Laurie Budgar
Children who eat an organic diet are protected from exposure to at least two of the most common agricultural pesticides, according to a report published last week.
In a study conducted in 2003, a group of 23 children aged 3-11 ate their normal diets for the first three days. During the next five days, they ate organic replacements of the fresh fruit and vegetables, juices, processed foods and corn-based foods in their usual diet. In the final week of the study, the children resumed their conventional diets. Researchers examined the children’s daily urine output and found that all 23 had metabolites of malathion and chlorpyrifos when they enrolled in the study. However, as soon as they switched to organic diets, these metabolites were not detectable in their urine, and remained at zero levels until conventional foods were reintroduced.
