Organic food isn’t healthier than regular food

You’ve probably seen organic food being sold in stores, that it’s supposedly healthier for you.  A new study — actually a study of 50,000 studies over the past 50 years — says organic food isn’t better than regular food:

Organic food is no healthier or more nutritious than regular food. But it is more expensive.

That’s according to a study commissioned by the British government and published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Researchers looked at 50,000 studies conducted over 50 years — and found no significant differences in the foods. They focused on a wide range of crops and livestock raised and marketed under organic standards.

The few differences they found were about the kind of fertilizer used — like nitrogen or phosphorus — and how ripe the crops were when harvested. They say these differences are unlikely to provide any health benefit to consumers.

Of course, this depends on what you consider “regular food”.  Some of the processed non-foods served at some fast food restaurants may be worse for you, along with some of the healthy microwave dinners that look like regular food but have had the flavor sucked out of them.

There may still be reasons to buy organic foods — but apparently it’s not more healthy than “regular food”.