See How Quickly Eating Organic Can
Rid Your Body of Pesticides
May 23, 2015
Story at-a-glance
When a family of five switched to an all-organic
diet for two weeks, their body levels of pesticides
dropped significantly
Concentrations of pesticide residues decreased by a
factor of 6.7 when the family ate organic food
Separate research found those who "often or always"
ate organic had 65 percent lower levels of pesticide
residues compared to those who ate the least amount
of organic produce
By Dr. Mercola
In order to qualify as organic, a product must be grown and
processed using organic farming methods that recycle resources
and promote biodiversity. Crops must be grown without synthetic
pesticides, bioengineered genes, petroleum-based fertilizers, or
sewage sludge-based fertilizers.
In this way, when you eat organic what the food doesn't
contain is just as important as what it does. This is
especially true when it comes to pesticides. You might have
wondered just how much a difference eating organic actually
makes. Is it worth the (sometimes) higher price or the effort it
may take to seek out mostly organic food?
Research conducted by the Swedish Environmental Research
Institute found out just that. You can get the gist of the study
by watching the video above. According to Coop Sverige, which
commissioned the study:1
"We wanted to know more about what happens in the
body when switching from conventional to organic food. The
result was so interesting that we made a film to share with
the masses. We want to inspire more people to eat organic –
we think it's good for both people and the environment."
Just Two Weeks of Eating Organic May Significantly Lower
Pesticide Levels in Your Body
The study was refreshingly straightforward. A family of five,
which included three children, typically ate mostly
conventional, non-organically grown food. For the study, the
family continued eating only conventionally grown food for one
week.
They then switched to an entirely organic diet, which they
followed for two weeks. Urine samples from all the family
members were taken throughout the course of the study and
analyzed for their pesticide content. After just two weeks of
eating organic, pesticide levels declined significantly.
According to the report:2
"The results of the survey clearly show that some
pesticides are absorbed into the body through diet. By
choosing organic products, it is possible by and large to
avoid the consumption of these chemicals through food.
Compared with the period when the family consumed
conventionally grown food, the concentrations of pesticide
residues decreased on average by a factor of 6.7 when the
family ate organic food.
The children in particular had lower concentrations
during the period of organic food consumption. Levels of
most, but not all tested pesticides fell in the adults."
Earlier this year, a separate study published in
Environmental Health Perspectives came to similar
conclusions.3
It looked at the diets of nearly 4,500 people living in six US
cities, assessing exposure levels to organophosphates (OPs),
which are among the most commonly used insecticides on US farms.
Not surprisingly, those who ate conventionally grown produce
were found to have high concentrations of OP metabolites,
whereas those who ate organic produce had significantly lower
levels. Those who "often or always" ate organic had about 65
percent lower levels of pesticide residues compared to those who
ate the least amount of organic produce. According to lead
author Cynthia Curl:
"If you tell me what you typically eat, I can tell
you how high your pesticide exposure is likely to be. The
study suggests that by eating organically grown versions of
those foods highest in pesticide residues, we can make a
measurable difference."
Pesticide Levels Detected Below Allowable Limits… But Does This
Equate with Safety?
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) insists
pesticide residues on food are no cause for concern. More
than half of all foods tested last year had detectable levels of
pesticide residues, but most, the USDA claims, are within the
"safe" range.
In the featured study, the researchers also pointed out that
even when the family was eating conventionally grown food, their
pesticide levels fell below the acceptable daily intake (ADI),
which suggests it would pose no risk to their health. However,
this assumption misses out on a key factor: cumulative exposure.
According to the report:4
"The concentrations measured in the urine show that
although pesticides are present in the body, the levels are
low and, when converted, are estimated to be below the ADI
value (acceptable daily intake) by a good margin. The ADI
value is the maximum quantity of a substance that a person
can consume daily throughout his or her lifetime without
this posing any risk to their health.
It is therefore unlikely that a single substance
would pose any risk to humans. That said, the system
currently used for risk assessing chemicals is suitable only
for one substance at a time.
There is, therefore, no approved method for making an
overall assessment of the effect of multiple chemicals
simultaneously (i.e. combination effects, popularly known as
the 'cocktail effect'). There is an awareness that this is a
major shortcoming."
The USDA's assurances of safety are also lacking, as the
Department does not test for one of the most pervasive
and most harmful agricultural chemicals of all, namely
glyphosate, which is the active ingredient in Monsanto's
Roundup. As reported by Reuters:5
"As has been the case with past analyses, the USDA
said it did not test this past year for residues of
glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup herbicide and
the world's most widely used herbicide.
