Is organic food healthy? What does it really do to your body if you eat organic? Can we measure that? The IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute conducted a study (the organic effect), commissioned by COOP Sverige AB. With a remarkable result!
Research: is organic food healthy?
6 January 2021
How do they measure? The researchers followed a family with 3 children for weeks. Normally the family did not eat organic food. First they ate non-organic for a few weeks, then 100% organic for a few weeks. Their urine was regularly checked for pesticides throughout the period.
Organic food = large decrease in chemicals
The research result? The body certainly absorbs pesticides through our diet. Eating pure and only organic food significantly reduced both pesticide concentrations and chemicals in the family. On average with a factor of no less than 6.7. The difference turned out to be particularly large among the children. The good news: we can avoid chemicals in our bodies by eating organic!
Lots of pesticides from wheat
Remarkably, the youngest child in particular had the highest concentrations of chlormequat chloride in his urine. This is the pesticide that is mainly sprayed on wheat-like products. Now the food diary showed that the child ate a lot of bread, porridge, and pasta compared to the adult members of the family.
Cocktail effect of pesticides?
The percentages of pesticides found in the urine were below the acceptable daily intake (ADI). The ADI values have been determined in such a way that you run no health risks with a maximum percentage. However, what does a maximum ADI of a combination of different pesticides at the same time actually do to our body? That is the question. A serious question.
Relatively higher concentrations of chemicals in children
Children are more at risk. They eat and breathe more in proportion to their weight. So although they are exposed to the same food, the impact of higher concentrations of chemicals will be considerably greater.
With organic food, we can thus significantly reduce the risk of the long-term impact and “cocktail effect” of pesticides. And not only our body, but also the environment is happy with that! No chemicals in our nature or our body!
Want to know more about this research? Watch the video or read the full research on how healthy organic food actually is.