There are tons of reasons to choose organic, but just in case you needed another one, check this out: A recent analysis published in the British Journal of Nutritionfound that organically grown foods are on average nearly 50 percent lower in toxic cadmium compared to foods grown with chemicals.
Why is this such a big deal? Cadmium (Cd) is a destructive heavy metal linked to certain cancers, including breast cancer. In fact, researchers have found that chronic, low-level exposure to cadmium fuels breast cancer cells, making them more aggressive. The metal possesses hormone-mimicking properties, so it actually acts like a synthetic estrogen in the body. The bad-news metal can also trigger vascular disorders, osteoporosis, and kidney disease, while also damaging your brain and your body's ability to reproduce. Luckily, organic food is about 30 percent higher in antioxidants, which can help blunt some of cadmium's negative effects while also protecting the vascular system, researchers say.
The higher antioxidant load in organic food is likely the result of the plants' increased phytochemicals, which function to protect the growing plants from pests; crops treated with pesticides may have less need for this protection, explains James J. DiNicolantonio, PharmD, cardiovascular research scientist at Saint Luke's Mid America Heart Institute.
According to United States Geological Services data, about 90 percent of the phosphate rock that's mined in the U.S. is used to produce chemical fertilizers, and this rock is often contaminated with naturally occurring cadmium. The cadmium-laced fertilizers are then used to grow food crops for people or animals. Maria Rodale, CEO of Rodale and author of Organic Manifesto, explains the flipside in her book: "In 2008, organic farmers kept 10.5 million pounds of chemical fertilizers…out of the environment." That's thousands of tons of cadmium-laced fertilizers that didn't find their way onto organic crops.
The recent discovery that organic contains about half as much cadmium is big. In fact, researchers believe that wide-scale, consistent use of organic foods could result in a 20 percent reduction in total death rates. "For years, nutritionists and consumers have struggled with the question, 'Is organic really better?'" says DiNicolantonio. "What analysis of this research reveals is that, due to the serious health impacts of cadmium exposure and the markedly lower levels of cadmium in organically grown foods, the long-term consumption of such foods is likely to be notably protective with respect to a wide range of common pathologies."
Where Cadmium Hides
Dietary Cd is found primarily in grains, green vegetables, root vegetables, tubers, organ meat, and shellfish; hence, in nonsmokers, most cadmium exposure derives from plant foods usually thought to be healthful. Although tiny amounts of cadmium are excreted in the urine, the human body has no physiological mechanism for regulating the Cd levels, so cadmium tends to accumulate over time, with a half-life of 10 to 30 years. The good news? People who regularly eat organic instead of conventionally grown foods should expect to experience about half the cadmium exposure, researchers say.
Dietary Cd is found primarily in grains, green vegetables, root vegetables, tubers, organ meat, and shellfish; hence, in nonsmokers, most cadmium exposure derives from plant foods usually thought to be healthful. Although tiny amounts of cadmium are excreted in the urine, the human body has no physiological mechanism for regulating the Cd levels, so cadmium tends to accumulate over time, with a half-life of 10 to 30 years. The good news? People who regularly eat organic instead of conventionally grown foods should expect to experience about half the cadmium exposure, researchers say.
How to Avoid It
• Aside from eating organic, you can also cut back on foods like crab, mussels, and organ meats to lower your cadmium exposure.
• Aside from eating organic, you can also cut back on foods like crab, mussels, and organ meats to lower your cadmium exposure.
• Animal studies suggest antioxidant-rich spiralina could also lessen the adverse health impacts of cadmium that's already in your body.
• Eating zinc-rich foods also seems to counteract cadmium's toxicity.
• Be sure to get enough iron. "Choosing organic foods, avoiding tobacco smoke, and preventing or correcting iron deficiency are three smart strategies for keeping your body burden of cadmium relatively low," DiNicolantonio notes. "Iron deficiency increases the intestines' absorption of dietary cadmium, and this probably explains why women tend to have higher body levels of cadmium than men."
• And, of course, don't smoke! Regular and e-cigarettes have been found to contain concerning levels of cadmium.