Note from Ilena;  The junkscience / quackwatch / acsh propagandists
have long claimed to be 'authorities' on this issue ... their
viewpoint backed by the Chemical Industry $$$$$$

Organics fend off pesticides

http://www.health24.com/news/Healthy_eating/1-919,34717.asp

Last updated: Tuesday, February 21, 2006
If you are looking to banish pesticides from your child's diet, new
research suggests that organic food will do the trick, at least when
it comes to two common pesticides.

Researchers found that pesticide levels in children's bodies dropped
to zero after just a few days of eating organic produce and grains.
"After they switch back to a conventional diet, the levels go up,"
said study co-author Chensheng Lu, an assistant professor of
environmental and occupational health at Emory University.


t
Health risks unclear
But Lu acknowledged that organic food is often more expensive than
conventional food, and he added that the health risks of the
pesticides in question aren't entirely clear.

According to the study, it has been difficult to figure out exactly
how much pesticide residue children are exposed to when they eat food
that was treated as it grew in the field.

Lu said the impetus for the new study was a previous research project
that examined pesticide levels in 110 children and only found one
child whose body was pesticide-free - a child who regularly ate
organic food.

His team looked at two common pesticides known as organophosphorus.
According to Lu, their use in residential areas is banned, but they're
still used by growers.

In 2003, researchers recruited 23 children from Seattle-area schools,
all aged 3-11. Researchers monitored levels of two organophosphorus
pesticides - malathion and chlorpyrifos - in their urine during a
15-day period in which they alternated between their regular diets and
diets featuring organic fruits, vegetables and grain products.

The findings were to be discussed Sunday at the annual meeting of the
American Association for the Advancement of Science in St Louis. The
study, funded by the US Environmental Protection Agency, appeared
online last September in the journal Environmental Health
Perspectives.

Pesticide levels drop immediately
The researchers found that the pesticide levels dropped immediately
when the children started eating the organic foods. The staying power
of the pesticides was "relatively short," Lu said.

"Whether that is important in terms of health effects remains to be
seen," Lu added, noting that scientists don't know exactly how the
pesticides affect the body over time.

There is evidence that they're dangerous, said Dr Nathan M. Graber, a
fellow in paediatric environmental health at the Mount Sinai School of
Medicine. "We know that at high doses, these pesticides can cause
serious symptoms because they are toxic to the nervous system," he
said, adding that there's "sound scientific reasoning" suggesting that
low doses can hurt the developing brain.

What should parents do? Kids should be eating lots of fresh fruits and
vegetables, regardless of whether they are organically grown, because
the benefits greatly outweigh the risk, Graber said. "Parents should
not feed their children less nutritious foods out of fear of
pesticides."

Foods that are especially vulnerable to pesticide residue include
strawberries, nectarines, peaches, apples, pears and cherries, Lu
said. Some other foods, such as bananas and oranges, aren't as
vulnerable, he added. – (HealthDayNews)

Visit our Diet Centre for more information.

February 2006