A USDA spokesman who asked not to be quoted said that
the test measures required for glyphosate are 'extremely
expensive... to do on a regular basis...'
…Many genetically modified crops can be sprayed
directly with glyphosate, and some consumer and health
groups fear glyphosate residues in foods are harmful to
human health, even though the government says the pesticide
is considered safe."
What Are the Real Health Risks of Pesticide Exposure?
More than 1 billion pounds of pesticides are used in the US
each year, an amount that has quintupled since 1945. This
includes 20,000 products made from varying formulations of more
than 1,000 chemicals, sprayed everywhere from farm fields and
gardens to playgrounds and schools.6
In children, there is increasing evidence that these ubiquitous
chemicals are especially damaging, not only at high exposure
levels but also at low, chronic levels to which millions are
exposed.
The CHAMACOS study followed hundreds of pregnant women living
in Salinas Valley, California, an agricultural mecca that has
had up to a half-million pounds of organophosphates sprayed in
the region per year. The children were followed through age 12
to assess what impact the pesticides had on their development.7
It turns out the impact was quite dramatic, and mothers'
exposure to organophosphates during pregnancy was associated
with:8
Shorter duration of pregnancy
Decreased neonatal reflexes
Lower IQ and poorer cognitive functioning in children
Increased risk of attention problems in children
As the dangers of organophosphates become clear, farmers have
shifted toward other supposedly safer chemicals, like
neonicotinoids and pyrethroids. The former group of chemicals is
a leading suspect behind the
massive bee die-offs occurring across the US, and the latter
have shown equally concerning health effects as
organophosphates. One study tested urine samples from 779
Canadian children, aged 6-11, and even at that young age, 97
percent of the children had pyrethroid breakdown products in
their urine. Ninety-one percent also had traces of
organophosphate pesticides.9
A 10-fold increase in urinary levels of one pyrethroid
breakdown product was associated with twice the risk of a child
scoring high for behavioral problems, such as inattention and
hyperactivity. And according to a 2006 US Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) review, animal research has also shown
that even low levels of some of these compounds have an adverse
effect on:10
Nearly 1 billion pounds of
glyphosate is doused on both conventional and genetically
modified (GM) crops worldwide each year, although GM crops
receive the heaviest amounts. It's important to realize that
processed foods undoubtedly expose you to this toxic
contamination, courtesy of the GM soy, GM sugar beets, and
vegetable oil used.11
The same goes for meats from animals raised in confined animal
feeding operations (CAFOs), as GM soy is a staple of
conventional livestock feed.
It's quite crucial to understand that glyphosate
contamination in GM crops is systemic, meaning it is
present in every cell of the plant, from root to tip. It's not
just an issue of topical contamination—although that certainly
adds to the level of contamination. Normally, you need to
thoroughly wash your produce to help remove topical residues,
but you cannot remove glyphosate from GM produce, as it
has been absorbed into the cells of the plant.
In 2015, the International Agency for Research on Cancer
(IARC), which is the research arm of the World Health
Organization (WHO), determined glyphosate to be a “probable
carcinogen” (Class 2A), based on “limited evidence” showing that
the popular weed killer can cause non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and
lung cancer in humans, along with “convincing evidence” it can
also cause cancer in animals.12
Glyphosate and glyphosate formulations have also been shown
to induce DNA and chromosomal damage in mammals, as well as
human and animal cells in vitro. Research published in 2013
showed glyphosate residues "enhance the damaging effects of
other food-borne chemical residues and toxins in the environment
to disrupt normal body functions and induce disease."
A Norwegian study published in Food Technology also
found that GM soy contains high levels of glyphosate, along with
a poorer nutritional profile, leading the researchers to
question its quality and safety.13
Evidence also suggests glyphosate may be a key player in
Argentina's growing health problems, where birth defects and
cancer rates have skyrocketed among GE corn and soya farming
communities. According to Dr. Medardo Vasquez, a neonatal
specialist at the Children's Hospital in Cordoba, featured in
the documentary film
People and Power — Argentina: The Bad Seeds:
"I see newborn infants, many of whom are malformed. I
have to tell parents that their children are dying because
of these agricultural methods. In some areas in Argentina,
the primary cause of death for children less than one year
old is malformations."
