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From: rpautrey2 on 6 Aug 2008 12:50

Why Organic Foods are Better for Health


Can organic foods really improve my health?

Yes. Organically grown food is your best way of reducing exposure to
toxins used in conventional agricultural practices. These toxins
include not only pesticides, many of which have been federally
classified as potential cancer-causing agents, but also heavy metals
such as lead and mercury, and solvents like benzene and toluene.
Minimizing exposure to these toxins is of major benefit to your
health. Heavy metals damage nerve function, contributing to diseases
such as multiple sclerosis and lowering IQ, and also block hemoglobin
production, causing anemia. Solvents damage white cells, lowering the
immune system's ability to resist infections. In addition to
significantly lessening your exposure to these health-robbing
substances, organically grown foods have been shown to contain
substantially higher levels of nutrients such as protein, vitamin C
and many minerals.


How do organic foods benefit cellular health?

DNA: Eating organically grown foods may help to better sustain health
since recent test tube animal research suggests that certain
agricultural chemicals used in the conventional method of growing food
may have the ability to cause genetic mutations that can lead to the
development of cancer. One example is pentachlorophenol (PCP) that has
been found to be able to cause DNA fragmentation in animals.
Mitochondria: Eating organically grown foods may help to better
promote cellular health since several agricultural chemicals used in
the conventional growing of foods have been shown to have a negative
effect upon mitochondrial function. These chemicals include paraquat,
parathion, dinoseb and 2-4-D which have been found to affect the
mitochondria and cellular energy production in a variety of ways
including increasing membrane permeability, which exposes the
mitochondria to damaging free radicals, inhibiting a process known as
coupling that is integral to the efficient production of ATP. Cell
Membrane: Since certain agricultural chemicals may damage the
structure and function of the cellular membrane, eating organically
grown foods can help to protect cellular health. The insecticide
endosulfan and the herbicide paraquat have been shown to oxidize lipid
molecules and therefore may damage the phospholipid component of the
cellular membrane. In animal studies, pesticides such as chlopyrifos,
endrin and fenthion have been shown to over stimulate enzymes involved
in chemical signaling causing imbalance that has been linked to
conditions such as atherosclerosis, psoriasis and inflammation.

How can organic foods contribute to children's health?

The negative health effects of conventionally grown foods, and
therefore the benefits of consuming organic foods, are not just
limited to adults. In fact, many experts feel that organic foods may
be of paramount importance in safeguarding the health of our
children.

In two separate reports, both the Natural Resources Defense Council
(1989) and the Environmental Working Group (1998) found that millions
of American children are exposed to levels of pesticides through their
food that surpass limits considered to be safe. Some of these
pesticides are known to be neurotoxic, able to cause harm to the
developing brain and nervous system. Additionally, some researchers
feel that children and adolescents may be especially vulnerable to the
cancer-causing effects of certain pesticides since the body is more
sensitive to the impact of these materials during periods of high
growth rates and breast development.

The concern for the effects of agricultural chemicals on children's
health seems so evident that even the U.S. government has taken steps
to protect our nation's young. In 1996, Congress passed the Food
Quality Protection Act requiring that all pesticides applied to foods
be safe for infants and children.

Organic foods that are strictly controlled for substances harmful to
health can play a major role in assuring the health of our children.

Are organic foods nutritionally superior to conventionally grown
foods?

Yes, and significantly more. Proof of their superiority has been
demonstrated in numerous studies. In 1998, a review of 34 studies
comparing the nutritional content of organic versus non-organic food
was published in the peer-reviewed, MEDLINE-indexed journal
Alternative Therapies (Volume 4, No. 1, pgs. 58-69). In this review,
organic food was found to have higher protein quality in all
comparisons, higher levels of vitamin C in 58% of all studies, 5-20%
higher mineral levels for all but two minerals. In some cases, the
mineral levels were dramatically higher in organically-grown foods-as
much as three times higher in one study involving iron content.

Organic foods may also contain more flavonoids than conventionally
grown foods, according to Danish research published in the August 2003
issue of the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. In this
study, 16 healthy non-smoking participants ranging in age from 21-35
years were given either a diet high in organically or conventionally
grown fruits and vegetables for 22 days, after which they were
switched over to the other diet for another 22 days. After both
dietary trials, the researchers analyzed levels of flavonoids and
other markers of antioxidant defenses in the food and in the
participants' blood and urine samples. Results indicated a
significantly higher content of the flavonoid quercitin in the organic
produce and in the subjects' urine samples when on the organic produce
diet, plus the subjects' urinary levels of another flavonoid,
kaempferol, were also much higher when on the organically grown
compared to the conventionally grown diet.(October 4, 2003)

What substances do we avoid by eating organic food?

