How Can Eating Organic Affect Your Health?
Unlike foods that are grown conventionally, eating organic foods has a positive impact on your health. The following are some of the advantages of eating organic foods and the various types of these foods:
Nutrients
- In addition to the iron, vitamin C, phosphorous, and magnesium that can be extracted from organic foods, their production helps in regulating risks that are related to public health.
- Further, organic produce exhibits a significant nutritional increment from small to moderate levels according to various surveys. For instance, particular flavonoid types that contain antioxidant properties is the best example that demonstrates this substantial rise.
Omega-3 Fatty Acids
- This particular type of fat is healthier for the heart when compared to other types of fat other types of fats.
- The requirements of feeding for the farming of organic livestock, for example, the use of alfalfa and grass predominantly for cattle leads to a general increase in omega-3 fatty acid levels that are beneficial for humans.
- A perfect example of organic foods that contain omega-3 fatty acids are dairy, meat, and eggs.
- In a PLOS ONE research editorial that was printed in December 2013, researchers found that there were considerably higher dilutions of omega-3 fatty acids in organic whole milk compared to that obtained from conventionally managed dairy cows.
- Further, another published study published in the Food Chemistry Journal on organic foods found that soybeans contain a nutritional profile that is healthier than those that are grown in a conventional way or the Roundup Ready soybeans that are genetically-modified.
Toxic Metal
- Various surveys have established that organic foods, particularly grains, contain lower levels of toxic metals such as cadmium. Plants usually absorb these toxic metals because they exist naturally in soil. Important to note, vegetables and fruits contain slightly higher levels of cadmium compared to organic grains.
- Equally, the fertilizers that are utilized in organic farming reduce the levels of cadmium in organic grains, which are healthier for your general health.
Pesticide Residue
- Unlike organic farmers, conventional ranchers protect their crops from insects, molds, and any other diseases by using pesticides, which leaves a residue on the plants that are harvested, and they can be harmful to the consumers, especially children.
- Therefore, purchasing organic foods will be beneficial to your general health and that of your family because you will limit the level of residual exposure to yourself and family.
- Importantly, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) established that there are fewer pesticide residues in organic foods than conventional ones, making them the better alternative for your health.
Reduces the Risks of Cancer
- Various studies have established that feeding on organic foods helps in reducing the risks associated with cancer or the factors that can lead you to develop the disease.
- For instance, a survey that was printed in JAMA ascertained that if you feed on organic foods, you improve your chances of not obtaining cancer because these nourishments reduce the overall threats related to the development of this disease.
- Also, organic foods have been shown to reduce the risk from postmenopausal breast cancer and non-Hodgkins lymphoma.
Food Additives
- The consumption of organic foods is healthy for you because current organic regulations prohibit the use of additives in foods, fortifying agents, and processing aids.
- These components (among others, including flavorings, preservatives, colorings, monosodium glutamate, and artificial sweeteners) are commonly utilized in non-organic foods and have been shown to pose multiple health risks.
Bacteria
- Some foods that are conventionally produced (like meat) have the possibility of containing bacteria that have become resistant to multiple strains of bacterias. Generally, the entire bacterial contamination risk contained in organic foods is similar to that of conventional foods and can equally influence your health.