Additional Benefits of Eating Organic
Lowering your exposure to pesticides and other agricultural
chemicals is just one reason to consider eating organic as much
as possible. One of the benefits of eating organic, for
instance, is that the foods will be free of GM ingredients – and
this is key to avoiding exposure to
toxic glyphosate. In addition to fewer pesticide and
chemical residues, organic foods have, on average, 48 percent
lower levels of cadmium, a toxic metal and known carcinogen.14
Organic meats are also far less likely to contain
drug-resistant bacteria, which is yet another major health
threat.15
Organic rules do not permit antibiotics to be used, whereas
conventional farmers routinely give their animals antibiotics to
promote rapid growth. Meanwhile, organic fruits and vegetables
can contain anywhere from 18-69 percent more antioxidants than
conventionally grown varieties. According to the study authors:16
"Many of these compounds have previously been linked
to a reduced risk of chronic diseases, including
cardiovascular disease and neurodegenerative diseases and
certain cancers, in dietary intervention and epidemiological
studies. Additionally, the frequency of occurrence of
pesticide residues was found to be four times higher in
conventional crops... Significant differences were also
detected for some other (e.g. minerals and vitamins)
compounds."
There are also a number of other studies to support the claim
that organically grown produce contain higher levels of
nutrients in general. For example, in 2010 PLOS ONE
published a study showing organic strawberries were more
nutrient-rich than non-organic strawberries.17
Which Foods Are the Most Important to Buy Organic?
Everyone can be harmed by pesticides, but if you're a woman
of childbearing age or have young children, taking steps to
reduce your exposure is especially important. Ideally, all of
the food you and your family eat would be organic. That being
said, not everyone has access to a wide variety of organic
produce, and it can sometimes be costlier than buying
conventional. One way to save some money while still lowering
your risk is by focusing on purchasing certain organic items,
while "settling" for others that are conventionally grown.
Animal products, like meat, butter, milk, and eggs, are
actually the most important to buy organic, since
animal products tend to bioaccumulate toxins from their
pesticide-laced feed, concentrating them to far higher
concentrations than are typically present in vegetables.
Unlike conventional fruits and vegetables, where peeling and
washing can sometimes reduce the amounts of these toxins, the
pesticides and drugs that these animals get exposed to during
their lives can become incorporated into their very tissues,
especially their fat. So if you're on a budget, choose organic
animal foods first.
Beyond animal foods, the pesticide load of different fruits
and vegetables can vary greatly. Consumer Reports analyzed 12
years of data from the USDA's Pesticide Data Program to
determine the risk categories (from very low to very high) for
different types of produce.18
Because children are especially vulnerable to the effects of
environmental chemicals, including pesticides, they based the
risk assessment on a 3.5-year-old child. They recommended buying
organic for any produce that came back in the medium or higher
risk categories, which left the following foods as examples of
those you should always try to buy organic.
Your best bet for minimizing health risks from
pesticide exposure in your food is to avoid them in the first
place by eating organic as much as possible and
investing in a good water filtration system for your home or
apartment. Alternatively, you can try growing some of your own
produce using organic methods right in your own backyard.
If you know you have been exposed to pesticides, the lactic
acid bacteria formed during the
fermentation of kimchi may help your body break down
pesticides. So including
fermented foods like kimchi in your diet may also be a wise
strategy to help detox the pesticides that do enter your body.
Following are some great
resources to obtain wholesome organic food. Eating locally
produced organic food will not only support your family's
health, it will also protect the environment from harmful
chemical pollutants and the inadvertent spread of GM seeds and
chemical-resistant weeds and pests. Finally, if you can't find
organic produce, don't use that as an excuse to skimp on veggies
altogether. As Consumer Reports noted:19
"Though we believe that organic is always the best
choice because it promotes sustainable agriculture, getting
plenty of fruits and vegetables—even if you can't obtain
organic—takes precedence when it comes to your health."
Also remember that some local foods are grown using organic
standards, even though they might not be certified organic. One
of the benefits of getting your food straight from the farm via
the resources below is that you can often meet the farmer and
ask about pesticides and other chemical usage before
you buy:
Local Harvest -- This Web site will
help you find farmers' markets, family farms, and other
sources of sustainably grown food in your area where you can
buy produce, grass-fed meats, and many other goodies.
Eat Well Guide: Wholesome Food from Healthy Animals
-- The Eat Well Guide is a free online directory of
sustainably raised meat, poultry, dairy, and eggs from
farms, stores, restaurants, inns, and hotels, and online
outlets in the United States and Canada.