Food allergies are getting increasingly popular and can even affect children reaching a few months of age. Today, parents are more aware than ever of the food they choose for their children and the impact that it can have on their successful development.
That's why many parents opt for organic foods which haven't been exposed to harmful chemicals or don't contain artificial flavors and hormones.
What does organic food mean?
The concept of organic means that crops must be grown without artificial pesticides, GMOs, or fertilizers based on petroleum. Animals raised for meat, dairy products, and eggs must live in outdoor areas and consume organic food as well, without hormones, antibiotics, or by-products from other animals.
Organic farming practices need to meet the following goals:
- Offer safe livestock habitats
- Improve soil and water quality
- Reduce pollution
- Encourage a self-sustaining cycle of resources
Among the most popular best practices of organic crop farming are:
- Plant rotation to improve and preserve soil quality
- Green manure left on fields to sustain soil quality
- Trap installations for predatory insects
- Mulch to control weeds
As we can see, the beauty of organically-grown foods lies in the natural element of the practice. Nothing is forced; everything happens naturally.
How can diets based on organic ingredients benefit your kid?
Children require nutritious and healthy foods to help them grow and function well. Besides the obvious health benefits that organic products provide for a child's development, there are also:
- Organic foods taste better and provide fresher flavors that kids can enjoy.
- They use BPA-free packaging, which is known to be harmful and trigger asthma or hormone disruptions.
- Organics are also better for the environment than conventionally grown foods.
What is a food allergy?
This kind of reaction happens when the immune system mistakenly attacks a food protein that looks like a threat to the organism. Food allergies can involve itching, swelling, breathing difficulties, diarrhea, or vomiting. In the most severe cases, life can be threatened.
It's important to distinguish between food allergies and food intolerance, as they may have similar symptoms. Food intolerance is less severe, not life-threatening, and doesn't trigger the immune system. For example, children who are lactose intolerant can still ingest tiny amounts of dairy and don't need to cut it out completely like the ones who have milk allergies.
As for now, it is estimated that around 8% of U.S. children have a food allergy.
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Can organic foods really prevent and reduce allergy risk in children?
Many parents that have already switched to an organically-based feeding routine for their children mention a decrease in allergic symptoms.
The link between allergic diseases and non-organic foods seems to be caused by the food production system, which in the conventional spectrum involves:
- The use of growth hormones in animal production
- Food processing and food additives
- Contaminants from food packaging
- Pesticide and mycotoxins exposure
Certified organic products are a safer bet, especially for children, who are highly sensitive and require nutritious meals for healthy development.
A recent study made in Holland involved a group of pregnant women and, later on, their children at different age groups. They were studied in accordance to what they ate and were categorized into three groups:
- Conventional diet (less than 50% of the food they ate was organic)
- Moderately organic (between 50-90% organic food)
- Highly organic (more than 90% organic food)
It was found that kids who drank strictly organic milk had a lower risk of developing eczema. Also, people with allergic rhinitis may be able to tolerate specific organic foods better than conventional food consumers. This could be linked with the reduced pesticide residue stimulation of the immune systems or the higher levels of antioxidants found in organic products.
To conclude, we still don't have clear evidence that organic diets could reduce the risk of allergies for children. What we do know, however, is that organic products have multiple health benefits and can sustain functional development for kids and a healthy lifestyle for grown-ups.
Photo credit: Bethany Szentesi on Unsplash.