Over 3,000 high-risk toxins routinely present in the U.S. food supply
are, by law, excluded from organic food, including: Pesticides: By far
the largest group of toxins to be largely prohibited from organically
grown foods are synthetic pesticides, which are found virtually
everywhere else in the food supply. Several hundred different
chemicals and several thousand brand-name pesticide products are
legally used in commercial food production in the U.S. Act of 1992;
the Environmental Protection Agency had classified 73 pesticides
authorized for agricultural use as potential carcinogens (cancer-
causing agents). And pesticides don't just remain where they are
applied. A 1996 study by the Environmental Working Group found 96% of
all water samples taken from 748 towns across the U.S. contained the
pesticide atrazine, and at least 20 different chemical pesticides are
routinely present in municipal tap water across the U.S. Heavy metals:
The toxic metals cadmium, lead, and mercury enter the food supply
through industrial pollution of soil and groundwater and through
machinery used in food processing and packaging. Cadmium, which can be
concentrated in plant tissues at levels higher than those in soil, has
been linked to lung, prostate and testicular cancers. Despite lead's
long-recognized serious adverse impact on health, especially that of
young children, lead solder is still used to seal tin cans, imparting
the lead residues found in many canned foods. Even low levels of lead
are harmful and are associated with decreased intelligence, impaired
neurobehavioral development, decreased stature and growth, and
impaired hearing. Mercury is toxic to brain cells and has been linked
to autism and Alzheimer's disease. Solvents: Used to dissolve food
components and produce food additives, solvents are also virtually
omnipresent in commercially processed food. Solvents, such as benzene
and toluene have been linked to numerous cancers. Benzene,
specifically, has been repeatedly associated with rheumatoid arthritis-
an auto-immune condition involving pain and degeneration in the joints
that affects over 2 million adults in the U.S.

Not only are these toxic substances harmful singly, but when combined,
as they are in commercially grown and processed food, and in the human
body where they accumulate, their effects have been found to be
magnified as much as a 1,000-fold.

© 2001-2008 The George Mateljan Foundation
http://whfoods.org/genpage.php?pfriendly=1&tname=george&dbid=124
From: jay on 6 Aug 2008 14:07
> The concern for the effects of agricultural chemicals on children's
> health seems so evident that even the U.S. gov has taken steps
> to protect our nation's young. In 1996, Congress passed the Food
> Quality Protection Act requiring that all pesticides applied to foods
> be safe for infants and children.

Does anyone know if pesticide levels are being monitored routinely? If
so what were the latest results. Below is a list of Fruits & Veggies
with the most pesticides based on U.S. FDA data collected between 2000
and 2005 from http://www.foodnews.org

RANK FRUIT OR VEGGIE SCORE
1 (worst) Peaches 100 (highest pesticide load)
2 Apples 96
3 Sweet Bell Peppers 86
4 Celery 85
5 Nectarines 84
6 Strawberries 83
7 Cherries 75
8 Lettuce 69
9 Grapes - Imported 68
10 Pears 65
11 Spinach 60
12 Potatoes 58
13 Carrots 57
14 Green Beans 55
15 Hot Peppers 53
16 Cucumbers 52
17 Raspberries 47
18 Plums 46
19 Oranges 46
20 Grapes-Domestic 46
21 Cauliflower 39
22 Tangerine 38
23 Mushrooms 37
24 Cantaloupe 34
25 Lemon 31
26 Honeydew Melon 31
27 Grapefruit 31
28 Winter Squash 31
29 Tomatoes 30
30 Sweet Potatoes 30
31 Watermelon 25
32 Blueberries 24
33 Papaya 21
34 Eggplant 19
35 Broccoli 18
36 Cabbage 17
37 Bananas 16
38 Kiwi 14
39 Asparagus 11
40 Sweet Peas-Frozen 11
41 Mango 9
42 Pineapples 7
43 Sweet Corn-Frozen 2
44 Avocado 1
45 (best) Onions 1 (lowest pesticide load)
From: jay on 6 Aug 2008 14:27
> Mitochondria: ... negative effect upon mitochondrial function.
> These chemicals include paraquat,
> parathion, dinoseb and 2-4-D which have been found to affect the
> mitochondria and cellular energy production in a variety of ways
> including increasing membrane permeability, which exposes the
> mitochondria to damaging free radicals, inhibiting a process known as
> coupling that is integral to the efficient production of ATP.

