Organic meat and milk could offer health benefits
- Oct 25, 2016
- 2 min read
Organic meat and milk could offer more health benefits than conventionally delivered products, according to a new study by scientists from the UK, Poland, Norway, Italy, Denmark, Switzerland, Greece and Turkey.
Both organic meat and milk provide 50% more of the omega-3 fatty acids that are important in human nutrition. Organic meat has slightly lower concentrations of two saturated fats that are linked to greater risk of cardiovascular disease.
And organic milk contains 40% more linoleic acid, and carries slightly higher concentrations of iron, vitamin E and some carotenoids.
But conventional milk contains 74% more iodine and slightly more selenium, two minerals essential for healthy development.
Ian Givens, professor of food chain nutrition at the University of Reading, argued that though the higher fatty acid content of organic milk was not disputed, a switch from conventional to organic milk would increase intake by only a tiny amount overall: an increase of 1.5% in the total diet.
“Organic produce isn’t more nutrient-packed in every regard, either,” he said. “The lower iodine and selenium content of organic milk has been recognised before, and since milk is the greatest single source of dietary iodine, the lower value in organic milk needs to be recognised. This is especially true for pregnant women, for whom iodine is a critical nutrient to ensure the healthy development of their baby.”
Researchers led by Leifert in 2014 found that organic crops and the foods prepared from them were up to 60% in key anti-oxidants, and lower in levels of the toxic metal cadmium, than conventionally produced crops.
He said “We have shown without doubt that there are composition differences between organic and conventional food. Taken together, the three studies on crops, meat and milk suggest that a switch to organic fruit, vegetables, meat and dairy products would provide significantly higher amounts of dietary antioxidants and omega-3 fatty acids.”
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