Is It Worth Buying Organic Food? Organic food, grown without artificial chemicals, is increasingly popular nowadays. Consumers have been willing to pay up to twice as much for goods with organic labels  . However, if you think paying a little more for organic food gets you a more nutritious and safer product, you might want to save your money. A study led by researchers at Stanford University says that organic products aren't necessarily more nutritious, and they're no less likely to suffer from disease-causing bacteria, either. The latest results, published in the Annuals of Internal Medicine, suggest that buyers may be wasting their money. "We did not find strong evidence that organic food is more nutritious or healthier," says Dr. Crystal Smith-Spangler from Stanford. "So consumers shouldn't assume that one type of food has a lower risk or is safer." For their new study, Smith-Spangler and her colleagues conducted a review of two categories of research, including 17 studies that compared health outcomes between consumers of organic against traditional food products, and 223 studies that analyzed the nutritional content of the foods, including key vitamins, minerals and fats. While the researchers found little difference in nutritional content, they did find that organic fruit and vegetables were 20% less likely to have chemicals remaining on the surfaces. Neither organic nor traditional foods showed levels of chemicals high enough to go beyond food safety standards. And both organic and traditional meats, such as chicken and pork, were equally likely to be harmed by bacteria at very low rates. The researchers did find that organic milk and chicken contained higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids, a healthy fat also found in fish that can reduce the risk of heart disease. However, these nutritional differences were too small, and the researchers were unwilling to make much of them until further studies confirm the trends. Organic food is produced with fewer chemicals and more natural-growing practices, but that doesn't always translate into a more nutritious or healthier product. The U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) states that "whether you buy organic or not, finding the freshest foods available may have the biggest effect on taste." Fresh food is at least as good as anything marketed as organic. Smith-Spangler and her colleagues found that   _  .
organic food could reduce the risk of heart disease traditional food was grown with more natural methods both organic and traditional food they examined were safe there was not a presence of any forms of bacteria in organic food