Organic foods: Are they healthier?

So I've been hearing a lot about this new study , a meta-analysis by Stanford researchers concluding that organic foods are not really healthier than non-organic ones. Basically, they analyzed nutrient contents from the two and found that they were similar. And from that, they conclude that there's no difference and that's what the media is running with. Headlines everywhere are saying how organic foods aren't more nutritious and that it's all a scam.

I've never told patients that organic foods are more nutritious because frankly, all are grown from the same soil. But I think people are missing a point here.

The researchers did find that there were less pesticides in organic foods and that organic meats produce less antibiotic resistant bacteria. Both of these ARE good things people! I'm not saying that everyone should only eat organic because that could get expensive, but it just baffles me how people interpret studies, even the researchers themselves.


Yours in Health,
Ian Koo, ND

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Definitely Food for Thought!

http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/health/the-7-foods-experts-wont-eat-547963/


Yours in health,

Ian Koo, ND
Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine

Naturopathic Essentials Health Centre
"The care you want, the health you need"

Organic Food is Not Healthier?.....Oh Really???

A new study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition says that there is no current evidence to support the selection of organic over conventionally produced food because the former does not have nutritional superiority over the latter. There are differing scientific papers to debate that point, but this was a big scientific review paper looking at 162 papers over the last 50 years.

The researchers then say that it's not worth paying higher prices for organics over these perceived health benefits. They are referring to the fact that organics did not have higher nutrient content.

However, sometimes I think people rely too much on "scientific studies" instead of using common sense. Consuming organic foods also implies a reduced intake of pesticides and herbicides. Regardless of what "safe" levels of ingestion are, it just makes sense that one should avoid these if they can.

When choosing if you should eat organic or not, you do have to figure out if it fits into your budget. Many people are cost conscience when it comes to their health, until something bad happens. Then they are willing to spend whatever it takes to cure themselves. Why not spend on your health now and enjoy a better quality of life now and in the years to come. Of course, that might mean putting off that new big screen tv purchase!

Look out for the new logo for Canadian organics as posted in a previous post:
Canadian Organic Logo

A chart listing Top Foods to Buy Organic:
Organics Chart & Pesticide Load

Yours in health,

Ian Koo, ND
Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine

Naturopathic Essentials Health Centre
"The care you want, the health you need"

Pesticides and the foods you should eat organically.

Have you ever wondered which foods contain the most pesticides? The Environmental Working Group (a US non-profit organization) analyzed over 42,000 of the latest U.S government tests for pesticide residues on commonly-eaten fruits and vegetables. Then they ranked the results based on six measures of pesticide load, even after washing and peeling. It is probably a fair assumption to say that U.S results will mirror that of Canada's. There are three charts and one link to a short video clip below:

1) The dirty dozen

The Dirty Dozen	Score*	% with pesticides	% with 2 or more pesticides
Peaches	100	96.6	86.6
Apples	96	93.6	82.3
Sweet bell peppers	86	81.5	62.2
Celery	85	94.1	79.8
Nectarines	84	97.3	85.3
Strawberries	83	92.3	69.2
Cherries	75	91.4	75.8
Lettuce	69	68.2	44.2
Grapes (imported)	68	84.2	53.2
Pears	65	86.2	45.7
Spinach	60	70	31.2
Potatoes	58	81	18

2) The consistently clean

The Consistently Clean	Score*	% with pesticides	% with 2 or more pesticides
Onions	1	0.2	0
Avocado	1	1.4	0
Sweet corn (frozen)	2	3.8	0
Pineapples	7	7.7	0.6
Mango	9	7.1	0.5
Sweet peas (frozen)	11	22.9	2.3
Asparagus	11	6.7	0.6
Kiwi	14	15.3	3.4
Bananas	16	41.7	2.0
Cabbage	17	17.9	4.8
Broccoli	18	28.1	3.2
Egglpant	19	23.4	6.9

3) Here is the full list in order from worst to best:

RANK	FRUIT OR VEGGIE	SCORE
1 (worst)	Peaches	100 (highest pesticide load)
2	Apples	96
3	Sweet Bell Peppers	86
4	Celery	85
5	Nectarines	84
6	Strawberries	83
7	Cherries	75
8	Lettuce	69
9	Grapes - Imported	68
10	Pears	65
11	Spinach	60
12	Potatoes	58
13	Carrots	57
14	Green Beans	55
15	Hot Peppers	53
16	Cucumbers	52
17	Raspberries	47
18	Plums	46
19	Oranges	46
20	Grapes-Domestic	46
21	Cauliflower	39
22	Tangerine	38
23	Mushrooms	37
24	Cantaloupe	34
25	Lemon	31
26	Honeydew Melon	31
27	Grapefruit	31
28	Winter Squash	31
29	Tomatoes	30
30	Sweet Potatoes	30
31	Watermelon	25
32	Blueberries	24
33	Papaya	21
34	Eggplant	19
35	Broccoli	18
36	Cabbage	17
37	Bananas	16
38	Kiwi	14
39	Asparagus	11
40	Sweet Peas-Frozen	11
41	Mango	9
42	Pineapples	7
43	Sweet Corn-Frozen	2
44	Avocado	1
45 (best)	Onions	1 (lowest pesticide load)

4) Video clip:
http://www.ewg.org/node/22100

"Canada Organic" - New regulations for Organics!!!

To buy organic or not to buy organic? From a health perspective, it's an easy choice, but something I learnt in my naturopathic medical education was that there really was no standard for organics. There really was no policing for organic goods so there was a chance that consumers were paying organic prices for non-organic goods. Of course, I was taught this many years ago when there were a number of logos competing for organic supremacy. And the fact is, I haven't seen a recognizable logo come out on top - no gold standard if you will. That is until now!

The Canada Food Inspection Agency has undertaken steps that will require mandatory certification for agricultural products represented as organic in imports & exports. The national standard for Canada will bear a logo as shown above. Finally, a recognizable logo that you can trust and one undertaken by the federal government as the demand for organic products increase. This logo will be coming into force on 2008-12-14. This logo will be permitted for use on:

• Products with at least 95% organic ingredients.
• That use natural fertilizers during production.
• Avoid genetically modified plant seeds.
• Raise animals in conditions that mimic nature as much as possible. So I'm assuming here that no hormones or drugs can be injected.
  

Now, I know, some of you will say that it's not 100% organic and that there are other certification logos out there that say 100% organic. I can't argue with you there, but I definitely feel that this is a positive step especially when it's an initiative undertaken by the federal government and one that we know will be monitored at the federal level.