Is Organic Food Better For You?

Many patients ask me about buying organic foods, and whether they should buy organic.  I tend to buy organic foods for my family whenever possible, and I do recommend it for certain foods.  Here is the lowdown:  Organic foods have been shown to be lower in pesticide residue, as well as more free from additives.  When you are shopping for milk and meat, buying organic means you are not exposing yourself (and your kids) to unnecessary antibiotics and growth hormones.  Read labels carefully though - packaging that says that the product is "all natural" doesn't mean that the animals weren't given these drugs.

The "dirty dozen" foods that were highest in pesticide residue in 2011 were: peaches, apples, bell peppers, celery, nectarines, lettuce/kale/spinach, blueberries (frozen blueberries are a good option if you can't find organic - my family loves Wyman's), strawberries, beef, eggs and milk.  Potatoes can be higher in pesticide residue, but sweet potatoes are not, and have more nutrients also.  Surprisingly, coffee can have pesticide residue - in addition to organic coffees, you can also look for "fair trade" and "shade grown" varieties which have less pesticides and are more "bird-friendly".

The "clean 15" list of the foods lowest in pesticide residue includes onions, sweet corn, pineapples, mango, kiwi, asparagus, eggplant, domestic cantelope, watermelon and grapefruit.

In addition to trying to find organic produce and meats, I am also a strong advocate of farmers' markets where you can buy locally grown produce.  My local farmers' market also sells sausage, beef and buffalo which is locally grown and harvested.  A good resource for buying local organics is LocalHarvest.org.


Update 1/20/15:
The "dirty dozen" list gets updated periodically, and I have seen mention lately of a pesticide called chlorpyrifos, a particularly nasty substance sometimes used on crops.  The top five sources of produce contamination with this pesticide are: grapes, apples, peaches (which includes nectarines and plums), tomatoes and, in addition, dairy/milk products from nearby farms.  As mentioned before, here is a list to concentrate on when trying to shop organic.