[wsjinames]

While I can't be certain, I believe the answer to your question is "no". (Doesn't mean it's not a good idea...just that there isn't hard evidence yet... and "organic" is only one variable... it can't be good for you to eat pesticides, but does it matter? and do the pesticides have some other effect on the fruit/whatever that might be positive?) I'm not at all arguing against eating organic...just don't think there is a good study out there that supports it yet.

[TriPKP]

That was my assumption on it also. But, hey, he might find something...

[MHMarks]

won't be able to look anything up till after may 21, but remind me then

[Ben Greenfield]

TriPKP, on 22 April 2010 - 11:44 AM, said:

Granted, yes, this post is a little old, but I just realized something I'd like Matt to look up for me.

Is there any real evidence that eating organic is better for you? Have there been any studies that have resulted in significant improvements in short- or long-term health?

TRI PKP, here's an excerpt from Alan Aragon's research review (one of the best $10 I spend every month is his report):

Organic fruits and vegetables possess fewer pesticide
residues and lower nitrate levels than do conventional fruits
and vegetables. In some cases, organic foods may have
higher levels of plant secondary metabolites; this may be
beneficial, but also may be of potential health concern when
nsidering naturally occurring toxins.
co

Some studies have suggested potential increased
microbiological hazards from organic produce or animal
products due to the prohibition of antimicrobial use, yet other
tudies have not reached the same conclusion.
s

While many studies demonstrate these qualitative differences
between organic and conventional foods, it is premature to
conclude that either food system is superior to the other with
respect to safety or nutritional composition.

Pesticide residues, naturally occurring toxins, nitrates, and
polyphenolic compounds exert their health risks or benefits
on a dose-related basis, and data do not yet exist to ascertain
whether the differences in the levels of such chemicals
between organic foods and conventional foods are of
biological significance.

Organic fruits and vegetables rely upon far few pesticides
than do conventional fruits and vegetables, which results in
fewer pesticide residues, but may also stimulate the
production of naturally occurring toxins if organic crops are
subject to increased pest pressures from insects, weeds, or
plant diseases.

Because organic fruits and vegetables do not use pesticides
or synthetic fertilizers, they have more biochemical energy to
synthesize beneficial secondary plant metabolites such as
polyphenolic antioxidants as well as naturally occurring
toxins.

In some cases, food animals produced organically have the
potential to possess higher rates of bacterial contamination
Milloy offered the following perspective:8

“No scientific study shows that organic foods are safer,
healthier, or more nutritious than conventional foods. The
“organic” label only means that the products were raised
inefficiently without benefit of several modern technologies...
Milk—whether organic, conventional, or conventionally
produced without the use of rbST—is all the same stuff.
Marketing and labels that imply otherwise hardly educate the
public. Mostly, they line the pockets of the companies selling
them at a premium, sometimes as much as twice the price of
than those produced conventionally since organic production
generally prohibits antibiotic use.


If you like the taste of organic food and have the extra money to
spend, go for it. However, don’t consider it a necessity. When
choosing the proper foods to consume, the first consideration
should be a reasonably varied diet that meets your
macronutritional needs. Whether it consists of conventional
foods or organic foods has little (if any) real impact on either
health or safety.

[TriPKP]

Sobering...

Thanks, Ben!

[TriPKP]

bump for MHM

[MHMarks]

TriPKP, on 18 June 2010 - 03:52 PM, said:

bump for MHM

oi sorry guys, july 8th is d-day for the MCAT, i'll be back after that. so far i've gotten a 28 on practice, shooting for a 30 on the real deal

[MHMarks]

a few excerpts:
1) Combined estrogenic activity of soybean extract used in a dietary supplement and ethinyl estradiol.

Kawazoe S, Naka K, Ishibashi H, Obara T, Arizono K, Hashimoto K, Hojo Y, Suzuki T.

Department of Food Sciences and Nutritional Health, Kyoto Prefectural University.
Abstract

We examined the combined estrogenic activity of soybean extract used in a dietary supplement and ethinyl estradiol (EE) contained in an oral contraceptive. Olive oil (control), soybean extract (0.0036 or 0.36 g/kg corresponding to doses of total isoflavone of 0.83 or 83 mg/kg respectively), EE (1 or 10 microg/kg), and soybean extract+EE were administered to ovariectomized CD-1 mice by oral gavage for 4 consecutive days. Soybean extract (0.0036 or 0.36 g/kg) and EE (1 microg/kg) did not increase the relative uterine weight. The relative uterine weight of the soybean extract (0.0036 or 0.36 g/kg)+EE (10 microg/kg) group was significantly higher than that of the control. The relative uterine weight of the soybean extract (0.36 g/kg)+EE (10 microg/kg) group was also significantly higher than that of the EE (10 microg/kg) group. Soybean extract showed estrogenic activity for human estrogen receptor (hER)-alpha and -beta. Coadministration of EE with soybean extract increased the estrogenic activity for hER-alpha and -beta.

PMID: 20595790 [PubMed - in process]


2)Peptides. 2010 Jun 25. [Epub ahead of print]
Amaranth lunasin-like peptide internalizes into the cell nucleus and inhibits chemical carcinogen-induced transformation of NIH-3T3 cells.

Maldonado-Cervantes E, Jeong HJ, León-Galván F, Barrera-Pacheco A, De León-Rodríguez A, González de Mejia E, de Lumen BO, Barba de la Rosa AP.

