Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Organic Produce May Have More Flavanoids

In a study published in the The Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry, researchers found that the level of one flavonoid in organically grown tomatoes was almost twice as high as that in tomatoes that were conventionally grown. This may give people who choose organic vegetables and fruits in order to avoid pesticides yet one more reason reason to spend the extra money on organic produce.

Flavonoids may fight a number of age-related diseases, so in recent years researchers have been trying to grow crops with higher levels of them. In the U.S. , only potatoes are eaten more often than tomatoes.The authors of the study, researchers from the University of California at Davis, examined tomatoes grown over a ten year time frames in regular and organic fields. The organic tomatoes scored much better, and over time their levels of flavonoid levels kept increasing.