A Long Term Benefit Of Going "Natural/Organic".....

There seems to be more and more evidence coming out every day about "natural/organic" benefits over conventionally grown foods. A study I was reading produced by The Organic Center, lays out the benefits of long term organic management and the increase of flavonoids (antioxidant) in tomatoes.

A team of researchers "found that the level of quercitin, the most common flavonoid in the human diet and the major flavonoid in tomatoes, increased 79 percent as a result of organic management, and kaempferol levels rose 97 percent." as reported by The Organic Center. The report stated that the longer the fields were managed organic, the higher the percentage of antioxidants, especially after seven years. This to me is very encouraging,that the longer I continue to grow natural/organic, the more nutrient rich the foods will be that I can provide to my family and customers.

Picture Source:http://www.food-info.net/images/theaflavin.jpg

What was surprising is the finding that the more nitrogen given to the tomatoes, the lower the flavonoid level. Hence the difference between over fertilizing with synthetic fertilizers vs using nutrient rich compost and cover crops like legumes to naturally fertilize plants.

While it might not seem that significant, flavinoids happen to be an extremely important antioxidant. Flavonoids have been of much interest recently because of their potential beneficial effects on human health and have been reported to have antiviral, anti-allergic, antiplatelet, anti-inflammatory, antitumor and antioxidant activities.

Eating nutrient rich food is very important to our family, especially for my son Mason. I guess we are all looking at the best way to increase our body’s nutrient intake and lowering the junk we consume. Here’s to another reason to grow natural/organic without synthetics!

 

Quote:

"The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather in a lack of will."

~Vincent T. Lombardi