Sunday, July 08, 2007
Organic Vegetables (may) be good for your health
Organic produce is better for your heart, suggests a 10-year US study,because produce grown with the aid of fertilisers has a ready supply of nitrogen, it does not produce as much in the way of flavonoids. Flavonoids are produced as a defence mechanism in soil, which lacks nitrogen and other nutrients.
The Soil Association policy director said: ‘These findings also confirm recent European research, which showed that organic tomatoes, peaches and processed apples all have higher nutritional quality than non-organic.’
But Lord Krebs, the former chairman of the FSA and now Master of Jesus College, Oxford, said that even if such benefits existed, higher flavonoid levels did not make organic food healthier. “This depends on the relevance of the differences to the human body,” he said. “Tomato ketchup has higher levels of lycopene [a strong antioxidant] than either organic or conventional tomatoes. So if you wanted lots of lycopene you should eat tomato ketchup.”
SpiritIndia pointed out that the US Food Standards Agency (FSA) says there is some evidence that flavonoids can help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease but they are currently carrying out a study to look at the health benefits in detail.
IMO: I am pretty sure that it is best to eat a lot of fresh fruit and vegetables if they are relatively inexpensive but I never stick to or specifically choose 'organic' ones as the supermarkets seem to mark them up too high and present studies do not appear totally convincing yet on a practical level, i.e. in terms of the food you actually get.
The Soil Association policy director said: ‘These findings also confirm recent European research, which showed that organic tomatoes, peaches and processed apples all have higher nutritional quality than non-organic.’
But Lord Krebs, the former chairman of the FSA and now Master of Jesus College, Oxford, said that even if such benefits existed, higher flavonoid levels did not make organic food healthier. “This depends on the relevance of the differences to the human body,” he said. “Tomato ketchup has higher levels of lycopene [a strong antioxidant] than either organic or conventional tomatoes. So if you wanted lots of lycopene you should eat tomato ketchup.”
SpiritIndia pointed out that the US Food Standards Agency (FSA) says there is some evidence that flavonoids can help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease but they are currently carrying out a study to look at the health benefits in detail.
IMO: I am pretty sure that it is best to eat a lot of fresh fruit and vegetables if they are relatively inexpensive but I never stick to or specifically choose 'organic' ones as the supermarkets seem to mark them up too high and present studies do not appear totally convincing yet on a practical level, i.e. in terms of the food you actually get.
# posted by uv : 8:20 PM
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