Debate on organic versus conventional produce and relative health benefits has been going for decades. The good news is we now have enough medical studies to help us make a more educated decision.  The “definitive study” on organic versus conventional produce was published in the prestigious British Medical Journal. It combined the results of the 343 smaller studies comparing organic to non-organic produce.  The main three findings of this study are:

1. Organic produce has more antioxidants.
2. Organic produce has 4 times less pesticide residue.
3. Organic produce has less of the toxic metal, cadmium.

So how is this important? In many medical studies, there is evidence that more antioxidants from food may decrease your risk of cancer, heart disease, and dementia. Experts still can’t agree if the pesticides you are exposed to with conventionally grown produce is too little to matter.  So we really don’t know definitively how much is too much.  What we do know is that children may be more susceptible to pesticides than adults. So feeding children organics should possibly be a higher priority. Organic grass-fed meat and dairy are higher in Omega 3 which clearly has a role in preventing heart disease, depression, dementia, cancer, and arthritis. More fruit and veg regardless of organic or not is most important and if affordable choosing organic for produce that is the most heavily sprayed. – The Longevity Plan with Dr John Day