Researchers have long looked at organic food compared to its non organic counterparts to see if there was truly a difference in the produce itself. Of course, there’s the obvious lack of dangerous and unappetizing chemicals, but could there be more? And yes, there is. Washington State University along with the support of The Organic Center recently completed a study of lemonades. The study found that organic lemonade had 10 times more antioxidant than its non organic cousin.
The study looked at three important antioxidants found in citrus juice and fruit – hesperetin, naringenin and eriocitrin. Lemonade was the clear winner in the research, but other fruits also had high amounts of these critical flavonoids. The study showed that the total eriocitrin in the organic lemonade had levels 10 times higher compared to conventional lemonade. However, if the eriocirtin molecule was stripped of its sugar, the benefit fell to only three times the level, still a vast improvement and who wants sour lemonade anyway?
The Washington State University study also looked at limes, apples and grapefruits with similar results. Limes had three times the eriocitrin compared to conventional ones. Apples had more than three times the amount of the antioxidant hesperetin. The organic grapefruit studied had a slightly different outcome. It had about 20% less hesperidin when the sugar molecules were attached, but 77% more when they were removed. When the sugar molecules are attached it’s called the glycoside form and when removed it is the agylcone form. After the study, The Organic Center released this statement:
“The importance of measuring both the glycoside and agylcone form of flavonoids, and other nutrients, is clear in the grapefruit juice findings. Based on the data for just the glycoside form of hesperidin, it would appear that conventional grapefruit juice contains more of this flavonoids than the organic juice that was tested. But by focusing on the more bioavailable agylcone form, the opposite conclusion would be reached.”
