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Organic Food Might Reduce Heart Attack
from New Scientist Print Edition
By Rob Edwards
Eating organic food may help reduce your risk of heart attacks,
strokes and cancer. The finding will reignite the debate over its
health benefits and may force regulatory agencies to reconsider
their position.
Until now there has been little scientific evidence to suggest
that organic food is any healthier than conventional produce. The
head of the British Food Standards Agency, John Krebs, has gone
so far as to say it is no better. But John Paterson, a biochemist
at Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary, criticises Krebs for
making such statements "on the basis of very little information".
Now Paterson and a team from the infirmary and the University
of Strathclyde have found that organic vegetable soups contain
almost six times as much salicylic acid as non-organic vegetable
soups. The acid is responsible for the anti-inflammatory action
of aspirin, and helps combat hardening of the arteries and bowel
cancer.
"Eating organic may be good for you," says Paterson. "I'm
not an evangelist for the organic food movement, but there was
a fairly substantial difference."
Carrot and coriander
The average level of salicylic acid in 11 brands of organic vegetable
soup on sale in Britain was 117 nanograms per gram, compared with
20 ng/g in 24 types of non-organic soup. The highest concentration
of the acid, 1040 ng/g, was found in carrot and coriander soup
made by Simply Organic based in Bilston Glen, Scotland, while it
was not detectable in four traditional soups made by Scottish company
Baxters.
Salicylic acid is produced naturally in plants as a defence against
stress and disease. This could explain why levels are higher in
organic vegetables, which are generally grown without protection
from pesticides.
Earlier research by Paterson's team discovered significantly higher
concentrations of the acid in the blood of vegetarian Buddhist
monks compared with that of meat-eaters.
The Food Standards Agency now promises to study the new evidence. "We
are aware of the suggested benefits of high levels of salicylic
acid and will look at what the report has to say," says a
spokeswoman.
Journal reference: European Journal of Nutrition (vol
40, p 289)
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