Organic diets have been in our collective consciousness for some time. We know that conventional foods contain all manners of pesticides, fungicides, hormones and antibiotics. 

We know this, but do we care? Does it make a tangible difference in our daily lives? We’re exposed to all kinds of toxins on a daily basis, right? We can’t control our environment, so we probably can’t control the level of toxins in our food either.

Well, actually it would appear that we can.

Leave it to the Swedes

The Swedish Environmental Research Institute (IVL) along with Coop, a Swedish grocery chain, now have a video making the rounds on YouTube, tracking the levels of common pesticides found in one, non-organic-eating, average Swedish family’s urine. These findings were contrasted with the levels of pesticides in the family’s urine when they ate organically — and used organic personal hygiene products — for two weeks. 

The jaw-dropping results indicate an average drop of pesticide loads in the family members’ bodies by a factor of 9.5. Various herbicides, fungicides, insecticides and even growth inhibitors were found in their bodies.

Erasing chemicals 

We can break down the jarring results thusly: Just two weeks of clean, organic eating drastically reduced and, at times, nearly erased any trace of the sizable list of chemicals found in their systems. In fact, most chemical residue had already departed after only a few days of the diet change.

Many experts agree with the findings of the Swedish study, touting organic eating as one of the best ways to safeguard the health of your family. In the case of children, this is of greater concern as kids are far more susceptible to the dangers of polluted produce due to their tiny bodies and still-developing immune systems.

Common Canadian criminals

In Canada, we are exposed to a long list of nasty carcinogens, toxic “crop-saving” pesticides and unnecessary hormones and antibiotics in the food that we eat. A few of the most commonly found culprits are the neurotoxic pesticide chlorpyrifos (used on fruits and nuts), dithiocarbamate fungicides (DTCs) to eliminate fungi, and phenoxy herbicides, which are used primarily for weed control. Since the Second World War, these substances have been used widely in Canada to deter pesky little bugs and fungi from munching on massive commercial agricultural crops.

There’s good news and bad news here. The bad news is that research done by the Canadian Cancer Society highlights all of these substances as likely to increase rates of lung, breast, blood and ovarian cancers, as well as Hodgkin’s and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Chronic health conditions and behavioural problems in both children and adults have also been associated with high pesticide loads.

Stones unturned

Although Scientific American quotes a study denouncing the dangers of each of these substances individually, little is understood about the combined effect of the veritable cocktail of chemicals present in our systems at any given time. We know that all of these agents in large doses are toxic, but we don’t understand how well our bodies can cope with continuous trace amounts of them. 

Detox diet

Fortunately, detoxing from these widespread poisons is relatively quick and painless. Although sticking to an organic diet may cost a little more, it’s really one of the most meaningful changes you can make to improve your family’s health. As the IVL study demonstrated, most pesticides left the bodies of those Swedish whipper-snappers in just a few days. 

Not only will going organic remove toxins and limit potential side effects, a study cited in Time magazine found that organic foods are richer in nutrients and essential omega-3 fatty acids.

Getting on the bandwagon

When we see clearly how easy it is to limit our exposure to toxins, why wouldn’t we do it? Why wouldn’t we take the plunge and protect our families and ourselves from these nefarious foreign agents?

We can’t filter the air our children breathe; we can’t necessarily control the environments they play in; however, we can control what they eat. We can make sure their diets are balanced, healthy and as toxin-free as humanly possible. 

Organic produce, meat and dairy products already line the shelves of our grocery stores. Maybe it’s time we take a closer look.