Practical Steps To Help You Have A More Complete Organic Approach To Gardening

Many Canberrans are avid gardeners. We especially love growing tomatoes. If you didn’t know this already, just look out for the number of tomato plants outside the IGA or your favourite garden shop every spring. If you’re not already doing so, I hope, that by the time you finish this article, you’ll also want to start growing tomatoes and other vegetables.

Photo by Julien Kettmann on Unsplash

I also hope some of the ideas in this article help you to control the pests that attack it in a way that makes it safe for all the animals in your garden as well as supports your efforts to be even better at keeping yourself and your family healthy.

This Gang-gang some of his friends let me feed them. They need our help in keeping their environment toxic free.

This male King-Parot is also very trusting. We are stuarts of the whole earth and especially our own back yards. What have you got living and visiting your garden?

My 2018 crop from a small vegetable garden of 6 m x 2 m had produced over 150 tomatoes and a daily supply of silverbeet for months. However, in the incredibly hot and dry summer of 2019, the year of catastrophic fires for Australia, there was very little food in our neighbourhood for the local possums. That meant I ended up with less than 15 tomatoes instead of 150, and almost no silverbeet. The possums must have seen my vegetable garden as an oasis that year. So I know how disheartening it can be to take care of a veggie garden, only to loose the crop.

I think experiences like this are the closest thing we 'city slickers' (as my cousin from the bush puts it), have to help us understand what it must be like to spend $100 000 dollars to sow a crop of wheat, only to loose it all due to a lack of rain! After growing up on a large farm near Wagga and working it for 30 years, my cousin bought a farm in Tasmania to get away from the unreliable rainfall on the Western slopes of New South Wales. I wanted to share a few ideas with you here about what I am doing to protect my veggie crop so you can have consistent bumper crops and not give up on your veggies like I nearly did.

Before I share what I'm doing about protecting my veggies from pests, I'd like to mention how important is to support your plans to be strong and healthy. This is because no matter how much we protect them there's going to be something out there eating them. If they grow faster than they are being eaten then we'll still end up with a crop. A great way to do this organically is to have a compost bin.

This is my current favourite composting bin currently about $60 at Bunnings. Black and sealed is great because it keeps it really warm in the sun and the worms love that. The lid means you're not also inadvertently breeding rats that feed on the scraps!

Compost is a really convenient way to get rid of your weeds, leaves, twigs, lawn clippings and kitchen waste. When you dig the compost into your garden it not only provides extra nutrients, but the organic matter helps water soak into the ground and stay there for the roots of your plants.

Cute, but making plans to invade your veggie patch tonight!

Cute possum at Lake G entertaining us in broad daylight.

At the time of writing, spring of 2021 has just arrived. After two years of almost complete vegetable crop failure, I had promised myself that I would not bother this year. However, the drive within me to grow some vegetables got the better of me. It’s something that I learned from my grandfather and my parents. As a result, I found myself preparing the veggie garden again this year. This time, I am determined not to be at war with possums and the rest of nature and instead, just get more prepared for the challenge. Watching the entertaining and informative movie called The Biggest Little Farm, inspired me to try harder to produce food while living with nature rather than against it. I’d like to share some of what I have learned about that with you here.

Growing vegetables can be incredibly rewarding. I find it meets many personal needs. One is my desire not to waste resources, and instead enhance the earth by putting leaves swept from our many paths directly onto part of the vegetable garden in winter. That keeps the soil very moist resulting in an incredible build-up of worms. Utilising vegetable waste from the kitchen to make compost also feels good and the veggies love it. Just before spring comes, I add the compost produced from the prior year and dig it into the entire garden. Picking up the soil one shovel load at a time, turning it over and tipping it back in feels satisfying because those leaves and twigs can provide not only more nutrients, but also help retain the moisture during our hot summer. The Biggest Little Farm film brilliantly demonstrates how taking care of the soil also enhances the amount of positive life forms in the soil which increases the productive capacity of that land.

Another personal need for me is getting exercise as well as maintaining strength and flexibility which gardening does. Feeling a sense of purpose and positive expectation is an important aspect of improving quality of life for all of us. Gardening provides that for me by providing extra tasty and super healthy food that I can share with family.

