New Evidence Confirms the Nutritional Superiority of Plant-Based Organic Foods
Are organic foods more nutritious? The number of studies addressing this question has more than doubled since the year 2000 and the quality of the studies has also improved as has the sensitivity of the analytical methods used to measure the nutrients contained in foods.
Most studies in the 1980’s focused simply on mineral and vitamin levels while almost all studies published since the year 2000 have included measurements of minerals, vitamins, polyphenols and total antioxidant capacity.
The key findings from the 236 validated matched pairs of studies looked at showed that the organic foods were nutritionally superior in 61% of the cases, while the conventional foods were more nutrient dense in 37% of the cases. There was no difference in 2% of the matched pairs.
The organic samples contained higher concentrations of polyphenols and antioxidants in three-fourths of the 59 matched pairs. Increasing intakes of these nutrients is a vital goal to improve public health since daily intakes of antioxidants and polyphenols are less than one-half of recommended levels. The conventional foods that were more nutrient dense had higher levels of potassium, phosphorous and total protein levels which the researchers stated were of lesser importance than the other nutrients measured as these nutrients are adequately supplied in the average American diet.
The magnitude of the differences in nutrient levels strongly favored the organic samples in this study for antioxidants and polyphenols.
About the Author
Kathy Shattler received her Master of Science degree from Michigan State University in E. Lansing Michigan in Human Nutrition. Her twenty-two years of practice includes holding positions as a Lecturer, Chief Clinical Dietitian and Program Manager. Kathy is the Founder of Nutri-Care Consulting and is currently the Nutrition Director of www.CEU4U.COM, an online continuing education management company for Registered Dietitians and Dietetic Technicians.
Peggy Kraus responds:
Posted: May 30th, 2008 at 4:01 am →
This study validates the purchase and consumption of organic foods. With prices of both organic and non-organic foods soaring, many people will be tempted to buy conventional foods. We have to get this info out to the public to encourage them to continue to buy organic.