The current trend of going organic has fueled 30% growth in the Organic Food market in the last couple of years. As believed, the benefits of organic food is not only restricted within health benefits but it also encompasses the environmental benefits, which is surely a serious concern now. However, though the environmental benefits of organic food are well established, till now only limited numbers of researches have been performed to compare the health benefits of organically grown foods over the inorganic ones. The few researches that have been performed in this arena have found that the organically grown foods are richer in some vital nutrients compared to their inorganic counterparts. The best health benefits of organic foods include,
Higher amount of antioxidants
Antioxidants promote overall health and wellbeing. Starting from fighting symptoms related to aging to detoxifying the body and killing the malignant cells, antioxidants have numerous benefits. Organically grown foods are believed to contain higher amount of antioxidants than the non-organic ones. A study conducted by the University of California has established that organically grown tomatoes contain 79% more quercetin and 97% more kaempferol compared to the inorganically grown tomatoes. These two antioxidants are not only good for health, but they also act in promoting better heart health and reduce the risk of cancer.
No-pesticides
Pesticides are extensively used in inorganic farming to kill the pests. These pesticides contain high amount of chemicals which can be really harmful for the human health. By having foods coated with pesticides these chemicals enter our body, which are most expected to cause health issues sooner or later. In addition to that, most of the pesticides used in the farming are not biodegradable and as they enter the food cycle, due to biomagnification the amount of these chemicals increases in the body of the animals and humans at the higher levels of the food pyramids, which can trigger extreme health issues. Pesticides are not used in growing organic foods and hence they do not push in the unwanted harmful pesticides in your body.
No-antibiotics
Antibiotic resistance is one of the major concerns of the modern human civilization. In growing non-organic foods, particularly the livestock, unregulated amount of antibiotics are used. Even cows are given high amount of antibiotics, under in-organic farming techniques. These antibiotics continue to enter the body of the human consumers regularly through food and builds antibiotic resistance, which can be alarming; because it can make the human body incapable to respond to antibiotics when used for treatment. Organic foods, including livestock and cows are grown without antibiotics, and hence by consuming these foods people do not run the risk of developing antibiotic resistance.
No-GM crops
The topic of Genetically Modified crops is still highly debated. GM crops can look good, they can be a readymade solution to the world food problem, but there is complete lack of clarity about their actual nutritional efficiencies. Under inorganic farming GM crops are common, but the organic farming techniques do not entertain any genetic modifications and hence the consumers can be assured to get the actual nutritional value of the food they consume.
Better taste
Organically grown food are claimed to be better not only for our health, but also for our taste buds. It is strongly believed that foods that are grown through organic farming techniques have better taste than the inorganically grown ones.
Having said about the best benefits of organic foods on human body, now let us take a brief look at how it helps the environment, which can positively affect every living creature on this planet and not only the human beings,
Best benefits of organic farming on the environment
Inorganic irrigation works as one of the major sources of soil, water and air pollution. The fertilizers and pesticides used in inorganic farming pollute the soil, reaping it off its natural fertility. When the water used in these farming fields flows to the nearby canals or rivers, the water of the rivers and canals are also polluted. During application of fertilizers and pesticides, a good percentage of these chemicals enter the air as well in form of aerosol which works as a major cause of air pollution.
The pesticides and fertilizers used in the farming field enter not only into the body of the pests but also of the small creatures that make an important part of the natural ecology of the field. In this way, these chemicals not only get into our food chain, but also they harm the small creatures, destroying the natural ecology of the farming field permanently.
Organic foods are grown without using harmful chemicals in farming which can save not only humans and the other creatures in the ecosystem but also the mother earth.