Sharing something you have made or grown can be especially rewarding

Further rewards from gardening: I have family, friends and patients that I trade vegetables with. When I have a bumper crop, I take some of it into my chiropractic practice and ask people to take some. Sometimes I have more of one type of vegetable, or it ripens sooner than another family member's. When that happens, I can then share it with them, and they will often be able share something else with me. That provides an extra level of positive interaction and connection with people. It’s always nice to arrive with a bottle of wine or a box of chocolates but if you haven’t already done so, imagine arriving with a bowl full of fresh potatoes, tomatoes, spinach or coriander?

I dug these potatoes up and took them to my friend’s house. They were some that I had missed after last year’s crop.

Gardening is also a chance to still the mind and get lost in quiet activity. Tenderly checking on the well-being of the vegetables and protecting them from the onslaught of so-called ‘pests’ while at the same time endeavouring to respect the pests by letting them know they are not welcome, can be rewarding.  When endeavouring to be an organic gardener, something to keep in mind is to make your tiny patch of the neighbourhood uninviting to pests rather than poisonous to them. One way to do this is to grow certain plants like rosemary and thyme deter snails and slugs?  You can even save eggshells, let them dry out for a week or so, then crush them up and spread them around your plants.  Did you know that if mosquitoes are a problem for you then you can reduce your use of toxins by growing lavender, basil, mint, and marigolds? (Warning: I have just managed to get rid of mint in my vegetable garden so I strongly suggest growing it in pots as it can quickly get out of control.)

Keep those pesky mosquitoes at bay with Marigolds and other beautiful plants in your garden.

Photo by Samantha Fortney on Unsplash

When we do have to kill pests such as snails etc there are ways to do it without torturing them or killing many other lifeforms that can be the collateral damage when we have a mindset of ‘war in the vegetable garden’. I have an aunt that is an avid gardener and I asked her what she does to control snails and slugs. She gave me a really effective, humane and non-toxic solution. It is to take a small container and put some beer in it. (Note: cheap beer works fine). Snails and slugs are crazy about beer. They’ll sniff it from a distance and slide right in, get drunk, become unconscious and die. 

The beer works a treat (literally) but I added one extra thing that reduces the evaporation of the beer so there’s more beer left for me!  Not only that, but it stops it getting diluted by the sprinkler system or rain. Take a plastic container such as a 4 L ice cream container, and cut a doorway into two sides, turn it upside down and put it over the smaller container with the beer.

The regular commitment to weeding, watering and protecting the vegetable garden is, for me, an extension of my caring efforts as a father to my children, the loving support I give to my 95-year-old mother and my partner, as well as the care I give my patients. These are all aspects of my life that bring joy and purpose to it.

My 95 year myself with my old mother in the garden.

As I hope you can see from my article titled ‘The Many Benefits of Eating Organic’, I can see the need for, and tremendous benefits of, gardening as organically as possible. While it appears at first to be easier and quicker to just buy poisons from the hardware store, I have decided to take the time to learn from other gardeners who have been able to successfully apply organic gardening principles. Even though I know the health benefits of eating organic I’ve been inspired by my daughter Larissa who is also an avid gardener. Two years ago, I helped her her set up her new garden. (Well, I moved some dirt for an hour or so.)

Larissa’s new raised bed veggie garden made from second hand materials last season. It is a great way to reduce the chances of straining your back while at the same time making it faster, easier and more comfortable to work in your with your garden.

This year for Father’s Day, Larissa gave me GMO FREE seeds from Eden Seeds. Many of the seeds we buy are not organically grown seeds and can even be genetically modified. I used to think “I doubt that genetically modified food will harm us?” But then Larissa wrote an essay on the topic at high school. When I read it I was shocked at the amount of good research that shows how it can harm our health. Keep an eye out for an article on that topic that I plan on writing soon.”

The card that came with this year’s Father’s Day gift.

I feel blessed to have had time with my grandfather at a very young age. Before the following picture was taken of myself with grandpa, I can remember his magnificent vegetable garden in the backyard of his home in Wagga, rural New South Wales. He had been a farmer all his life but when he retired, he focussed his passion on his garden.

A picture of Grandpa Roy teaching me the joy of gardening. It looks like I had to dress up for gardening back in those days. Maybe that's why I hardly ever wear a tie these days.

That picture was taken in our front yard in Cheltenham, Sydney. The year prior, I remember working hard at helping my father dig out the weeds from that area and improve the soil and building a compost bin. The fact that I can remember being extremely useful very likely has more to do with my father's generous encouragement and appreciation then it does the actual work done! Dad always managed to make me feel that way.

