Are Organic Foods Healthier?

To Go Organic Or Not?

This is a question I get asked a lot. It’s a challenging one that is complex, however it’s helpful to consider the information we have available to us.

Discussions around food and dietary choices have become as touchy as religion and politics.

There’s the cost involved in buying organic food and of course, availability, as well as the environmental political debates that surround this topic.

So, as someone who is primarily concerned with health and maintaining good health for you my beautiful reader and also for the purposes of keeping this article from becoming an epic novel, I’ll stick as closely as possible to what we know about the health implications of eating or not eating organic food.

It’s worth stating that without a healthy environment and food supply chain that has longevity individual health will suffer, and so I’ll look at this a little closer in future articles… but onto health implications.

Is organic food best?

It’s a significant challenge for some people to get in enough fruit and vegetables full stop let alone to the need to prioritize sourcing and buying organic produce. Ideally getting 2 serves of fruit a fay and 5 serves of veggies a day that’s the goal.

I’ve also seen a lot of my clients source great quality organic food only to let it sit in their fridge going off because they don’t feel confident in the kitchen.

So I want to start off by saying…

If you’re struggling to get in enough fruit and vegetables, then please just make that a priority for now. It can seem an overwhelming challenge to learn the skills needed to cook a meal from scratch that’s tasty and not laborious.

Buying organic generally requires a little more planning and effort in terms of meal prep for the week, and then buying organic produce from co-ops, or farmers markets or organic food suppliers.

Eating organic can often mean eating seasonal food mostly.

This is why when people are entertaining going organic I often encourage them to start out slow and build their way up, to avoid the overwhelm that can come with the transition.

In this article, I’ll also discuss some of the steps you can take to reduce your exposure to some of the chemicals in conventionally farmed foods.

organic food vs conventional food

We’re living in an environment with a significant amount of pollutants and many of those pollutants have been found to adversely impact gut microbiota, your nervous system function and also your endocrine system (hormones)

I can’t tell you how many times I have the discussion with clients who say but I don’t drink or smoke how can I possibly have a toxic exposure?

Would it surprise you to know that there are more than 1,000 pesticides used world wide to protect food crops?

Each pesticide has different properties and toxicological effects in the body.

Many pesticides have been listed as known carcinogens, however they’re still in use because they’re only considered harmful if an individual is exposed to large quantities.

While some of the more dangerous pesticides like DDT have been banned from use, they’re still found in the soils and water in areas previously treated. You can check out the fore mentioned numbers and what the World Health Organization has to say about the safety and use of pesticides world wide here.

Glyphosate and it’s impact on health

Glyphosate is one pesticide that has been used extensively and you would most likely know it by its common name of Round Up.

Those of you who followed the merger of Monsanto and Bayer in the news will know that Bayer bought themselves a significant headache when they purchased Monsanto the producers of Glyphosate, because there have since been many lawsuits lodged over the herbicide round-up and it’s adverse effects on health in particular among farmers and gardeners who have developed non Hodgkins lymphoma. Some of these lawsuits already being settled with significant payouts. Yet this pesticide is still widely used across many plant crops, so let’s look at some of the potential health implications of exposure to Glyphosate…

This pesticide is widely used in Australia.

Interestingly roundup can only be used on genetically modified organisms (GMO) otherwise it kills everything. So currently we know it’s used on corn, soy, canola, cotton, tobacco, sugar beets, and alfalfa.

There is another group of foods that are not GMO that are sprayed just before harvest. Meaning before they pick the crop and ship it to you they spray with glyphosate. These are of particular concern, things like:

Wheat

Oats

Barley

Rye

Sugar cane

Beans

Lentils

Peas

Flax

Sunflowers

Pulses

Chick peas

The Canadian government undertook extensive testing or thousands of foods looking at the glyphosate levels you can access the report here. They found that 3.9% of grains had exceeded acceptable levels of glyphosate in end products.

One of the biggest issues is that because this has been considered a ‘safe’ chemical there isn’t rigorous testing undertaken by countries world wide.

What we know is round up works by inhibiting a pathway that’s responsible for creating certain amino acids. While humans don’t have this pathway our gut microbes do. So one of the issues with consuming foods laden with glyphosate is that we’re only now starting to understand some of the implications for the microbiome and therefor our gut health.

