Are organic foods really more nutritious?

Autumn is in full swing in the US, which means supermarket produce sections are ripe with the finest late-season fruit and vegetables – like apples, leafy greens and winter squash – and often pricier organic versions of each.

If buying organic is not in your budget this season, experts say not to worry, as you are likely to get the same nutritional benefits from conventional foods. More important, they add, is that you follow a healthful diet with plenty of fruit and vegetables.

Why are organic foods more expensive?

The US Department of Agriculture sets stringent guidelines for organic food producers. Certified organic produce, for instance, must be grown without the use of most synthetic pesticides and herbicides.

And animal products such as meat, poultry, dairy and eggs must come from animals given year-round access to the outdoors and raised without growth hormones or antibiotics. Organic products cannot use genetic engineering either.

One reason organic foods can be more expensive than their conventional counterparts is that producing them without synthetic pesticides or herbicides requires more labour, says dietitian Sean Svette, a director of the nutrition and dietetics programme at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs.

An organic farmer who does not use a powerful weed-killing herbicide, for instance, may need to hire more workers to remove weeds.

Do higher costs mean more nutrients?

With macronutrients like protein, carbohydrates and fat, there are no differences between organic and non-organic foods, says Dr Lizzy Davis, an assistant professor of nutrition sciences at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Some studies do suggest small differences between micronutrients like vitamins, minerals and certain antioxidants. One study found, for instance, that organic marionberries – a cultivar of blackberry – and corn might contain higher antioxidant levels than their non-organic counterparts.

But these findings have been inconsistent, Dr Davis says. And researchers have not proven that these micronutrient differences are big enough to affect health, she adds.

“Those studies are one-offs that haven’t been replicated on a large scale,” says Dr Irene Mathieu, an associate professor of paediatrics at the University of Virginia School of Medicine. Most larger analyses have not been conclusive.

Will organic foods reduce your risk of disease?

Studies probing organic foods’ long-term health effects have been mixed.

In a 2018 study of about 70,000 adults in France, researchers found that those who ate organic food most frequently had 25 per cent fewer cancer diagnoses than those who never ate organic food.

But several years earlier, a study of about 623,000 middle-aged women in Britain found no difference in cancer rates among organic versus non-organic eaters.

One explanation for such conflicting findings is that people who consistently eat organic food are more likely to have healthier diets and habits – and higher incomes – than those who eat conventional, Dr Mathieu says. So we cannot say that the organic foods themselves caused any health results. These studies also rely on people to accurately remember everything they ate over months or years, which is notoriously challenging to do.

Other studies suggest that eating organic foods could be linked to lower diabetes, obesity and heart disease risks, but they similarly have not proven cause and effect.

Is organic worth the price tag?

Surveys often cite pesticide exposure as one of the main concerns with conventionally produced food, though organic foods are not completely free of pesticides and herbicides, Mr Svette says. Organic farmers are still allowed to use those that are not synthetically produced.

The experts say there is no solid evidence that the synthetic pesticide levels people are exposed to when eating non-organic foods can harm them. That does not mean that these pesticides are not harmful, however.

Studies suggest that farm workers who are regularly exposed to high levels of these pesticides may be at higher risk of developing certain conditions such as Parkinson’s disease and possibly some cancers.

Some people may prefer organic foods to avoid genetically modified organisms, but there is little evidence that they pose a risk to human health.

What is the bottom line?

Mr Svette says it is understandable that people might want to reduce their pesticide exposure – not only for their own health, but also for the health of farm workers.

If you cannot afford to buy everything organic, he recommends focusing on the foods you eat the most.

Washing and scrubbing fresh fruit and vegetables under running water can also help reduce – though not completely eliminate – trace chemical levels on their surfaces, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency.

Discarding outer layers of leafy greens, like the outer leaves on a head of lettuce, can help too, Dr Davis says. Pesticides sometimes collect in the skin or fat of meat and poultry, she adds, so it cannot hurt to trim those parts.

Ultimately, experts say the best thing you can do for your health is to prioritise nutritious foods in general, like fruit, vegetables, whole grains and unprocessed foods, whether organic or not.

“A variety of fruit, vegetables and whole grains is really what’s recommended for better health,” Dr Mathieu says. “We have strong evidence to support that.” NYTIMES