Last week I became frustrated when I discovered my young silverbeet were being eaten; and not by humans. I consulted my daughter for ideas, and she thought it might be the work of little black caterpillars that she has seen come out in the evening at her place. She suggested cutting the bottom of large plastic pots, turning them upside down, then push a little soil around the bottom outer edge. She found that approach can be a simple, low-cost and poison free solution to that common problem. I did that, however, early today I looked out the window and saw that my pots had been turned over. I went straight out to investigate and, with an incredible application of intelligence, concluded that little black caterpillars would not be able to tun there pots over. So I thought “Ah Ha, those pesky possums are behind this!”

Damaged silverbeet seen after possums pushed them over to eat them. Also, note the modified pot solution for caterpillars.

I decided to leave the modified pots in place until the plants get stronger and bigger and could keep up with the occasional caterpillar or snail, but knew I needed something to deter the possums. Before I tell you about that, I have an admission to make. My first thought was to revert to poison spray. I knew I had some kind of Beyer concoction in the garage but decided not to use it and instead looked for the Pyrethrum. The toxin is supposedly not harmful to put on the vegetables and in my experience that's probably true given it stops working to deter the pests after about three days.

Here's what the Bunnings website has to say about it. "Pyrethrum daisy is best known for its natural insecticidal properties. Pyrethrins extracted from its dried flowers and seeds are effective in deterring and controlling sap-sucking insects like aphids, thrips, leafhoppers, harlequin bugs, white fly and caterpillars. Pyrethrum sprays can be safely used on edible plants. including vegetables and herbs.

Tasmania is the world's leading supplier of commercial pyrethrum. In spring and early summer broad acres of the countryside turn white when the plants are in bloom."

I wanted top see if there was anything else to back up my effort to protect the spinach because I didn't want to make the possums sick. Therefore, I turned to the internet and found one gardener’s experience using crushed garlic and water to spray onto the plants. I’m still testing that so please feel free to send me an email if you want to know how that went.

Garlic water is said to chase the possums away.

Another precaution I’m going to take this year is to put a fence around the entire garden. In fact, it was only after promising myself that I would put up a fence that I decided I would have a vegetable garden this year. Please don’t be discouraged though, I might have a few more possums than you since my Dad, who died nearly 18 years ago, built a possum house in our garden. There’s no way mum is going to let me take that down.  I found a video by two experienced gardeners talking about how to deal with our possum friends. I learned several new things from this Gardening Australia video about the topic but most importantly, I found out that even a reasonably low chicken wire fence (I’m going to play it safe and make mine 90 cm), can be very effective at keeping the possums out.  The supplies seen in the picture below cost me $190. That’s a lot of veggies I must grow to get that money back, but I purchased some nice thick Aussie hardwood posts and the whole thing should last at least 10 years.

The possum box Dad built

One of the culprits seen in the box!

Getting ready to construct night security measures.

My plan is to report back here in a few months with a picture of a flourishing vegetable garden. If the possums and caterpillars beat me this time, I’ve got some more ideas up my sleeve for next year. Rather than quit, I’m determined to make this sustainable and get this right, just like the team of dedicated farmers and volunteers in the film I mentioned above called The Biggest Little Farm.

Dr. Jason Barritt
chiropractor

Please feel free to contact me here: vitality@bodymindec.com.au

Antioxidants: an antidote for ageing

Free radicals speed up the ageing process and can have a negative affect our health. Antioxidants are the body’s primary defense against this destructive force. The following quote is from Dr. Lester Packer, the “Father of Antioxidants”. Watch the video to see several scientists explain how a new scanner works to measure your antioxidant score and why this test may be able help you change the way you age.

“Don’t underestimate the threat free radicals pose to our health. Scientists now believe that free radicals are causal factors in nearly every known disease, from heart disease to arthritis to cancer to cataracts. In fact, free radicals are a major culprit in the ageing process itself. By controlling free radicals, antioxidants can make the difference between life and death, as well as influence how fast and how well we age.”

~ Dr Lester Packer, Head of Packer Laboratory, Dept of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California at Berkeley

We have all wondered if we will age well and live a long and healthy life. Now we have the chance to find out. Below is a 5-minute video on the importance of antioxidants in the body, and explains the science behind a test that can be completed by a 'Bio-Photonic Scanner'. The Bio-Photonic Scanner is the result of over $20 million of research and development.