Key to this is that roundup contains many other chemicals other than glyphosate as well. One of the top researchers in this area is GE Seralini. They have found low grade exposure to glyphosate has contributed to the following in lab animals:

Non alcoholic fatty liver disease.

Neurological implications including in offspring who’s mother was exposed

Reproductive issues

Endocrine disruption

Kidney damage.

Poor energy production. Chronic fatigue syndrome.

Shorter life span

Gluten intolerance - Coeliac’s disease

Stephanie Seneff is a scientist at MIT in the United States who has spent her career studying the impacts of glyphosate and she has claimed to have compiled a significant amount of research that supports glyphosate’s link to autism. Even stating that there is evidence that if you live within 1000 miles of a farm where round up is used the rates of autism increase.

And unfortunately this list goes on, to have a look at a list of some of this research you can head over to this link

It’s been suggested that glyphosate builds in the tissues I look forward to seeing more research in this area as it’s key to understand how our food is impacting long term health.

I often get the question of pesticides and link to cancer, to learn more about cancer and your diet check out this post.

Are organic foods healthier?

This question is a challenge to answer as it’s a yes but for different reasons across different produce so let’s take a little turn now and look at animal products and the implications of not buying grass fed or organic.

The issue of what meats you eat is slightly different but still concerning. With many farmers now feeding their live stock grains this is impacting the quality of the fats found within the meat you’re buying.

Research has shown that grain fed meat is higher in omega 6, which are known to be pro inflammatory and can contribute to several health issues, like cardiovascular disease and autoimmune issues.

Animals raised on grass and plant matter have been found to produce meat that is higher in omega 3 and linoleic acids. These fatty acids have been found to be protective against cancer and may also help you to maintain a healthier body weight.

More studies are needed but what we do have across the board whether we’re talking, eggs, dairy, beef, lamb or chicken, the closer to their original plant diet they are fed the better the omega 3 to omega 6 ratios in the produce. Considering cardiovascular disease is one of the top six killers it might be something you want to address.

Now just to add to the confusion there are meats that are organic and grain fed, which means the healthy fat ratios will still be unhealthy. #eye-roll where does it end? I know it can be overwhelming but here’s the breakdown for you.

#1 Grain Fed
Most meat you buy off the shelf at your supermarket or butcher is non organic grain fed. Result is an unhealthy fat ratio and exposure to a meat from a stressed animal.

#2 Grass Fed
Non organic but raised on or fed mainly grass or original diets. Now here the grass may contain pesticides however as far as I know the research hasn’t found large amounts of pesticides in the meat. It’s a good starting point.

#3 Organic Grain Fed
So here just take note you may be buying organic but is it grain fed? You may still be getting unhealthy ratios of fats.

#4 Organic And Grass Fed
A challenge to source but it can be done, and is often the most expensive, animals raised as nature intended on their usual plant diet and without the use or pesticides or antibiotics. You can see the meat even looks and tastes different to many of the options mentioned above.

#5 Free Range
These animals are allowed to roam and they may be fed some grain but will also eat some plant based material on their walk about. Now these animals tend to be healthier because they’re allowed to roam and the lack of being in cramped quarters means they don’t get sick as much.

So we can assume there are less antibiotics used and generally healthier animal equals a healthier product. However nothing is guaranteed in this category. The standards aren’t always clear or enforced with free range produce.

Starting out with organic produce?

Start with your meat and animal produce! It will have the most significant impact on your longevity and health as well as the health of generations to come.

If you’re feeding a family and find it difficult to fork out for more of the expensive animal produce I would suggest you consider two things;

A number of meat free days each week, for the most part many of us are consuming a lot of meat and too few vegetables. So having plant based meals is a great way to save and that way you’ll have quality over quantity.

Source providers who do grass fed or organic and try and build a relationship with these people. Talk to them at farmers markets, learn more about how the food you’re eating is raised, you’ll be surprised at how much of a difference this connection to where your food comes from makes.

What to do if you can’t afford to go organic?

With developing more awareness around your consumption of food you may wish to look into starting your own little food group. I often source nuts, seeds, oats, and grains in bulk from wholesale organic food suppliers and then divided it all up amongst a small group of friends. This is a great community initiative and helps keep everyone you love healthy.

