**Organic food has no health benefits*

[Ibtisam]

Organic food gives no health benefits to consumers, according to research for the Food Standards Agency published today.

 

Shoppers pay more for organic fruit, vegetables, chicken, beef and milk but the food gives no nutritional enhancement to people’s diet.

 

The watchdog stopped short of advising consumers that buying organic produce was a waste of money but its message was clear: choosing to eat organic food will make no important difference to a person’s overall health. Eating a healthy balanced diet is the only important thing, the report concluded.

 

The research — the first and biggest study undertaken of scientific papers published in the past 50 years on the health and diet benefits of organic food —

will come as a blow to the organic food industry, which is now worth £2.1 billion a year in Britain..

 

The findings, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, also threatens to put the FSA on a collision course with organic champions such as the Soil Association.

 

The £120,000 year-long study by a team from the London School for Hygiene and Tropical health was headed by Dr Alan Dangour, a public health nutritionist. His team identified some differences between organic and conventionally produced food but concluded that they were not sufficiently important to make any difference to a person’s health or give nutritional benefit.

 

Dr Dangour said: “There is more phosphorus in organic food. Phosphorus is an important mineral but it is available in everything we eat and is not important for public health. Acidity is also higher in organic produce but acidity is about taste and sensory perception and makes no difference at all for health.

 

“A small number of differences in nutrient content were found to exist between organically and conventionally produced crops and livestock but these are unlikely to be of any public health relevance.

 

“Our review indicates that there is currently no evidence to support the selection of organically over conventionally-produ ced foods on the basis of nutritional superiority.”

 

He made clear, however, that he had not looked at pesticide and herbicide residues in food produced by organic and conventional farming methods. The study also did not seek to compare the taste of the products.

 

The FSA insisted that it was neither pro nor anti-organic food and it recognised that there were many other reasons why people chose to eat organic — such as concern for the environment and wildlife, higher animal welfare standards and stricter rules on use of antibiotic medicines in animals and pesticides on crops.

 

Gill Fine, the agency’s director of consumer choice and dietary health, said: “Ensuring people have accurate information is absolutely essential in allowing us all to make informed choices about the food we eat.

 

“This study does not mean that people should not eat organic food. What it shows is that there is little, if any, nutritional difference between organic and conventionally-produ ced food and that there is no evidence of additional health benefits from eating organic food.”

 

Peter Melchett, policy director at the Soil Association, admitted that he was disappointed by the conclusions but said that he was confident that consumers would make their own minds up.

 

“The FSA has always sated there was no scientific evidence to show organic food was better for health than conventional food. But it has not stopped the growth of the market. Some 8 per cent of shoppers are regular users of organic food and they do so for a variety of reasons. As far as FSA advice is concerned people tend to use their own common sense.”

 

He was adamant that five-year research work funded by the European Commission and due to be published next year would show that organic food was beneficial to health.

 

He also challenged the conclusion by the researchers that the nutritional differences found in organic and conventional foods were not important.

 

“Consumers will decide for themselves,” he said.

I always knew it was a money making Scam for poor sods who fall for it.

[Naden]

I have always assumed that organic food was not about what it contains but what it does not, such as pesticides, growth hormones, and antibiotics. This sounds like some industry protectionism.

[Paragon]

Sorry news for the arm-chair eco-warriors.

[rudy-Diiriye]

Originally posted by *Ibtisam:

He made clear, however, that he had not looked at pesticide and herbicide residues in food produced by organic and conventional farming methods. The study also did not seek to compare the taste of the products.

I think food is food meaning one piece of bread has me the nutrients. The issue that i am concerned about is chemicals, gene manupluations, radition of food for the purpose of the highest profit.

 

Research have shown time after time, that these types of food has caused higher health risk issues like cancer, obesity and other health issues.

 

Organic food does not have these types of problems. This research was waste of time if these above items were not studied.

[Chocolate and Honey]

He made clear, however, that he had not looked at pesticide and herbicide residues in food produced by organic and conventional farming methods. The study also did not seek to compare the taste of the products.

:confused:

What did they set out to study then? The whole appeal of Organic food is that it doesnt contain chemicals, artifical flavors(which connect to cancer) all kinds of preservatives,pestic ides and other genetic and chemiciall enhancements. Personally, I dont see much difference in flavor but organic food tastes lighter. Also, you have to think about fat and colorie content of the food.