“Our understanding of antioxidants and their effect on overall health has dramatically increased through the use of the Pharmanex BioPhotonic Scanner. Since its inception in 2003, millions of people have been empowered to make better life choices through the personalized feedback they receive from the scanner.”

— Joe Chang, Ph.D. Chief Scientific Officer & Executive Vice President – Pharmanex

Antidote: a medicine used to counteract a particular poison

The level of anti-oxidants in your body is linked to health and longevity. The Nu Skin representative who use to test antioxidant levels at our clinic using the Bio-Photonic Scanner is no longer doing that. However, I've left that video above because it contains valuable information about the importance of supplementing our diet with antioxidants. Currently, I do this by consuming lots of lightly steamed green leafy vegetables as well as organic berries.

Dr. Jason Barritt (chiropractor)
[Article feature picture by Katherine Chase]

The many benefits of eating organic

Organic food consumption shows an increasing popularity worldwide.  In the Asia-Pacific region, the Australian organic market even outperforms other countries.  According to a 2014 report of Australian Organic,  “the organic industry was found to be worth $1.72 billion and is growing by 15% each year…The demand is also found to be outstripping supply by up to 40%” [1].  Organic product exportation was also made possible since “Australia still has the largest area of organic land in the world." [1]

In 2014 alone, 69% of Australian food shoppers reported to buying at least one organic product in the past year [1]. In addition, Oates, et al. also reported that majority of Australians consume at least 65% organic food in their diet [2].  Organic fruits and vegetables remain the most purchased organic product in both 2012 and 2014 [1,2].

However, it is quite difficult to distinguish “true” versus “fake” organic products by just inspecting them. In fact, most Australians (64%) believe that the product is organic if the word “organic” is written on the label [1].  Bruno, et al. of the Australian Organic thus concluded that “these results suggest many consumers do not understand the importance of organic certification labelling, and often rely on unsubstantiated marketing claims. False marketing claims are common in the hair care and beauty industry in Australia and it’s an issue Australian Organic continues to raise with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.” [1]

Nonetheless, there has been an increasing awareness of the 'organic certification mark' by the consumers. For example, an increase of 31% in 2012 to 38% in 2014 of consumers recognise the logo of the Australian Certified Organic [1], making it the most recognised organic certification mark among Australians. This is followed by NASAA and USDA Organic.

The Australian Certified Organic has been known to have the strictest standards in Australia. This certifier further claims that the “high quality of the Australian Certified Organic Standard has earned equivalence with a number of international organic standards, including the European Union, for livestock and wine export, whereas Australia’s national organic standard hasn’t been able to achieve this. Aside from pesticides and weed killers, Australian Certified Organic also prohibits the use of genetic modification or GMOs." [3] To know more about their guidelines, you may download their standards here. Some of the well-known Australian farms/producers certified by Australian Certified Organic includes:

• Tamburlaine (NSW) -- organic wines [4]

• The Organic Farm Gate (QLD)—organic fruits and vegetables [5]

• Inglewood (QLD)—organic chicken [6]

What are the harmful effects of non-organic products?

Chemicals and pesticides

As compared to organic products, conventional products use pesticides and other chemicals to protect their crops or livestock. Studies consistently show that pesticide residues are substantially lower in organic food products [7] as also evident by lower dialkylphosphate (DAP) metabolites in the body [8,9]. The DAP is considered as a biomarker for exposure to organophosphate pesticides. In addition, one study also showed that a higher concentration of cadmium, a toxic metal, was found in conventional products [10].  Some of the harmful effects of pesticides to consumers are summarised below:

1. Glyphosate (Trade name: Roundup): most widely used herbicide especially for GM food

Mostly found in: GM corn, soy, canola, cotton, alfalfa, sugar beets, wheat/flour

Dr. Sneff of MIT presented a video at the Mind International Conference held at Sydney last 2015 showing the possible link between glyphosate found in corn and soy and the occurrence of autism [11]. A new case study was also published wherein 2 out of 3 triplets with elevated glyphosate levels, were found to have autism [12].

2. Pesticide residues: most common residue are endosulfans

Maximum limit set by the Australian government can be found here.