Try to safe guard yourself through consuming vitamins and nutrients that can support your system to be healthy and clear out potential toxins that come into your body through your environment and food.

Be generous with herbs and spices, in particular:

Turmeric

Garlic

Vitamin C

Probiotics- Prebiotics, yoghurt, kombucha, sauerkraut.

Glutathione - master anti-oxidant, protects the liver.

Taurine- amino acid that’s a source of sulfate.

Vitamin B12

Its thought that Epsom salt baths are good to absorb sulfate through the skin from the bath.

Some herbs which can be protective for the liver:

Dandelion

Burdock

Berberine- Barberry

Avoid as many processed foods as possible.

For so many reasons really, processed foods are higher in preservatives, additives, sugar and all sorts of chemicals. It’s best to keep your diet as full of whole foods as possible and less of the stuff out of the packets.

As a side note and while I’m here ladies please address tampons and sanitary napkins, as cotton is one of the most contaminated crops and glyphosate can and does absorb through the skin.

The Dirty Dozen

There is list called the dirty dozen and it’s suggested that where ever possible you buy these in their
organic form to avoid the high pesticide loads associated with consuming them.

Every year, the Environmental Working Group releases an updated version of the dirty dozen based on
testing run. It’s important to note that this is done in the US. They consume different produce obviously and I’m sad
to say some of the testing done here shows we have higher amounts of certain pesticides than the states
on certain foods. The foods you need to look out for in Australia…

Strawberries

Cabbage

Lettuce

Apples

These should be at the top of your list for organic shopping. You might also like to include cucumbers,
oranges, grapes, mushrooms, celery, tomatoes, capsicums.

Traditional List of Dirty Dozen foods

#1 Strawberries

#2 Spinach

#3 Kale

#4 Nectarines

#5 Apples

#6 Grapes

#7 Peaches

#8 Cherries

#9 Pears

#10 Tomatoes

#11 Celery

#12 Potatoes

There is also a list called the clean 15 and these are generally referred to as being the lowest
in pesticides. Note I’ve only listed 6 below because of the data showing that in Australia we’re
using higher amounts of pesticides than US especially on certain greens.

List Of Clean Foods For Australia:

#1 Sweet Peas

#2 Onions

#3 Bananas

#4 Carrots

#5 Frozen Corn

#6 Watermelon

Now, I want to mention here that this list is a guide only it largely depends on where you’re
buying your food and how much the individual producer uses.

It’s great to see that Coles and Woolworths are now stocking organic options as is Aldi.
You can also keep an eye out for farmers markets in and around your area.

Why buy organic food?

On an individual case by case basis some of the key conditions I would recommend the switch to organic for:

Anyone with autoimmune conditions

Anyone looking to fall pregnant or breast feeding

Anyone with neurological symptoms

Anyone with chronic digestive function issues including liver problems.

There have been some interesting studies looking at the impact of pesticides on the microbiome and disruption of your gut bacteria leading to chronic inflammation. If you’re struggling with gut dysbiosis please check out this post.

If you have a chronic health condition be it digestive or otherwise and I’ve spoken to you about this as being a possible contributing factor please do the best you can with this information here in this article.

Many of the articles on this blog are written for you as a clinical aid to better understand why I’ve recommended what I have for you.

The small choices you make everyday add up to big results.

I will mention here as a side note, the use of pesticides is known to destroy soil quality as it destroys essential microbes in soils, and we are fast destroying much of the earths soil with our extensive use of pesticides. Your choice to buy organic is going to help more than just your health but it will help the environment you’ll hand down to the generations that follow.

Many naturopaths and healers who have come before me have spoken extensively to the importance of food quality for true health.

Unfortunately we’ve developed an idea that there is a golden river of plenty and there will always be enough of all of these essential resources like good soil and water but we know this just isn’t so.

Just start off by doing whatever you can manage and most importantly try and USE ALL YOUR FOOD PRODUCE… AVOID THROWING IT AWAY! 

After all it’s the starting point for good health.

If you’d like more information or have any questions about this topic please reach out by filling out the form below or head across to the one to one page to learn more about naturopathic consultations.