Study finds fresh, organic "notox" diet works

Posted on Wed, 13 Apr 11

A little talked about fact is that widespread pollution is making us fat, sick and diabetic. Better than a detox may be a “notox” diet. A group of families managed to rapidly reduce their exposure to one of the most common, and dangerous environmental pollutants by eating organic, fresh food.

Whether you like it or not, you are exposed to enough Bisphenol A (BPA) each day to cause obesity, heart disease or diabetes. BPA, a common ingredient in plastics, is produced on such an enormous scale and is so widespread it is now found commonly in food, air, water and your blood. One of the most common sources of exposure to BPA is plastic food packaging, especially soft drink and food cans where it is used in the plastic lining (1).

To see if eating organic fresh food would drop BPA levels five families (20 people) switched from canned, plastic wrapped, conventional foods to fresh organic produce for 3 days (2). The fresh, organic food diet dropped their BPA levels by a remarkable 66%. Another toxic chemical used in plastics bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) was also reduced by  53-56%.

So, if you want to limit your exposure to environmental toxins, try a “notox” diet and eat fresh, organic foods. If budget is an issue, at least try and avoid the Environmental Working Groups Dirty Dozen, a list of fruit and vegetables with the highest levels of pesticides.

References:

1. Vandenberg LN, et al. Urinary, circulating, and tissue biomonitoring studies indicate widespread exposure to bisphenol A. Environ Health Perspect. 2010 Aug;118(8):1055-70.

2. Rudel RA, et al. 2011. Food Packaging and Bisphenol A and Bis(2-Ethylhexyl) Phthalate Exposure: Findings from a Dietary Intervention. Environ Health Perspect :-. doi:10.1289/ehp.1003170