Eating Raw Organic Produce Can Give Your Gut a Healthy Boost
When choosing organic or conventional produce, there’s no simple comparison, even if it’s apples to apples. In a new study published in the journal Frontiers in Microbiology, researchers found that when comparing conventionally grown apples to their organic counterparts, organic apples harbored a significantly more diverse bacteria population. Conventional apples and organic apples both contained about the same amount of total bacteria, about 100 million per apple. But, that’s only if you eat the whole thing — stem, seeds and all.
Raw Organic Fruits and Vegetables May Be Better for Your Gut
“Vegetables and fruits, especially when consumed raw, represent the most important source for a diverse microbial community, which is mandatory for a healthy gut microbiome and our immune system,” said Birgit Wassermann, a PhD student at the Graz University of Technology in Austria, and first author of the study. Wassermann and her fellow researchers chose to look at apples because of their immense popularity throughout the world. About 83 million apples were grown in 2018 and production continues to grow. Raw fruits and vegetables are an important source of gut bacteria — cooking tends to kill off all the bacteria.
In the comparison of organic and conventional apples, not only was bacteria more diverse in organic production, but it was also associated with the presence of so-called “good” bacteria Lactobacillus, a common probiotic. Conversely, conventional apples were more likely to have potentially pathogenic bacteria like Escherichia and Shigella, which are known to cause food poisoning symptoms like diarrhea and cramps. When it comes to gut health, however, Wassermann explained that it’s not as simple as choosing organic over conventional apples. And for most people, simply eating more fresh fruits and vegetables is a more important first step than discriminating between apples. “Organic or conventional? Pretty irrelevant. The main thing is that people eat more fresh produce in general,” said Wassermann.
Written by Joseph J. Murphy, DC (www.drmurphy.com) on behalf of the Mayors Wellness Campaign Advisory Committee of the Chathams