Organic foods contain more antioxidants

That organic food is produced in an environmentally friendly way is nothing new. But the fact that organic food contains more antioxidants than conventionally produced food has been a controversial topic for years. An international team of researchers has now provided convincing evidence that organic food offers significantly more antioxidants than conventional food. Organic food is also considerably less contaminated with toxic substances. A recent study provides evidence that organically and conventionally grown crops differ in their nutritional composition and that organic food contains up to 69 percent more antioxidants than food from conventional agriculture. These are the findings of an international study published on July 14, 2014, in the British Journal of Nutrition by the University of Newcastle—the most comprehensive comparison to date of the nutrient content of organic and conventional food. A total of 343 individual studies on the constituents and antioxidant content of organic crops compared with conventionally grown crops were evaluated. The higher antioxidant content is particularly important because studies have linked antioxidants to a lower risk of certain types of cancer. Leifert C, Baranski M et al. “Higher antioxidant and lower cadmium concentrations and lower incidence of pesticide residues in organically grown crops: a systematic literature review and meta-analyses”