A recent review of the scientific literature published in Nutrition Reviews (Jiang et al., 2024) examines the correlations between organic food intake and health. (1)
1) Less pesticides and more nutrients
The scientific bibliography extensively demonstrates that organic foods differ from ‘conventional’ (non-organic) foods in two main aspects that are relevant to consumers’ health:
– lower levels of residues of pesticides, herbicides, fungicides and other chemicals used in agriculture. As well as antibiotics; (2,3)
– higher amounts of bioactive compounds and beneficial nutrients. More beneficial fatty acids in milk, (4,5) higher concentrations of antioxidants in crops, (6) more ‘good’ fats in dairy products and meats (7,8).
2) Organic diet, the proven health benefits
Researchers of Guangzhou and Beijing Universities (Jiang et al., 2024) examined 50 scientific studies, selected from over 1.300, on the correlations between organic diet and health. Emphasizing how the health benefits of an organic diet are more evident in some of these studies.
2.1) Reduced exposure to toxic chemicals
The benefits of the organic diet in terms of lower pesticide residues (and their metabolites) in urine are evident. Some examples below, among the 16 studies examined:
– a study on American children aged 3-11 years (Lu et al., 2006) shows how the consumption of organic fruit, vegetables and cereals reduced to undetectable levels the presence, in their organisms, of a marker of oxidative stress (MDA, malondialdehyde) and another indicator of organophosphorus pesticides (TCPY, 3,5,6-trichloro-2-pyridinol). These values increased again when they returned to a diet with ‘conventional’ foods;
– another study by the same research group (Lu et al., 2008) confirmed the reduced exposure to chlorpyrifos – an insecticide harmful to brain development, as seen (9) – in the same children, thanks to the organic diet;
– the same phenomenon was observed in some studies on pregnant women (Curl et al., 2019; Hyland et al., 2019). Glyphosate and its metabolite AMPA also decreased dramatically (-70,93% and -76,71%, respectively) in the urine of 16 members of four families fed organic food (Fagan et al., 2020), as we also reported. (10)
2.2) More antioxidants
22 publications (of the 50 selected in the scientific review) investigated the effect of organic food intake on biomarkers other than those indicating exposure to pesticides.
Benefits are judged by the authors of the study as evident only in the case of phenols, antioxidant substances with antimicrobial, antifungal and anti-inflammatory properties as seen. (11)
Further studies are instead required to evaluate the function of an organic diet on human milk fatty acids, the concentration of toxic metals and carotenoids, serum parameters and total antioxidant status.
2.3) Less obesity and various other diseases
The correlations Overall effects between organic food consumption and ‘diseases and functional changes’ or ‘BMI or obesity’ were studied in 17 publications and considered ‘beneficial’ by the review authors.
The evidence concern
– obesity/BMI (Body Mass Index). Four studies converge on the conclusion that a higher consumption of organic food is associated with a lower BMI or a reduced risk of obesity;
– pregnant women. Five studies conclude that the organic diet is associated with a reduction in cases of gestosis in the mother and hypospadias (anomaly of the urethra) in the newborn;
– allergy. Kummeling et al. (2008) conclude that feeding infants organic dairy products protects against the risk of eczema in the first 2 years of life. However, another study (Cheng Q, Liu QQ, Li K, et al., 2022) finds that children frequently fed organic food are more likely to have a food allergy;
– reproductive functional change and disease. Men who follow an organic diet have a higher concentration of sperm, a reduced prevalence of reproductive disorders, and a higher incidence of cryptorchidism (undescended testicles) (Juhler RK, Larsen SB, Meyer O, et al., 1999). A cohort study (Huynh LM, Liang K, Osman MM, et al., 2020) conducted on elderly men reports that following an organic diet reduces the probability of having erectile dysfunction by approximately 1,8 times;
– cancer. The French NutriNet-Santé cohort study shows (Baudry J, Assmann KE, Touvier M, et al., 2018) that higher organic food consumption is inversely associated with overall cancer risk in the French population. A beneficial association of organic food with non-Hodgkin lymphoma has been observed in British women (Bradbury KE, Balkwill A, Spencer EA, et al., 2014).
