food and water. Of these the easiest to control are our home environment and our diet. Eating organic food, drinking pure water, and watching our airborne chemical exposure can have profound effects on our health. My friend Steve, who has now gone through an extensive protocol to remove the pesticide residue from his body and had regained his health, will back me up on that. When he added up the costs of his illness in time off work and medical expenses, he found that eating organic food was much less expensive than eating non-organic foods. He is eating better foods now, and my organic garden continues to grow, along with my children.

By: Walter J. Crinnion N.D.
Published in Organic Gardening Almanac, 1995; Llewelyn Pub.

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What is organic food ?

Organic food is produced according to a set of principles and standards concerning such issues as pesticides, additives, animal welfare and sustainability. There are different forms of organic, some stricter than others. The main accreditation body to look for in the UK is the Soil Association.
Sales of organic food in the UK have increased dramatically in recent years. According to the latest Soil Association Organic Market Report, published in 2006, sales were up by 30 per cent on the previous year. Supermarkets are expanding their organic ranges, but a growing number of consumers are turning directly to the farmers for their organic food. Sales through box schemes, farmers' markets and farm shops rose by approximately 11 per cent in 2005 and are now worth around £125m a year. Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury's and Waitrose have been praised by the Soil Association for stocking more organic food from UK farmers and reducing the amount they import.
Patrick Holden, Director of the Soil Association, believes supermarkets must support local producers and says: "The organic market is thriving and is being driven by consumers who want to buy fresh, local, good-quality seasonal food direct from the farmer. The leading supermarkets must take note of the public's wishes and increase the amount of locally sourced organic food in store, which should come from small and medium-sized farms."
Is organic food 'better'?
Many people turn to organic food because of concerns about pesticides. Around 350 pesticides are permitted in conventional farming and the Soil Association says an estimated 4.5billion litres of them are used annually. While there are Government rules for pesticide residues, they still end up in our food and nobody knows the long-term implications of their combined effect.
The organic movement aims for food that is produced as 'naturally' as possible, free from trans-fats, GMOs (genetically modified organisms) and most additives. The Soil Association encourages high standards of animal welfare and campaigns against the misuse of antibiotics for growth promotion, for example. Soil Association accreditation guarantees that animals have more living space. As for nutritional superiority, more research needs to be done in this area but in a 2001 review of 41 studies, organic crops were all shown to have higher levels of Vitamin C, magnesium and phosphorus.
In terms of the environmental benefits, organic farms naturally promote biodiversity as the lack of herbicides and pesticides encourages wildlife. Green and animal manures are used to enrich the soil, whereas some intensive farming methods result in soil erosion.
Does organic food taste better? The best organic producers are committed to quality and their food is outstanding, but carefully produced conventionally grown food may well taste better than mass-produced organic imports.
Unanswered questions
Some people who turn to organic food have an almost blind belief in its superiority - even believing it is intrinsically 'healthier'. Organic farmers and food producers command a higher price because of the label and not necessarily because their produce is well-made and tasty. Some conventional growers say their hi-tech pest control and animal medication is better than the low-tech methods used in organic farming, and that in livestock farming this has implications for animal welfare.
As organic food becomes big business, some of its green credentials can become diluted. Take air miles. While 66 per cent of the organic primary produce sold in supermarkets is UK sourced, with dairy products especially likely to come from this country, much of the organic fruit and salad we buy is brought in from overseas, as supermarkets struggle to keep up with consumer demand.
The Soil Association itself has recently been at the centre of controversy over its standards. Its decision to license organic farmed salmon was criticised by many and caused a split in the organic movement, with some insisting that farmed salmon goes against organic principles, undermining its high standards of animal welfare and environmental responsibility. According to the Soil Association, however, responsible fish farming is a necessity given increasingly depleted fish stocks, and the association is keen to emphasise the differences between organic and conventionally farmed salmon.
As a broad response to such questions, organic systems offer a guarantee of certain standards. It is then up to the consumer to decide what is 'good' and what is 'less good'. From a farmer's perspective, to go organic is not an easy option. It is likely that most organic producers are part of the movement in the true spirit of sustainability and good food. If you shop directly from producers it helps you work out who you trust.
Why does organic food cost more?
Organic production is slower, more labour-intensive and generally has lower yields than conventional methods. A Morgan Stanley study has shown that organic food can be up to 63 per cent more expensive, but the premium is usually lower, especially if you are buying local, seasonal food directly from the producer. Furthermore, Government subsidies have focused on mainstream farming, artificially lowering the price of conventional foods. And there are hidden costs brought about by the use of pesticides in conventional farming. We pay to tackle the pollution of our water supplies, caused by artificial fertilisers, at a cost of about £120m a year, through our taxes and higher water bills rather than at the checkout.
The organic consumer
The more you know about the overall benefits of organic food, the better value it seems. The Soil Association's two websites (see right) answer many questions. Their annual buyers' guide, as well as Lynda Brown's book The Shopper's Guide to Organic Food are two ways to hook into local information.
Box schemes provide a weekly box of seasonal fruit and vegetables and guarantee a market for producers, enabling the smaller ones in particular to exist. Try to find one that is as local as possible. Farm shops and farmers' markets, which often have organic stalls, are another excellent way to learn about what is going on in your area and get to know the producers. Their fruit and vegetables should be freshly picked which makes a big difference to its quality. 'Local, fresh and seasonal' is part of the spirit of the true organic movement, rather than heavily packaged imports of processed foods.

Source : http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/food_matters/organicfood.shtml . .

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