Conventional versus Organic Food – The Impact on Health

One of the latest trends in nutrition is the movement supporting the switch from overly processed and refined foods to real, whole foods. Even if science did not back up this trend, which it does, common sense tells us that the human body responds better to food that is untouched or minimally tampered with.

Why are Processed Foods bad for our Health?

Processed foods affect our health negatively in several ways. Firstly, many foods touted as healthy like whole wheat bread, low-fat yogurt, or diet granola bars are laced with toxic chemicals that severely hinder the delicate balance of our endocrine and immune systems. For example, an additive that is banned in Europe, but still used in the United States, is found in many pre-packaged breads available in supermarkets. Azodicarbonamide is a bread conditioner that is typically the main ingredient for products like yoga mats or shoe rubber. When it is heated, it becomes carcinogenic. Natural, whole-wheat bread should contain four ingredients: flour, water, yeast, and salt.

Processing is not the only problem there is in today’s modernized diet. Even before natural foods in their “purest” form are added as an ingredient, they are transformed into something that should not be even considered for human ingestion. To go back to our bread example, flour is made from wheat. Wheat happens to be one of the most genetically modified crops worldwide. When a seed is genetically modified, it is made to withstand large amounts of endocrine-disrupting pesticides and insecticides. Genetically modified foods decrease the bio-diversity of crops and plants, which ultimately affects human health.

Organic Foods are better

Besides being void of dangerous toxins that could have unwelcome repercussions on our health, organically grown and bred produce as well as livestock are nutritionally superior. Diana Dyer is a registered dietitian who wrote the book, A Dietitian’s Cancer Story. She started an organic farm in 2009 and created HEN’s School-to-Farm Program for dietetic students and interns. When it comes to organic farming, Madame Dyer had the following to say: “The most recent meta-analysis in the British Journal of Nutrition shows significantly increased antioxidant content in organically grown produce. This study also showed that, overall, organically raised produce had reduced pesticide levels and decreased levels of the toxic heavy metal cadmium. Focusing only on nutrient differences distracts from issues of deeper concern, including the impact of farming methods on both public and environmental health. Several studies of both adults and children have shown that eating only organic foods for a relatively short period of time significantly reduces levels of potentially harmful pesticides in the body.”

Organically grown produce can also have a major impact on the microbiome of humans. This term refers to all the bacteria, viruses, and parasites that we host. Optimal health depends on the diversity of the microbiome. When asked about the health risks linked to pesticides in conventional foods, Dr. Rodney Dietert, a professor of immunotoxicology at Cornell University answered, “Humans are not what we thought less than a decade ago. Our microbiota outnumbers our mammalian cells by a 10-to-1 ratio, and our microbiome is the gatekeeper for our interaction with the environment. Safety tests of pesticides typically do not consider microbial toxicity. Limited diversity of the gut microbiome, particularly in young children, sets us up for later-life immune dysfunction and misregulated inflammation, which underlie noncommunicable (chronic) diseases, such as heart disease, cancer, obesity, and autoimmune conditions.”

Another meta-analysis done in the Journal of British Nutrition in 2016 looked at the nutritional differences between conventionally raised meat versus organically raised meat. Of the nearly 70 research studies reviewed, there were too many variables to statistically confirm that organic meat had more nutrients than conventionally grown meat. However, the meta-analysis did conclude that organic meat is significantly higher in omega-3 fatty acids than conventionally raised meat. This is important to understand because the omega-3 to omega-6 ratio consumed by humans greatly impacts health. The rise of omega-6 fatty acids in comparison to omega-3 fatty acids in the modernized diet is a major factor in increasing inflammation and chronic disease. More research needs to be conducted in order to further support how organically grown food can affect health in a positive way. However, to date, from the scientific reviews that are available, organic food is superior nutritionally and plays an important role in disease prevention.

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