Organic Plant-Based Foods ARE More Nutritious, and Provide on Average a 25% Nutrition PremiumBOULDER, Colo. - March 18, 2008
- A comprehensive review of 97 published studies comparing the
nutritional quality of organic and conventional foods shows that
organic plant-based foods (fruits, vegetables, grains) contain higher
levels of eight of 11 nutrients studied, including significantly
greater concentrations of the health-promoting polyphenols and
antioxidants.
In this first comprehensive review of the
scientific literature comparing nutrient levels in organic and
conventional food completed since 2003, a team of scientists conclude
that organically grown plant-based foods are 25% more nutrient dense,
on average, and hence deliver more essential nutrients per serving or
calorie consumed.
Magnitude of Differences Heavily Favors Organic FoodsSeveral
methods were used to place the magnitude of the differences in nutrient
levels between organic and conventional foods into perspective. In
two-thirds of the matched pairs favoring the conventional food, the
differences in favor of conventional were under 10%, compared to 26% of
the matched pairs in which the organic food was more nutrient dense by
a margin under 10%.
The premium in favor of the conventional
food was 21% or greater in just 15% of the matched pairs in which the
conventional food was more nutrient dense, whereas in the more nutrient
dense organic food matched pairs, 41% favored organic by 21% or more,
and 24% of the pairs were 31% or more nutrient dense.
The
largest differences were in the case of the flavonoid quercetin, where
the organic foods were 2.4-times more nutrient dense on average, and
nitrates, where levels were 1.8-fold lower in organic foods (a
desirable nutritional feature).
The consistency of the
differences observed, the relative importance of the nutrients for
which the organic samples tended to be markedly higher, and the sizable
advantage in many of the organic foods within matched pairs lead the
team to conclude -
"Yes, organic plant-based foods are, on
average, more nutritious in terms of their nutrient density for
compounds validated by this study's rigorous methodology."
Commenting
on the results, Dr. Neal Davies, a professor in the School of
Pharmacology at Washington State University, and a study co-author,
said "We have carried out many careful comparisons of both nutrient
levels and biological activity of antioxidant polyphenols in organic
and conventional foods over the last five years. Not only are we seeing
a general trend in favor of the nutrient density of organic food, but
also evidence that nutrients are often present in organic foods in a
more biologically active form."
For More Information Contact:
Dr. Charles Benbrook, The Organic Center:
cbenbrook@organic-center.org, 541-828-7918
SOURCE:
The Organic Center
