An interesting study has been published which found that consumers who include organic food in their shopping baskets have significantly lower pesticide levels in their bodies.
This will no doubt add to the debate on whether organic foods are a healthier choice than conventionally farmed foods.
A research group assessed long-term dietary exposure to 14 organophosphate pesticides (OPs) among 4,466 participants in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis, and examined the influence of organic produce consumption on this exposure.
The researchers combined information on typical intake of specific foods with the average OP residue level of those particular items.
Participants who stated that they rarely or never ate organic produce had their urine tested for organophosphate markers (DAPs) which proved to be higher than those who ate at least some organic food in their diet.
They also found that higher  OP markers in the urine correlated with a higher consumption of foods containing OPs.
The researchers concluded that More frequent consumption of organic produce was associated with lower DAPs.
Reference:
Estimating Pesticide Exposure from Dietary Intake and Organic Food Choices: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA)
