14 DAY TRIAL // A recent paper in the British Journal of Nutrition argues that, contrary to what some might say, it does make sense to purchase organic food rather than conventional produce, especially if one has their mind set on eating healthy.
Together with fellow researchers, specialist Carlo Leifert with Newcastle University in the United Kingdom explains that, according to data obtained while reviewing scientific literature on the matter at hand, organic food is more nutritious.
As detailed in the British Journal of Nutrition, what makes organic produce healthier than run-off-the-mill food is the fact that packs higher levels of antioxidants known to benefit a person's overall health condition to a considerable extent.
More precisely, it appears that, when compared to regular food, organic treats have a phenolic acids, flavanones, and flavanols content that is 19%, 69%, and 50% higher, Carlo Leifert and colleagues explain in their paper.
Given the fact that, according to several previous investigations, antioxidants have the potential to stave off various medical conditions and even reduce the risk to develop certain types of cancer, consuming more of them has high chances to increase life expectancy.
“There are significant composition differences between organic and conventional crops for a range of nutritionally relevant compounds,” the researchers sum up the findings of their investigation into the perks of eating organic food, as cited by Nature.
It is estimated that, simply by choosing organic food over conventional one, folks can up their daily antioxidants intake by as much as 40%. By the looks of it, this is the equivalent of gulping down two additional fruit and vegetable portions.
Still, Carlo Leifert, together with the other specialists behind this research project, admits that, for the time being, they cannot say for sure how exactly getting more antioxidants from organic produce stands to influence a person's overall health condition.
Besides, it looks like, when compared to folks who choose conventionally grown producce, those who opt for organic food are less likely to have their health affected by various compounds. This is because organic produce has been documented to have lower levels of pesticides and metal dubbed cadmium.
Writing in the British Journal and Nutrition, Newcastle University specialist Carlo Leifert and fellow researchers explain that, in order to pin down the benefits of eating organic produce instead of regular food, they looked at the outcome of as many as 343 previous studies.
The scientists claim that, all things considered, this makes their investigation more reliable than many others that have been carried out over the years and that found no health benefits associated with consuming organic food.