What would happen if only organic fruits, vegetables, and grain products were included in children's diets? That's what investigators in Seattle, Washington, set out to determine when they recruited 23 children aged 3-11 years for a small study. All children lived in homes where pesticides were not used. The children ate their usual diet for three days, substituted organic foods for most of their usual foods (fruits, vegetables, juices, wheat- or corn-based foods) for five days, and then ate their usual diet for seven days. The amount of organophosphorus pesticides, which are known to cause neurologic effects in humans, in the children's urine was measured. The concentration of two of the pesticides in urine dropped below the detection limit immediately after the organic diet was started and stayed below this limit until conventional foods were reintroduced. The study authors conclude that organic diets provide protection against organophosphorus pestidde exposure in young children, especially if these pesticides are not used in the children's homes. Foods that were most likely to contain organophosphorus pesticides included peaches, celery, sweet peppers, cherries, strawberries, wheat, barley, and soybeans. While it is not always possible to purchase organic foods, choosing organic forms of foods that are known to be most likely to contain pesticides is one way to reduce exposure to these compounds.
Lu C, Toepel K, Irish R, et al. 2006. Organic diets significantly lower children's dietary exposure to organophosphorus pesticides. Environ Health Perspect 114:260-63.