Effects of Organophosphorus Compounds on ATP production and
Mitochondrial Integrity in Cultured Cells.
Recent studies in vivo and in vitro suggested that mitochondrial
dysfunction follows exposure to organophosphorus (OP) esters. As
mitochondrial ATP production is important for cellular integrity, ATP
production in the presence of OP neurotoxicants was examined in a
human neuronal cell line (SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells) and primary
dorsal root ganglia (DRG) cells isolated from chick embryos and
subsequently cultured to achieve maturation with axons. These cell
culture systems were chosen to evaluate toxic effects on the
mitochondrial respiratory chain associated with exposure to OP
compounds that do and do not cause OP-induced delayed neuropathy
(OPIDN), a disorder preceded by inhibition of neurotoxic esterase
(NTE). Concentration- and time-response studies were done in
neuroblastoma cells exposed to phenyl saligenin phosphate (PSP) and
mipafox, both compounds that readily induce delayed neuropathy in
hens, or paraoxon, which does not. Phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride
(PMSF) was included as a non-neuropathic inhibitor of NTE. Purified
neuronal cultures from 9 day-old chick embryo DRG were treated for 12
h with 1 microM PSP, mipafox, or paraoxon. In situ evaluation of ATP
production measured by bioluminescence assay demonstrated decreased
ATP concentrations both in neuroblastoma cells and chick DRG neurons
treated with PSP. Mipafox decreased ATP production in DRG but not in
SH-SY5Y cells. This low energy state was present at several levels of
the mitochondrial respiratory chain, including Complexes I, II, III,
and IV, although Complex I was the most severely affected. Paraoxon
and PMSF were not effective at all complexes, and, when effective,
required higher concentrations than needed for PSP. Results suggest
that mitochondria are an important early target for OP compounds, with
exposure resulting in depletion of ATP production. The targeting of
neuronal, rather than Schwann cell mitochondria in DRG following
exposure to PSP and mipafox was verified by loss of the mitochondrial-
specific dye, tetramethylrhodamine, in these cells. No such loss was
seen in paraoxon exposed neurons isolated from DRG or in Schwann cells
treated with any of the test compounds. PMID: 15897155
From: jay on 6 Aug 2008 14:39
> ... One example is pentachlorophenol (PCP) that has
> been found to be able to cause DNA fragmentation in animals.

Meta-Analysis of Association Between Pentachlorophenol Exposure and
Cancer Risk

OBJECTIVE: The epidemiological data based on the exposure of
pentachlorophenol (PCP) and cancer incidence and mortality were
analyzed to study the relationship between PCP exposure and caner
risk. METHODS: According to the online search of relevant literatures,
Poisson regression was used to analyze mortality rates for major caner
sites and fixed-effect model was employed to assess caner SMR. The
dose-response relationship between PCP exposure and cancer risk was
also analyzed. RESULTS: Major cancer mortality rates of exposure
populations researched in American and Canadian studies were
approximate to or lower than national male cancer mortality rates
respectively. The incidence rate of colorectal cancer in occupational
exposure population was over 16.4 times in comparison with the
population exposed from to drinking water and food. The pooled SMR
value of kidney cancer was 1.34 (95% CI 1.02-1.77). The pooled RR for
major caner mortality increased with the rise of PCP exposure level.
CONCLUSION: A potential dose-response relationship between PCP
exposure and cancer risk could exist. In comparison with to the
population to exposed from the drinking water and food, the risk of
colorectal cancer in occupational exposure population was higher. PCP
may be one of the risk factors of the kidney cancer in occupational
exposure population. PMID: 18589595
From: jay on 6 Aug 2008 14:56
> Organically grown food is your best way of reducing exposure to
> toxins used in conventional agricultural practices.

While organic foods reduce exposure to xenobiotics that the human
detoxification pathways have never dealt with before, it isn't alway
the case.

http://orgprints.org/10175/01/NJAS_54-2_207-222.pdf

Dioxins in Organic Eggs: A Review
Eggs contribute for about 4% to the daily dioxin intake of humans.
Research among layer farms in the Netherlands and other EU countries
has shown that organic eggs contain more dioxin than conventional ones
and that a significant number of organic farms produce eggs with a
dioxin content that exceeds the EU standard. The hens’ intake of
dioxins from various sources leads to an increase in the dioxin
content of organic eggs. These sources include plants, feed, soil,
worms and insects, and compared with hens on conventional and free-
range farms, organic hens make more use of these sources due to better
access to the outdoor run. Plants appear to be relatively unimportant
as a source of dioxins. Also commercial organic feed generally has
very low dioxin contents, but not much is known about non-commercial
feed. Consumption of worms and insects and particularly ingestion of
soil are important causes of high dioxin levels in eggs. Management
interventions, like a reduction of the time the hens spend outside,
may decrease the dioxin levels in organic eggs but at the same time
may interfere with the image of the organic production system.
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