Go Organic

Organically grown foods higher in cancer-fighting chemicals thanconventionally grown foodsFruits and veggies grown organically show significantly higher levels ofcancer-fighting antioxidants than conventionally grown foods, according to anew study of corn, strawberries and marionberries. The research suggeststhat pesticides and herbicides actually thwart the production of phenolics <chemicals that act as a plant's natural defense and also happen to be goodfor our health. Fertilizers, however, seem to boost the levels ofanti-cancer compounds.The findings appear in the Feb. 26 print edition of the Journal ofAgricultural and Food Chemistry, a peer-reviewed journal of the AmericanChemical Society, the world's largest scientific society. The article wasinitially published Jan. 25 on the journal's Web site.Flavonoids are phenolic compounds that have potent antioxidant activity.Many are produced in plants in response to environmental stressors, such asinsects or competing plants."If an aphid is nibbling on a leaf, the plant produces phenolics to defenditself," says Alyson Mitchell, Ph.D., a food scientist at the University ofCalifornia, Davis, and lead author of the paper. "Bitter or harsh phenolicsguard the plant against these pests."The need for these natural safeguards decreases with the use of herbicidesand pesticides in conventional agriculture. This decrease is reflected inthe total amount of antioxidants the plants produce. "This helps explain whythe level of antioxidants is so much higher in organically grown food,"Mitchell says. "By synthetically protecting the produce from these pests, wedecrease their need to produce antioxidants. It suggests that maybe we aredoing something to our food inadvertently."Mitchell measured antioxidants found in corn, strawberries and a type ofblackberry called a marionberry. "We started with these three due to plantavailability," Mitchell explains, "but we intend to widen our search toinclude tomatoes, peppers, broccoli and a variety of other vegetables. Weexpect these results to be transferable to most produce."The investigation compared the total antioxidants found in foods grownorganically (using no herbicides, pesticides or fertilizers) to foods grownsustainably (in this study fertilizers but no herbicides or pesticides wereused) and conventionally (using synthetic chemicals to protect the plantsand increase yield).The results showed a significant increase in antioxidants in organic andsustainably grown foods versus conventionally grown foods. The levels ofantioxidants in sustainably grown corn were 58.5 percent higher thanconventionally grown corn. Organically and sustainably grown marionberrieshad approximately 50 percent more antioxidants than conventionally grownberries. Sustainably and organically grown strawberries showed about 19percent more antioxidants than conventionally grown strawberries.Antioxidant levels were highest overall in sustainably grown produce, whichindicates that a combination of organic and conventional practices yieldsthe highest levels of antioxidants. "This may reflect the balance betweenadequate nutrition in the form of fertilizers and external pest pressuresbecause of the lack of pesticides and herbicides," Mitchell explains."Originally, the question was just really intriguing to me," says Mitchell,whose research grew naturally from a personal interest in organic foods. "Ifound that the higher level of antioxidants is enough to have a significantimpact on health and nutrition, and it's definitely changed the way I thinkabout my food."