Studies show that dietary exposure to pesticide residues may cause the following:

• Cancer [13,14]

• Blood disorders [15]

• Abnormal birth weight [16]

• Poor semen quality [17]

Harmful effects of GMO

Due to food insecurity worldwide, scientists initiated the genetic modification of plants and materials to address this concern. However, critics are now pointing out at the harmful effects of GMOs among consumers. Some short-term and long-term undesirable health concerns include allergies, synthesis of toxic components and even resistance to antibiotics [18]. Due to the controversies involved pertaining to health, more studies are required to determine the potential detrimental effect of GMO to health.

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria

Aside from the use of pesticides, antibiotics which are given to livestock or incorporated in poultry feeds have caused some health concerns. This is largely due to the increasing incidence of antibiotic resistance, making it more difficult to treat human infections. In a study done by researchers from Stanford University, it was noted that the risk of isolating bacteria resistant to 3 or more antibiotics was higher in conventional than organic chicken and poultry by 33% [19]. Similar results were obtained by another study in 2015 that shows antibiotic-resistant enterococci, a common cause of UTI and gastrointestinal disease, was higher in conventional chickens [20].

What are the benefits of eating organic food?

Majority of Australian shoppers reported that they buy organic food products because it is free from chemicals, additives and is environmentally friendly [1]. Aside from the fact that it is free from harmful toxic products such as chemicals, several studies have already provided evidence of the beneficial effect of eating organic food in improving overall health by lowering the risk of cancer, diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease and skin disease [21,22,23,24]. In addition, pregnant women who often consume organic vegetables have 20% lower risk of pre-eclampsia and prevent hypospadias [25,26]. Some of these beneficial effects may be due to the following:

High antioxidant levels

Compared with conventional produce, organic products are richer in polyphenols, especially flavonoids, which are known for each antioxidant activity [10]. In fact, organic fruits and vegetables have “greater antioxidant activity, are more potent suppressors of the mutagenic action of toxic compounds, and inhibit the proliferation of certain cancer cell lines” [27]. One example is beetroot and a stronger anticancer activity was found in organic fermented juice compared to conventional ones [28].

Rich in Vitamins and Minerals

Vitamins and minerals are important in preventing various diseases. According to Crinnion, an Environmental Medicine professor, “organic varieties do provide significantly greater levels of vitamin C, iron, magnesium, and phosphorus than non-organic varieties of the same foods” [27].

Other benefits

A current meta-analysis also revealed that organic dairy products contain “significantly higher protein, ALA, total omega-3 fatty acid, cis-9,trans-11 conjugated linoleic acid, trans-11 vaccenic acid, eicosapentaenoic acid, and docosapentaenoic acid than those of conventional types” [29].  Similarly, organic meats were found to have a higher level of good fats (PUFA and omega-3) [30].

Recommended organic food products

Based on the amount of pesticide residue, the Environmental Working Group produces a list known as the “Dirty Dozen” every year depending on the results of the tests done by the USDA [31]. If you only have the time and energy to change a few foods to organic, then I recommend focusing on switching the following food products:

1.     Strawberries

2.     Spinach

3.     Nectarines

4.     Apples

5.     Peaches

6.     Pears

7.     Cherries

8.     Grapes

9.     Celery

10.  Tomatoes

11.  Sweet bell peppers

12.  Potatoes

Note: only the 2017 top 12 food products were shown. For a more comprehensive list, click here. 

By:

Dr. Jason Barritt,
chiropractor

References

1. Bruno Mascitelli A, Antonio Lobo A, Hong Thi Phan D, et al. Australian Organic Market report 2014. 2014. http://austorganic.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/AO_Report_2014_web.pdf. Accessed December 7, 2017.

2. Oates L, Cohen M, Braun L. Characteristics and consumption patterns of Australian organic consumers. J Sci Food Agric. 2012;92(14):2782-2787. doi:10.1002/jsfa.5664.

3. Australian Organic. Australian Certified Organic Standard. http://austorganic.com/consumers/australian-certified-organic-standard2/. Published 2017. Accessed December 7, 2017.

4. Hunter Valley Wineries. TAMBURLAINE ORGANIC WINES. http://www.huntervalleyonline.com.au/tamburlaine. Published 2017. Accessed December 7, 2017.

5. The Organic Farm Gate. Who We Are. http://www.theorganicfarmgate.com.au/who-we-are/. Accessed December 7, 2017.

6. Inglewood Farms. The 6 Reasons. http://www.inglewoodfarms.com/about-us/why-inglewood-farms/. Accessed December 7, 2017.