3) Protect children and the elderly with an organic diet
‘An organic food diet can be beneficial for people of all ages. However, given the special physiological states of children and the elderly and the high cost of organic food, it may be more cost-effective to investigate the health effects of an organic diet among these special populations.
Furthermore, most of the included studies were conducted in economically advanced countries, with only 2 conducted in Brazil. Given the current growing environmental awareness of consumers, it would be worthwhile to initiate studies on the health effects of organic diets in developing countries‘, conclude the authors of the review.
Marta Strinati
Footnotes
(1) Bibo Jiang, Jinzhu Pang, Junan Li, Lijuan Mi, Dongmei Ru, Jingxi Feng, Xiaoxu Li, Ai Zhao, Li Cai, The effects of organic food on human health: a systematic review and meta-analysis of population-based studies, Nutrition Reviews, Volume 82, Issue 9, September 2024, Pages 1151–1175, https://doi.org/10.1093/nutrit/nuad124
(2) Andersen JH, Poulsen ME. Results from the monitoring of pesticide residues in fruit and vegetables on the Danish market, 1998–99. Food Addit Contam. 2001;18:906–931. doi:10.1080/02652030119410
(3) Baker BP, Benbrook CM, Groth E, et al. Pesticide residues in conventional, integrated pest management (IPM)-grown and organic foods: insights from three US data sets. Food Addit Contam. 2002;19:427–446. doi:10.1080/02652030110113799
(4) Butler G, Stergiadis S, Seal C, et al. Fat composition of organic and conventional retail milk in northeast England. J Dairy Sci. 2011;94:24–36. doi:10.3168/jds.2010-3331
(5) Butler G, Nielsen JH, Slots T, et al. Fatty acid and fat-soluble antioxidant concentrations in milk from high- and low-input conventional and organic systems: seasonal variation. J Sci Food Agric. 2008;88:1431–1441. doi:10.1002/jsfa.3235
(6) Barański, M.; Średnicka-Tober, D.; Volakakis, N.; Seal, C.; Sanderson, R.; Stewart, G. B.; Benbrook, C.; Biavati, B.; Markellou, E.; Giotis, C.; et al. Higher antioxidant and lower cadmium concentrations and lower incidence of pesticide residues in organic crops: a systematic literature review and meta-analysis. Br. J. Nutr. 2014 , 112, 794–811
(7) Palupi, E.; Jayanegara, A.; Ploeger, A.; Kahl, J. Comparison of nutritional quality between conventional and organic dairy products: A meta-analysis. J. Sci. Food Agric. 2012, 92, 2774–2781
(8) Srednicka-Tober, D.; Baranski, M.; Seal, C.; Sanderson, R.; Benbrook, C.; Steinshamn, H.; Gromadzka-Ostrowska, J.; Rembialkowska, E.; Skwarlo-Sonita, K.; Eyre, M.; et al. Higher PUFA and n-3 PUFA, conjugated linoleic acid, […]-tocopherol and iron, but lower iodine and selenium concentrations in organic milk: A systematic literature review and meta- and redundancy analyses. Br. J. Nutr. 2016, 115, 1043–1060
(9) Dario Dongo, Marta Strinati. Chlorpyrifos, the pesticide that damages children’s brains. Class action in the USA, exemptions in Italy. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade).
(10) Marta Strinati, Dario Dongo. The organic diet frees the body from glyphosate in a few days. Scientific study. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade).
(11) Salvatore Parisi, Dario Dongo. Polyphenols and natural phenolic compounds in foods, new studies. Food Times. 16.7.19/XNUMX/XNUMX
Professional journalist since January 1995, he has worked for newspapers (Il Messaggero, Paese Sera, La Stampa) and periodicals (NumeroUno, Il Salvagente). She is the author of journalistic surveys on food, she has published the book "Reading labels to know what we eat".
