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From Natural Life
Magazine, May/June 2003
The Natural Child
Column
For Families Living
Greener, Healthier Lifestyles
Organics Are Good for Kids
by
Wendy Priesnitz
A University of Washington study
that analyzed pesticide breakdown products (metabolites) in
pre-school aged children has found that children eating organic
fruits and vegetables had concentrations of pesticide metabolites
six times lower than children eating conventional produce.
The study, published
in the Environmental Health Perspectives
journal, compared metabolite concentrations of organo-phosphorus
(OP) pesticides in the urine of 39 urban and suburban children aged
two to four years. The authors focused on children’s dietary
pesticide exposure because children are at greater risk for two
reasons: They eat more food relative to body mass and they eat foods
higher in pesticide residues – such as juices, fresh fruits and
vegetables.
An earlier study cited by the
authors looked at pesticide metabolites in the urine of 96 urban and
suburban children and found OP pesticides in the urine of all
children but one. The parents of the child with no pesticide
metabolites reported buying exclusively organic produce.
Researchers recruited children for the study ...
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