7. Załęcka A, Bügel S, Paoletti F, et al. The influence of organic production on food quality - research findings, gaps and future challenges. J Sci Food Agric. 2014;94(13):2600-2604. doi:10.1002/jsfa.6578.

8. Curl CL, Beresford SAA, Fenske RA, et al. Estimating Pesticide Exposure from Dietary Intake and Organic Food Choices: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA). Environ Health Perspect. 2015;123(5):475-483. doi:10.1289/ehp.1408197.

9. Oates L, Cohen M, Braun L, Schembri A, Taskova R. Reduction in urinary organophosphate pesticide metabolites in adults after a week-long organic diet. Environ Res. 2014;132:105-111. doi:10.1016/j.envres.2014.03.021.

10. Barański M, Średnicka-Tober D, Volakakis N, et al. Higher antioxidant and lower cadmium concentrations and lower incidence of pesticide residues in organically grown crops: a systematic literature review and meta-analyses. Br J Nutr. 2014;112(5):794-811. doi:10.1017/S0007114514001366.

11. Pietryka J, O ’hara N, Kartzinel J, Tran J. MINDD 2015 Conference Review Day 1—Gastroenterology in ASD. In: ; 2015. http://www.allnaturaladvantage.com.au/home/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/MINDD-2015-Review.pdf. Accessed December 7, 2017.

12. Shaw W. Elevated Urinary Glyphosate and Clostridia Metabolites With Altered Dopamine Metabolism in Triplets With Autistic Spectrum Disorder or Suspected Seizure Disorder: A Case Study. Integr Med (Encinitas). 2017;16(1):50-57. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28223908. Accessed December 7, 2017.

13. Mathur V, John PJ, Soni I, Bhatnagar P. Blood Levels of Organochlorine Pesticide Residues and Risk of Reproductive Tract Cancer Among Women from Jaipur, India. In: Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology. Vol 617. ; 2008:387-394. doi:10.1007/978-0-387-69080-3_37.

14. Keikotlhaile BM, Spanoghe P, Steurbaut W. Risk assessment of oncogenic potency of pesticide residues in fruits and vegetables. Commun Agric Appl Biol Sci. 2011;76(4):853-861. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22702202. Accessed December 7, 2017.

15. Demur C, Métais B, Canlet C, et al. Dietary exposure to a low dose of pesticides alone or as a mixture: The biological metabolic fingerprint and impact on hematopoiesis. Toxicology. 2013;308:74-87. doi:10.1016/j.tox.2013.03.004.

16. Monteagudo C, Mariscal-Arcas M, Heras-Gonzalez L, Ibañez-Peinado D, Rivas A, Olea-Serrano F. Effects of maternal diet and environmental exposure to organochlorine pesticides on newborn weight in Southern Spain. Chemosphere. 2016;156:135-142. doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2016.04.103.

17. Chiu YH, Afeiche MC, Gaskins AJ, et al. Fruit and vegetable intake and their pesticide residues in relation to semen quality among men from a fertility clinic. Hum Reprod. 2015;30(6):1342-1351. doi:10.1093/humrep/dev064.

18. Kramkowska M, Grzelak T, Czyżewska K. Benefits and risks associated with genetically modified food products. Ann Agric Environ Med. 2013;20(3):413-419. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24069841. Accessed December 5, 2017.

19. Smith-Spangler C, Brandeau ML, Hunter GE, et al. Are Organic Foods Safer or Healthier Than Conventional Alternatives? Ann Intern Med. 2012;157(5):348. doi:10.7326/0003-4819-157-5-201209040-00007.

20. KILONZO-NTHENGE A, BROWN A, NAHASHON SN, LONG D. Occurrence and Antimicrobial Resistance of Enterococci Isolated from Organic and Conventional Retail Chicken. J Food Prot. 2015;78(4):760-766. doi:10.4315/0362-028X.JFP-14-322.

21. Bradbury KE, Balkwill A, Spencer EA, et al. Organic food consumption and the incidence of cancer in a large prospective study of women in the United Kingdom. Br J Cancer. 2014;110(9):2321-2326. doi:10.1038/bjc.2014.148.

22. Baudry J, Méjean C, Péneau S, et al. Health and dietary traits of organic food consumers: results from the NutriNet-Santé study. Br J Nutr. 2015;114(12):2064-2073. doi:10.1017/S0007114515003761.

