A gigantic, organic heirloom tomato.

One of the tips to be healthy is to grow your own garden.  Getting a lot of fresh organic vegetables has to be good for you, right?  Well, while vegetables are good for you and gardens are the hot trend in restaurants, the organic status of said veggies might not make a difference in terms of taste and health benefits.  According to researchers from Stanford University and the Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System, the organic benefit might be a myth.  That’s right, organic vegetables have (mostly) no nutritional benefit over standard vegetables.

“People choose to buy organic foods for many different reasons. One of them is perceived health benefits,” said Dr. Crystal Smith-Spangler, who led the new study.  ”Our patients, our families ask about, ‘Well, are there health reasons to choose organic food in terms of nutritional content or human health outcomes?’”

According to the survey, they only difference is in levels of phosphorous in some organic vegetables, and higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids in milk and chicken.  That’s it, as far as nutrition levels go.  Granted, organic produce does have less detectable pesticide residue (7 percent as compared to 33 percent for standard food) and organic meat has significantly less antibiotics-resistant  bacteria than its non-organic counterpart (33 percent less, in fact), but aside from being cleaner, it’s just normal vegetables.

Personally, I happen to think organic food tastes better than standard vegetables of the same type, and that taste difference is worth it, even if that does mean more spoilage since organic food doesn’t seem to last as long as its standard counterpart.

Tags: nutrition, food, organic food, organic food no more nutritious than regular food, organic versus regular food, organic food versus regular food, stanford university, veterans affairs palo alto health care system, va, organic vegetables have more phosphorous, organic chicken and milk have more omega-3 fatty acids, Crystal Smith-Spangler, organic food has less resistant bacteria, food and health, human health, organic food as compared to non-organic food

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