A Comprehensive Analysis of Organic Food: Evaluating Nutritional Value and Impact on Human Health

Abstract

In recent years, organic agriculture has gained more popularity, yet its approach to food production and its potential impact on consumers' health and various environmental aspects remain to be fully discovered. The goal of organic farming practices is to maintain soil health, sustain ecological systems, maintain fairness in its relationship with the environment and protect the environment in its entirety. Various health benefits have been associated with higher consumption of organic foods. This review identified some of these health benefits, including a reduction in obesity and body mass index (BMI), improvements in blood nutrient composition as well as reductions in maternal obesity and pregnancy-associated preeclampsia risks. Furthermore, organic food consumption can reduce the development of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) and colorectal cancers. Upon reviewing the existing literature regarding the nutritional value of organic foods, it was found that organic food contained higher levels of iron, magnesium and vitamin C. However, the evidence available to draw definitive causations remains limited due to study biases, short study durations and confounding variables; thus, it cannot be concluded that the organic diet provides any related health benefits. In this review, we provided essential insights and statistical analysis from the evidence available and consider study limitations to evaluate the potential of organic food consumption in positively impacting human health.

Keywords: biodiversity; cancer; climate change; food safety; obesity; organic farming; organic foods.

Figure 1

Breakdown of opinions on organic food in Canada. Data collected from a 2021 online survey of up to 187,000 Canadians over 18 years of age [19].

Figure 2

Organic crop farming at a glance [29,30,31,32,33].

Figure 3

The prospective association between the organic score in quartiles (Q) and the risk of obesity, represented as % BMI change from the first quartile (Q1, baseline = 1.0). Organic scores are stratified according to diet nutritional quality and based on a low, middle, or high Programme National Nutrition Santé guidelines score (PNNS-GS). Values are OR and 95% CI, adjusted for age, sex, month and year of inclusion, delay in follow-up, occupation, marital status, education, monthly income per unit, dietary supplement use, modified Programme National Nutrition Santé guidelines score (mPNNS-GS), principal-component-analysis-extracted dietary patterns scores, energy intake, physical activity, tobacco status and history of chronic diseases. Ref. = referent values. Taken from Kesse-Guyot et al. (2017) [62].

Figure 4

The effects of organic and conventional crop production on four physiological parameters in rats. Plasma concentrations of insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), testosterone (Ts), leptin and spontaneous lymphocyte proliferation (sp-LP) were measured in 24 Wistar rats after 12 weeks (n = 24). Feeds were composed of crops produced from different organic and conventional regimes (OF = organic fertilization, CF = conventional fertilization, OP = organic crop protection, CP = conventional crop protection). Different letters above bar indicate significant difference (p < 0.05) as determined by Tukey’s HSD test (a vs. b vs. c). Taken from Baranski et al. (2017) [46], adapted from Srednicka-Tober D et al. (2013) [66].