Organic food no more nutritious than conventionally produced food

July 30, 12:43 PMColumbia Health Care ExaminerJan Louthain

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In a study reported in the September 2009 issue of the American Journal of Clincal Nutrition, a London research team has found that foods produced organically are no more nutritious than food produced by conventional means. The research team lead by Alan Dangour, PhD, London School of Hygiene & Topical Medicine, reviewed the results of 55 quality studies published between Jan. 1, 1958 and Feb. 29, 2008. The review, titled Nutritional quality of organic foods: a systematic review, found no difference in nutrient content -- including vitamin C, calcium, potassium, and zinc -- between the two types of food.

The team did find that “conventionally produced crops had a significantly higher content of nitrogen, and organically produced crops had a significantly higher content of phosphorus and higher titratable acidity. ^“ But there was no evidence of a difference for the remaining 8 of 11 crop nutrient categories analyzed. Even more interesting was the fact that an analysis of a limited database on livestock products found no difference in the nutrient content between organically and conventionally produced livestock products.

The study was conducted because while organic foods are typically more expensive, their sales have boomed recently because of the perception that they're healthier than conventionally produced foods.

When asked about the study results, Niyati Parekh, PhD, professor of nutrition at the New York who was not involved in the study said she wasn't surprised by the results, but felt consumers paid more for organic foods because they are viewed to contain less chemicals. The chemical content of food wasn't measured in the review, because there's not a large body of literature on the chemical content of organic versus nonorganic food. Organic labeling is still a "gray area."

Marion Nestle, PhD, MPH, an expert on nutrition and food studies at New York University, agrees. She says that "organics aren't about nutrients. They are about cleaner and more sustainable production methods," including "lower levels of pesticides and herbicides, which seems like a good idea."