23. van de Vijver LP, van Vliet ME. Health effects of an organic diet-consumer experiences in the Netherlands. J Sci Food Agric. 2012;92(14):2923-2927. doi:10.1002/jsfa.5614.

24. Kummeling I, Thijs C, Huber M, et al. Consumption of organic foods and risk of atopic disease during the first 2 years of life in the Netherlands. Br J Nutr. 2008;99(3):598-605. doi:10.1017/S0007114507815844.

25. Torjusen H, Brantsæter AL, Haugen M, et al. Reduced risk of pre-eclampsia with organic vegetable consumption: results from the prospective Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study. BMJ Open. 2014;4(9):e006143. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2014-006143.

26. Brantsæter AL, Torjusen H, Meltzer HM, et al. Organic Food Consumption during Pregnancy and Hypospadias and Cryptorchidism at Birth: The Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (MoBa). Environ Health Perspect. 2015;124(3):357-364. doi:10.1289/ehp.1409518.

27. Crinnion WJ. Organic foods contain higher levels of certain nutrients, lower levels of pesticides, and may provide health benefits for the consumer. Altern Med Rev. 2010;15(1):4-12. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20359265. Accessed December 5, 2017.

28. Kazimierczak R, Hallmann E, Lipowski J, et al. Beetroot ( Beta vulgaris L.) and naturally fermented beetroot juices from organic and conventional production: metabolomics, antioxidant levels and anticancer activity. J Sci Food Agric. 2014;94(13):2618-2629. doi:10.1002/jsfa.6722.

29. Palupi E, Jayanegara A, Ploeger A, Kahl J. Comparison of nutritional quality between conventional and organic dairy products: a meta-analysis. J Sci Food Agric. 2012;92(14):2774-2781. doi:10.1002/jsfa.5639.

30. Średnicka-Tober D, Barański M, Seal C, et al. Composition differences between organic and conventional meat: a systematic literature review and meta-analysis. Br J Nutr. 2016;115(6):994-1011. doi:10.1017/S0007114515005073.

31. Environmental Working Group. Full List | EWG’s 2017 Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce. https://www.ewg.org/foodnews/list.php#.WiitEVWWbIU. Published 2017. Accessed December 7, 2017.

Plastic and its Potential Risks to Our Health

Your Greatest Health, Is Your Wealth. (c) June 2022, Jason Barritt. All rights reserved.

As we become more aware of the devastating environmental impact of plastic pollution in our waterways and oceans, we are also becoming more conscious of the health risks related to our use of plastic products. There are many initiatives of late urging us to stop using plastic, however, due to its low cost and convenience, we can often find ourselves lacking motivation to make changes. In order to spur some willingness to reduce plastic from our everyday use, let’s put aside the environmental impact and instead look inwards, to our own bodies and internal environment, and ask this question: In what ways can plastic harm us?

One of the building blocks of polycarbonate plastics, which make up our baby bottles, water bottles, food containers, office water bottle dispensers and so on, is a compound known as Bisphenol A (known commonly as BPA). When noting the very regular day-to-day uses of plastic, it would be easy to assume that the products were made to be non-toxic and very safe. However, our reading of research resulted in a resounding “no” to that assumption.

BPA is a highly harmful chemical which, we believe, should not be allowed to touch our food let alone store our food or have our food/beverage served up to us in.

How long do you think the plastic water bottles sit in store for before you purchase them? Once you purchase them, how long are they sitting in your car, or your house before you finish them? BPA is not just released with the heat, it still has potentially serious risks at room temperature. A study has found that BPA concentration in water increases with time even at room temperature (Le, M., Chua, & Belcher, 2008). Solution: fill up your own glass or stainless-steel drink bottle and take it with you.

Plastic toxicity release is worse still, when plastic with BPA is heated. This process is called “polymer hydrolysis”, which forms excess BPA in the containers [1]. This can increase the rate of toxic leakage into our food or water by 100 times at just 21°C (70° Fahrenheit). Since water boils at 100°C, it is easy to see that serving hot food in plastic, let alone cooking in plastic, is a big mistake if you are actively seeking to protect your health. With this knowledge, it is evident that there is a risk in purchasing and consuming our takeaway food in plastic – just about all of us have done that! Further, Polymer hydrolysis is why we should never cook our food using plastic in a microwave or even serve it up in plastic.

Recently, I have been doing my best to choose the healthy options. Rather than go for the greasy meat at a local Canberra Turkish restaurant, I chose the cooked green beans instead. They asked if I wanted the beans heated to which I said, “Yes, please.” However, when I saw they were putting the beans in a plastic container and then into the microwave I asked to take my beans away cold!