Artificial sweetners are toxic yet it is in every "diet" food and drink out there. I didnt know that untill I started using Splenda in my coffee(cuz once I start pouring sugar in anything I cant stop) not long ago and all day I had jitters, jumpy feelings, extreme thirts, and killer headaches that would last through all day. Then, my school nurse asked me if I had changed anything in my diet and Splenda was it. Guess what? I stopped using it and went to regular sugar and everything went away. Then I thought, hmm.. maybe it was a personal reaction so I did a research and I found studies and tons of complaints agaist Splenda ranging from headaches, to nose-bleed, to liver-failure .

[rudy-Diiriye]

Hey ch&h, try grade A honey with your coffee and then check how steady your blood pressure becomes. Also, you will feel calm with no jitters which is good. High consumption of processed sugar tends to cause high blood which could lead to all types of diseases like diabetics, heart disease etc.,

[Fabregas]

it's all`about a completely

and the occasional glass of urine.

 

edit: I am the only one noticing Rudy developing into the wiseman advisor all across the forum.Who is she, the one having such an effect on you, yo rudy?

[rudy-Diiriye]

Will u gotta give back a lil.. i mean u cant just always be taking dumps!! Otherwise, u gonna stink the whole place...lol

 

Here is another hands up for organic food:

 

The Surprising Ingredient Causing Weight Gain

By Margaret Furtado, M.S., R.D. - Posted Mon, Jul 27, 2009, 12:23 am PDT

yahoo.com

 

Say it isn't so! A recent study out of the University of Carolina at Chapel Hill cites what animal studies have hinted at for years: MSG (aka monosodium glutamate) could be a factor in weight gain.

 

The study focused on 750 Chinese men and women, ages 40-59, living in 3 rural villages in north and south China. Most of the study subjects prepared their meals at home without commercially processed foods and roughly 82 percent used MSG. Those participants who used the highest amounts of MSG had nearly 3 times the incidence of overweight as those who did not use MSG, even when physical activity, total caloric intake, and other possible explanations for body mass differences were accounted for. The positive correlation between MSG and higher weight confirmed what animal studies have been suggesting for years.

 

Maybe you're wondering what monosodium glutamate is exactly, and what you can do to avoid it in your diet. MSG is a flavor enhancer in foods—some believe it may even provide a fifth basic taste sensation (in addition to sweet, sour, salt, and bitter), what the Japanese call "umami" (roughly translated as "tastiness"). MSG is considered an "excitotoxin," since its action in the body is to excite neurotransmitters (important brain chemicals), causing nerve cells to discharge and also exciting nerves related to taste. Perhaps this ability to excite these nerves is a factor in an association between increased MSG usage and weight gain.

 

How prevalent is MSG in the U.S. diet? Americans consumed about 1 million pounds of MSG in 1950, and today that number has increased by a factor of 300!

 

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) describes MSG as "naturally occurring," and has it on the GRAS ("generally regarded as safe") list. However, not only could MSG be causing us to gain weight, but some studies also reveal that as many as 25 to 30 percent of Americans have adverse reactions to it (e.g., palpitations and migraine headaches), and as many as 30 percent are extra sensitive to it if they consume more than 5 grams at one sitting.

 

OK, if you're an MSG user who could stand to lose a little weight (or know someone who is), what should you do?

 

Unfortunately, eliminating MSG from the diet is much easier said than done, since—given the fact that food processors often change recipes—there's no list of "safe" foods that never contain MSG. A good start is to avoid anything with MSG anywhere in the ingredient list, but there will still be many foods that have MSG hidden inside other ingredients. Likewise, even products labeled "no MSG added" can still contain these hidden sources.

 

Best bets for avoiding MSG

 

■Buy organic produce whenever possible.

 

■Make things from scratch, avoiding processed ingredients as much as possible.

 

■Limit making stews or soups in a crock pot, since slow-cooking tends to cause small amounts of glutamic acid to be released from the protein sources (e.g., meat, chicken) in the recipe.

[Baluug]

Well, I'm done reading this topic so I can go back to eating my hamburger and french fries.

 

EDIT: Almost forgot about the Diet Coke.

[Urban]

Originally posted by Fabregas:

 

edit: I am the only one noticing Rudy developing into the wiseman advisor all across the forum.Who is she, the one having such an effect on you, yo rudy?

I also noticed this. I don't think it's him, even the writing style is completely different, homie.

 

Listen - whoever you are, bring him back. Halimoz :rolleyes:

[Indhoos]

^^So there is a split personality going...whew, I glad I am not nuts for noticing....