Teagasc Food Research Centre Study: Organic Onions Boast More Antioxidants

The question of whether organic food is any more nutritious than conventional has been a long-running and heated debate. One of the latest developments in this ongoing debate, however, suggests it is. Researchers in Ireland have found in an experiment that onions grown organically contained higher antioxidant levels than their non-organic counterparts. It’s a relatively narrow finding, but significant because of the duration of the study, which is said to be the longest-running focused on the organic vs. conventional question.

For the study, published recently in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, the research team grew two onion varieties—“Red Baron” and “Hyskin”—in a variety of conditions between 2009 and 2014. They analyzed levels of antioxidants and other compounds associated with various health benefits, and found higher antioxidant levels in both types of onions when grown using organic practices. The organic onions also had up to 20 percent higher flavonol content than the conventional crop. The researchers attributed the differences mainly to different soil management practices.

“To me, this is the most interesting result from our study. It shows that how we treat the soil can affect the soil microbiome, and how in turn that can affect the food we eat and human health,” said study author Kim Reilly. 

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