Making the choice for your family
Fit Pregnancy, Staff
Published September 30, 2005
If your baby has begun eating solids, feeding him organic food has probably crossed your mind. In fact, a 2003 study from The Hartman Group, a consulting and market research firm in Bellevue, Wash., found that having children is the most significant trigger for "going organic." Today, organic products, including baby foods, are flooding the marketplace. But is organic food, which tends to cost more, necessarily better for you and your baby? That depends on whom you ask.
Why it's worth considering
Organic food is grown via environmentally friendly farming techniques. In lieu of synthetic substances, natural fertilizers are used, as are biological predators like ladybugs to manage pests. To meet the organic standards of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), farmland must be free from prohibited substances (pesticides, artificial fertilizers, etc.) for at least three years, and organic animal products must come from animals raised without hormones or antibiotics, explains Kathleen Merrigan, Ph.D., director of the agriculture, food and environment program at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University in Boston.
Experts disagree about whether organic produce is better for your health. A study from the University of California, Davis, found that organically grown berries and corn contain nearly 60 percent more polyphenolics, natural antioxidants that may improve your health. And the Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit advocacy organization, says that by avoiding pesticide-laden fruit and vegetables (see "The Dirty Dozen," below) we reduce exposure to chemicals that have been associated with certain diseases, including cancer of the reproductive, endocrine and immune systems.
Is it better?
Even so, agencies such as the USDA and the American Dietetic Association stand behind their claims that organic foods are not nutritionally superior to or safer than conventionally produced food. "There are far fewer pesticide residues on organic food than food produced conventionally," Merrigan says. "Can we say that organic foods are nutritionally better for you? Not definitely. Instead, we rely on intuition that food from an environmentally sound system is probably healthier."
Still, when it comes to the health of your baby, intuition may be all you need to make the switch.
RELATED ARTICLE: The dirty dozen
Below are the top 12 most pesticide-laden foods when grown conventionally:
APPLES
BELL PEPPERS
CELERY
CHERRIES
GRAPES (IMPORTED)
NECTARINES
PEACHES
PEARS
POTATOES
RED RASPBERRIES
SPINACH
STRAWBERRIES
