Posted on 12/18/2012 10:13:26 PM PST by neverdem
Scientists in Denmark have compared how organic and non-organic diets affect dietary mineral uptake in humans, focusing on copper and zinc. They found that there is no difference between the two diets when it comes to uptake and how the minerals are processed in the body.
Copper and zinc are two essential trace elements with unknown availability in organic verses non-organic diets. Alicja Budek Mark and colleagues at the University of Denmark investigated the content of these elements in non-organic versus all-organic diets fed to 20 men over 12 days. And Mark’s team assessed the in vivo absorption of zinc and copper by analysing faecal samples taken from the men during days 8–12.
Different fertilisers and farming techniques affect the mineral content of plants in different ways
The team found that there was no difference in the content and absorption of zinc and copper between the two diets. Mark comments that she hopes the work contributes to the on-going debate about the health benefits of organic foods, providing evidence that organic foods do not seem to be better than conventional foods with regard to intake and absorption of selected minerals.
The health benefits of organic foods are an area of intense research as the demand for organic produce increases. Different fertilisers and farming techniques are known to affect the mineral content of plants in different ways, which in turn could affect the bioavailability of minerals to humans during digestion of plant matter eaten. However, what happens after the ingestion of these foods is unknown.
Janet Hunt, an expert in nutrition at the Nutrition and Environmental Studies Section of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, Austria, says that ‘some proponents of organic food claim improved nutrient content of organically grown food, or improved nutrient absorption and utilisation, and studies such as this one help to refute such unsupported claims’.
A B Mark et al, Food Funct., 2012, DOI: 10.1039/c2fo30247k
One thing that can be said for organic foods - it significantly enhances the diets of those who grow, process, distribute, and sell them, since an endless variety of idiots pay through the nose for them, making the sale of organic foods far more profitable than selling non-organic foods.
Maybe you should do some reading of the research already done?
When asked about that point you change the topic entirely to farmers who are exposed to the pesticides they use over a lifetime at concentration rates far higher than any mere consumer of fruits or vegetables ever would be.
You're clearly an agenda pusher who doesn't know enough to be throwing around the claims you are, Wpin.
"Casual relationship" or "causal"? "Prove" in quotes? Really? "Indications are very strong?" Scientifically meaningless weasel words; yours is wild claims and phony argumentation worthy of a liberal.
It’s largely a vanity issue. “I’m really important so I have to eat organic. “
Growing organic makes more sense.
a study of a mere two trace minerals alone does not define an overall advantage, or non-advantage of “organic” foods vs foods not considered “organic”
definitely more study is needed, and in that the study periods need to be longer than a mere 28 days and the demographic sample needs to be larger than a mere 28 participants
I am not making a case here “for” organic food; I am only suggesting that the reported study is very inadequate for making a case “against” organic food
I never said anything about Parkinson’s, if you wish to debate or discuss a topic with me you will do so politely or not at all. Also, try making some kind of logical sense to your side of the discussion. If, you choose to apologize I will continue this discussion and will explain in more detail with more links for you. Otherwise forget it.
Not only are we living longer, but I remember my grandmother in her late 50s. Despite being born in 1898 and raised in a Russian village until she was 18 and despite being a marvelous gardener who did all her own baking and canning and cooking from scratch, she developed Type II diabetes and died at age 60.
I compare pictures of her to my friends and family 10-35 years older than she ever was and the older current folks still look younger than she ever did and all are more active, even the 90+ year-olds. All the currently extant people have lived exclusively on what was available at the supermarket for the past 60 years or so.
OTOH, at least two people I know in their early 60s who are/were ardent organic eaters and, in one case, also a vegetarian, both of whom had access to the best preventive and acute medical care, are either dead of heart disease or have a diagnosis of advanced cancer. One woman under 50 has episodes of atrial fibrillation, despite an organic, vegetarian diet since the age of 18. All were physically active and devotedly followed a *healthy* (according to popular consensus) lifestyle.
All of this is anecdotal, but perhaps it indicates that food is secondary to genetics as to morbidity and mortality.
I was an apple farmer and a scientist that knows a bit about pesticides; didn’t raise bulls, but I can detect BS when I see it.
I just tagged you. Your it. And remember, you started this.
I bet it was a long time ago when you grew apples...you seem confused. I did not relate anything to apples...I think are confused with someone else or just having a “senior” moment...or, maybe you used too much pesticides when you were a farmer/gardener... :)
Anyway, here is a link to some information about pesticide toxicity from the University of Florida... http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pi008
Here is another article from the National Cancer Institute:
http://progressreport.cancer.gov/doc_detail.asp?pid=1&did=2007&chid=71&coid=713&mid
Here is another one: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22571220
And one more: http://www.toxicsinfo.org/Lawn/Pesticides%20&%20Cancer.htm
These should keep you occupied for a while. I hope you enjoy them and learn to understand that there are health risks from pesticides...
Agreed that washing is always a good idea, but it does not remove all pathogens from produce. Cooking is the way to go for that, and it even breaks down many chemical residues that may not have been washed off. Irradiation is the best approach for killing foodborne cooties. It’s really a shame that Islam exists; imagine every home/restaurant with an irradiator in the kitchen. It would be the end of food poisoning as we know it.
This may be way more harmful than old good E.coli. What kind of radiation do you mean?
Exposure to ionizing radiation that will destroy the pathogenic DNA. Maybe a cobalt source.
This method has multiple shortcomings:
- ionizing radiation produces free oxigen ions in the food. Those are highly chemically active and cause deterioation of cells' membranes within human organism.
- it also breaks chemical links within natural biological sunstances of nutritional value (like vitamins, enzymes, etc.) producing others (benzol, formaldehyde) which are carcinogenic and simply toxic.
- some pathogenic species (including the above-mentioned E.coli) can endure being exposed to radiation and then procreate very fast uncompeted from the others.
- radioactive material requires accurate handling what is not the case of household use.
- the sterilisation process requires hours of time (4-8).
So, basic hygiene methods look way more preferable.
If you do a good job at home or have an organic farm nearby that does a good proper job.... The organic produce you get will have more minerals than conventional produce. I can’t say how the organic produce is that you find at Whole Foods. It comes from many sources
So organic means no harmful sprays and if done right you get less watery and more minerals in your produce. I halfway practice this. I don’t spray but I do use a tiny bit of chem fertilizers that have trace minerals. Mulch a lot with wood chips to get the soil black with humus
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