What are the differences between organic food and inorganic food? What are the benefits of eating organic food
4hw.org: when you go to a restaurant or supermarket, do you notice that many vegetables are marked with the word "organic". For ordinary consumers, it's difficult to understand the difference between organic food and inorganic food. They just think that organic food is better and safer. Let's understand the difference between organic food and inorganic food!
1. Pesticide residues
The research shows that the pesticide residue in organic food is lower than that in traditional food, but it is not significant to reduce the daily pesticide intake through organic food, because the limit set in the pesticide residue standard is far lower than the dose causing toxicity.
But the application of natural pesticides is not only beneficial to the environment, but also to the health of farm workers. In 2004, there were 828 cases of pesticide diseases caused by occupation, 71 from pesticide loading / mixing personnel, 196 from pesticide application personnel, 22 from pesticide spraying machinery operators, and 68 from farm workers. Therefore, the use of organic pesticides can significantly reduce the incidence of burn poisoning.
2. Nutrients
At present, some research results show that the content of nutrients in organic food is higher than that in traditional food, especially the content of organic acids and polyphenols. There are two hypotheses about the explanation of this result: (1) synthetic fertilizer provides nitrogen to accelerate the growth of crops, and the internal resources of plants are all allocated to the growth without sufficient use for the synthesis of secondary metabolites; (2) organic growth conditions promote the crops to produce chemicals, such as polyphenols, which can protect against external damage, but also produce natural toxins.
Although organic acids and other nutrients in organic food are high, there is no direct study that shows that human consumption of these nutrients can reduce the risk of disease.
3. Nitrate content
A large number of studies have proved that the content of nitrate in traditional food is much higher than that in organic food.
4. Natural toxin
It has the same mechanism as the synthesis of secondary metabolites. Organic crops are the substances which are resistant to pests. Some studies have shown that organic growth conditions are related to the content of toxins formed in crops, among which glycoalkaloids formed in potatoes and tomatoes can inhibit the synthesis of cholinesterase in human body; coumarin synthesized from celery is considered as a possible human carcinogen; aflatoxin in corn and peanut is recognized as a mutagen and carcinogen Cancer and teratogen.
However, due to the different content of natural toxins in organic food and traditional food, which food is more toxic has not been determined.
5. Microbial colony number
According to the national organic standard, the natural fertilizer applied to organic food must be degraded for no less than 90 days before harvest. Because organic foods are banned from fertilizers and antibiotics, the number of bacteria in these natural fertilizers from animal manure is high. In one study, 476 organic food samples and 129 traditional food samples were compared, 9.7% of organic samples contained E.coli, 1.6% of traditional samples contained E.coli; 4.3% of certified organic products contained E.coli, and lettuce, whether organic or traditional, was the most easily contaminated food by E.coli.