It seems perfectly sensible that food grown in healthier soil with natural fertilizers and no synthetic agricultural chemicals is obviously more nutritious. According to a recent study published in the journal PLOS One,1 growing tomatoes according to organic standards results in dramatically elevated phenols content, compared to tomatoes grown conventionally, using agricultural chemicals. As the authors concluded: “tomato fruits from organic farming experienced stressing conditions that resulted in oxidative stress and the accumulation of higher concentrations of soluble solids as sugars and other compounds contributing to fruit nutritional quality such as vitamin C and phenolic compounds.”
Organic Tomatoes:
- Tomatoes are one of the best dietary sources of lycopene, which has been shown to have anti-cancerous activity, and may reduce your risk of stroke.
- Cooked tomatoes (such as in tomato sauce or tomato paste) not only increases the lycopene content that can be absorbed by your body, but also increases the total antioxidant activity. Consume your tomatoes, whether raw or cooked, with some type of fat, such as olive oil, since lycopene is a fat-soluble nutrient.
- Choose organic varieties, whether whole tomatoes or tomato paste, ketchup, or sauce. Organic ketchup has been found to contain 57 percent more lycopene than conventional national brands.
- Avoid anything that comes in a can, since the acidity of the tomatoes will increase toxic BPA release from the liner, Your best bet is buying in glass jars instead.
There was a trade-off, and that was size. The conventional tomatoes were significantly larger. However, while many unaware consumers equate size with quality, this simply isn’t the case. At least in the case of organic tomatoes, you get more even though it’s in a smaller “package. This tends to hold true for other organic produce as well. In fact, the average vegetable found in today’s supermarket is anywhere from 5 percent to 40 percent lower in minerals such as magnesium, iron, calcium and zinc than those harvested just 50 years ago. As the featured study suggests, jumbo-sized produce contains more “dry matter” than anything else, which dilutes mineral concentrations.
Organic Fruits and Veggies Are More Nutritious and better for fighting cancer
Organic fruit and vegetables contain up to 40 percent more antioxidants
Organic produce has higher levels of beneficial minerals like iron and zinc
Milk from organic herds contains up to 90 percent more antioxidants
Eating organic foods can even help to increase the nutrient intake of people who don’t eat the recommended five servings of fruits and vegetables a day. Besides the potential for improved nutrition, other reasons for choosing organic, and ideally locally-grown food include better food quality, better taste and, in the case of local food: increased freshness since the food has not traveled over thousands of miles.
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