Have you ever wondered how your otherwise super healthy friend or loved one suddenly contracted a serious health condition? Exposure to plastic might have played a roll. BPA has been linked with a number of adverse health effects. For example, an increased level of BPA in the human body has been correlated with an increased incidence of breast cancer [3].

Research also says that BPA increases obesity, sterility, incidences of miscarriages, and polycystic ovarian syndrome in women [3]. Other problems, affecting both males and females include abnormal vertebrae development and increased negative effects on the thyroid gland [3].

BPA not only affects humans, but also animals. Plastic containers thrown in trash may end up being eaten by unsuspecting animals or we may feed our family pet in a plastic bowl. That is especially risky for our pet if we let the bowl sit in the sun. BPA has been found to increase hyperactivity, increase aggressiveness, increase embryo mortality, decrease maternal behaviour amongst many other conditions [3].

Another component of plastic which is harmful is Di-ethylhexyl phthalate (known as DEHP). It is used in medical devices such as blood transfusion tubes, in children’s toys, and other household items. An increased level of DEHP in human systems has been linked with an increase in reproductive problems, testicular cancer, and a range of hormonal effects [3]. Liver cancer has also been observed in rodents with a high level of DEHP in their systems [3].

We can see now how harmful the plastics we use in our everyday life really are. Hence, plastics have been given an identification code to help us understand the risks of what type of plastic we are using and for what purpose. BPA is just one of the many harmful components of plastic. There are a few other chemicals, and even processing additives (such as lubricating agents) present in plastic which make plastic harmful even if doesn’t contain BPA (McDonald, 2008).

BPA containing plastics come under the plastic number 7 (which stands for “Other”). However, number 7 plastics now include non-BPA bottles using polymer polyactide (PLA) which is made from corn-based starch [4]. This type of plastic is said to be safer as it doesn’t contain BPA, but there is some controversy about there being other harmful chemicals in it. Unfortunately, using the code system does not always help to choose a safer container since both BLA and PLA are both code 7 plastics. We will try to clarify this issue in our next article as well as check out the latest research into PLA to see how much safer it is.

After all the reading I have done on this topic, my personal conclusion is that there is no totally safe plastic currently available. However, some are definitely better than others so it is important to look at the identification number on the plastic container. My response to the eight hours I spent reading the scientific literature in order to write this article has been to toss out my plastic egg flip and spoon. I replaced them for a wooden spoon, ladle and stainless steel egg flip. To do that, I also bought a ceramic frypan instead of Teflon. A high quality frypan is not easily damaged by the stainless steel egg flip. I also gathered up all my plastic water bottles and food containers and tossed them into the recycling bin and replaced them with glass and stainless steel which cost me around $150. The cost of that is truely tiny compared to the potential cost of compromising your long term health.

Our goal, through this series of blogs, is to try and simplify this complex, and potentially dangerous, issue in order to help you make more informed decisions that could reduce the risks to you and your family.

By:

Dr. Jason Barritt,
B.Sc. (Hons) DC (Chiropractor) & Reetika Vadgaonkar, B.Sc Physics

References:

[1] T. P. M. T. H. B. H. C. H. J. E. Biles, "Determination of Bisphenol-A in Reusable Polycarbonate," Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, vol. 45, no. 9, pp. 3541-3544, 1997.

[2] H. H. Le, C. E. M., J. P. Chua and S. M. Belcher, "Bisphenol A is released from polycarbonate drinking bottles and mimics the neurotoxic actions of estrogen in developing cerebellar neurons.," Toxicology Letters, vol. 176, no. 2, pp. 149-156, 2008.

[3] R. U. Halden, "Plastics and health risks," Annual review of public health, vol. 31, pp. 179-194, 2010.

[4] S. R. A. S. P. S. R. N. Madival, "Assessment of the environmental profile of PLA, PET and PS clamshell containers using LCA methodology," Journal of Cleaner Production, vol. 17, no. 13, pp. 1183-1194, 2009.

[5] G. R. A. L. H. S. M. D. H. Y. G. B. B. R. M. W. J. W. M. A. J. D. E. E. A. H. McDonald, "Bioactive contaminants leach from disposable laboratory plasticware," Science, vol. 322, no. 5903, pp. 917-917, 2008.