While the controversy over whether organically grown food is healthier lingers, scientific research continues to demonstrate the health benefits to both humans and the environment of growing and consuming organic foods.

Food grown in healthier soil, with natural fertilizers and no harmful chemicals, is quite simply more nutritious and less dangerous to your health.

Detractors of organic farming rest on a meta-analysis published in 2012 by Stanford University, which found similar nutrients in both organically growth produce and those laden with pesticides and insecticides.¹

That same study did admit organic foods were not burdened with antibiotic-resistant bacteria and pesticide residue, but stated these were the only benefits.

More recent analyses of organic foods also found similar levels of nutrients between organic and pesticide-treated crops,² with lower pesticide residue on organic foods.³ However, the more recent studies also found lower levels of cadmium,⁴ a known carcinogen, and higher levels of antioxidants.⁵

Organic fruits and vegetables may contain as much as 18 percent to 69 percent more antioxidants than pesticide-treated produce. As antioxidants play a critical role in the prevention of diseases and illnesses, these higher levels of nutrients, in combination with a lower toxicity level, make organically grown foods a superior choice.

Eating Organic Has Long-Term Benefits

One of the strongest selling points for eating organic foods had been to reduce your exposure to pesticides and insecticides. Now, a recent study demonstrates that organic foods hold more benefits to your future health and the health of your children.

The study conducted by the European Parliamentary Research Service reviewed existing research and made several determinations.⁶

From their analysis they concluded that eating organic foods reduces pesticide exposure, improves the nutritional value of the food, lessens disease risk and improves early childhood development.⁷

They also found those who ate organic foods tended to have healthier dietary patterns than those who ate foods treated with chemicals.

In other studies, researchers found epidemiological data demonstrating the negative effects of pesticide exposure on the cognitive development of children and determined these effects would be minimized eating organic foods, especially during pregnancy and during early infancy.

Another important finding, also supported by previous studies,⁸ was organic foods had lower cadmium content than conventional crops.⁹ There is no safe level of cadmium, as it is a known carcinogen and produces a number of negative effects on human health.

Your highest rate of exposure is from plant-based foods grown in contaminated soil or using certain fertilizers. Other sources include smoking and exposure to nickel-cadmium batteries.¹⁰

Once absorbed, your body efficiently retains cadmium, which can build up over your lifetime unless you take steps to remove it.^11,12 Being deficient in calcium, iron, protein and/or zinc may worsen cadmium uptake and toxicity.

Antagonists that can help detoxify cadmium include calcium, zinc, copper, vitamin D and C, iron, manganese and protein.¹³

Cadmium is very toxic to your kidneys, may trigger bone demineralization and increases your risk of dying from lung cancer. It can also affect your blood pressure, prostate health and testosterone levels.¹⁴

Organically raised animals also reduce your exposure to antibiotic-resistant bacteria as the organic practice of preventing animal disease restricts the use of antibiotics in production. Minimizing your exposure to these bacteria may minimize your risk of illness and may have significant public health benefits.

Higher Antioxidant Levels in Organic Foods May Mitigate Disease Risk

Researchers have determined the levels of polyphenols in organically grown crops is significantly higher than those sprayed with pesticides.¹⁵ These higher concentrations of phenolic acids, flavones, stilbenes, flavonols and anthocyanins were estimated to be between 19 percent and 51 percent higher in one study.

These plant-based antioxidant compounds have been linked to the reduction in a number of different diseases, including cardiovascular disease,^16,17 neurodegenerative conditions,¹⁸ cancers^19,20 and slowing the aging process.²¹

Antioxidants are a class of molecule that are capable of inhibiting the oxidation of free radicals that cause damage in your body.

Some antioxidants can be produced by your body, but some are not and, as you age, your ability to produce those antioxidants declines. Antioxidants are crucial to your health and can be acquired through eating real foods. They are nature's way of defending your body against an attack by reactive oxygen species (ROS).

Your body naturally circulates a variety of nutrients, such as vitamin C, vitamin E, carotenes and lipoic acid, to control the destructive chain reactions associated with ROS. Antioxidants are micronutrients that help your body resist the damage of pollutants and free radicals produced during metabolism.

Oxidative stress occurs when there are more free radicals and ROS in your body than antioxidant defenses, and leads to accelerated tissue and organ damage. Oxidative stress may also shorten the length of your telomeres, which researchers believe can be used as a measure of biological aging.

Antioxidants are present in higher quantities in fruits and vegetables that are organically grown and those eaten closer to the time they were harvested. This is why eating the majority of your fruits and vegetables raw, organically grown and locally harvested increases the number of nutrients from which you benefit.