Molecular Biology Division, Institute for Scientific and Technological Research at San Luis Potosi, 78216 Mexico.
Abstract

Because an unbalanced diet is an important risk factor for several illnesses, interest has increased in finding novel health-promoting foods. Amaranth produces seeds that not only have substantial nutritional properties but that also contain phytochemical compounds as rutin and nicotiflorin and peptides with antihypertensive and anticarcinogenic activities. We report that a cancer-preventive peptide in amaranth has activities similar to those of soybean lunasin. The amaranth lunasin-like peptide, however, requires less time than the soybean lunasin to internalize into the nucleus of NIH-3T3 cells, and inhibits histone acetylation (H(3) and H(4) in a 70 and 77%, respectively). The amaranth lunasin-like peptide inhibited the transformation of NIH-3T3 cells to cancerous foci. The open reading frame (ORF) of amaranth lunasin corresponds to a bifunctional inhibitor/lipid-transfer protein (LTP). LTPs are a family of proteins that in plants are implicated in different functions, albeit all linked to developmental processes and biotic and abiotic stress resistance. Our results open new intriguing questions about the function of lunasin in plants and support that amaranth is a food alternative containing natural peptides with health-promoting benefits. Copyright © 2010. Published by Elsevier Inc.

PMID: 20599579 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]




my opinion)

so "organic" in reality means carbon-containing, so cow crap is organic. Think about that before you just jump on board.

What I believe 'organic' means in the dietary world is that no artificial, man made, or extra natural products (such as bovine growth hormone) have been to the foods of interest. This still doesn't really mean much. Can we have 'organic' potato chips? absolutely, and they are no healthier.

Since your concern seems to be one more of cancer/true long term health and not necessarily are they good for you, I'll look up some stuff on dietary correlations to colon cancers, lung cancers, breast cancers, and skin cancers, as these are the top cancers found in men and women. If I find some stuff on prostate health I'll post a link to that as well.

What I can say is that doing your own reading on specific health issues you're concerned about will do you a lot more good than what I will be able to do with a broad sweep, as I will only be making generalizations of health benefits and risks associated with certain diseases/foods. I'll get on this as soon as I can, thursday is the big day, so wish me luck and hopefully this time next year I'll about to head to medical school.




also, just a heads up, I'm not a valid source for any information regarding health, if you think you have a problem, go see your doctor, don't take my opinion as ultimate.

[TriPKP]

Just want to know what to tell people when they ask me whether paying more for organic is worth it.

Good luck on the MCAT. I don't envy you, but I know a hand full of people who have studied for, taken and done well enough for themselves on it. It won't (or at least shouldn't) take your life. Let us know how it goes for you.

[MHMarks]

Well the best score I've gotten on an AAMC practice test is 31, and supposedly the AAMC (the medical college people) tests are pretty spot on. I've gotten ~30 every-time, with 11's on every section at one point or another.

I actually have a nutrition plan and everything too, as this test is going to take as long as a half-iron race would for most of us (5.5 hours at most). the breakdown goes 70minutes for physical science, 10min break, 60min for verbal reasoning, 10min break, 2x30min writing samples, 10min break, 60-70 minutes for biological sciences. It generally takes me 60min, 55min, 2x20-25min, and 45minutes for the respective sections.

It is scored out of 45, 1-15 for each section, but don't let the fact that an 11 is 73%. A 34, which is about an 11.3 average puts you in the 90th percentile, the average for UAMS is 29, so I'm confident in my preparations and abilities, but I still have the equivalent of pre-race jitters

[MHMarks]

balls dudes, i'm done with the mcat. IDK what I made, but i didn't feel like crap after. now i'll be able to get fit again

[Ben Greenfield]

MHMarks, on 07 July 2010 - 03:54 PM, said:

Well the best score I've gotten on an AAMC practice test is 31, and supposedly the AAMC (the medical college people) tests are pretty spot on. I've gotten ~30 every-time, with 11's on every section at one point or another.

I actually have a nutrition plan and everything too, as this test is going to take as long as a half-iron race would for most of us (5.5 hours at most). the breakdown goes 70minutes for physical science, 10min break, 60min for verbal reasoning, 10min break, 2x30min writing samples, 10min break, 60-70 minutes for biological sciences. It generally takes me 60min, 55min, 2x20-25min, and 45minutes for the respective sections.

It is scored out of 45, 1-15 for each section, but don't let the fact that an 11 is 73%. A 34, which is about an 11.3 average puts you in the 90th percentile, the average for UAMS is 29, so I'm confident in my preparations and abilities, but I still have the equivalent of pre-race jitters

Took it 5 years back and got a 36 (thanks to a 13 on the verbal reasoning).

May the force be with you.

Ben

[MHMarks]

if you got a 36 why are you not in med school?
that's still a 10 and an 11, which would literally put you in the top 8%.

[wsjinames]

Good luck MHM!

[TriPKP]

MHMarks, on 26 July 2010 - 03:35 PM, said:

if you got a 36 why are you not in med school?
that's still a 10 and an 11, which would literally put you in the top 8%.

Think "Greg Focker in Meet the Parents."

[MHMarks]

lolz if only.

[MHMarks]

29 on it. Good enough.

[adam]

Super Congrats, have had plenty of friends take that and had I had all the classes that had that info and couldn't keep up with it all very well. Good work! Now lets go see some similar race results.

[MHMarks]

hah, Thanks man. I'm super relieved and even after a five day stretch that included 24 hours of driving (12 straight solo) 2 14er's and very little sleep i'm still running well and getting ready for CATS sprint tri in a month. I'm excited to lay some speed down. Shooting for 1 hour or less