Organic diet causes pesticide levels to plummet in children, study finds
If you needed that extra nudge to start feeding your kids organic grub, here it is: In a recent U.S. EPA-funded study, 23 Seattle-area youngsters were switched to an all-organic diet, and the levels of pesticides in their bodies declined to essentially zero after only five days. When the kids started eating conventionally grown food again, their pesticide levels shot back up. The study, published in Environmental Health Perspectives, focuses specifically on a class of pesticides not typically found in residential use, but common in agriculture. While showing that pesticide-free food leads to pesticide-free kids, the study’s authors stopped short of declaring conclusively that pesticides (read: neurotoxins) have any negative effect on children (read: developing neurological systems).
