TIME Health toxins Eating Organic Produce Exposes You to Fewer Pesticides, Study Says Getty Images It might seem obvious, but there hasnt been a great deal of science to prove ituntil now

The recent debate over organic food has focused largely on nutrition. But the central question of whether organic is better for you than food grown conventionally might have at least as much to do with pesticide exposure as nutrient value.

At least, thats been the theory held by many organic advocates. And while it might seem obvious that eating organic food is a good way to avoid eating pesticides, there hasnt been a great deal of science to prove ituntil now.

A new study, published today in Environmental Health Perspectives, is the first and largest of its kind and it takes us a step closer to understanding the health risks of pesticide exposure by making a clearer connection between the food eaten and the pesticides present in the bodies of people who eat it. Using dietary exposure data from nearly 4,500 people in six cities, the study looked at organophosphates (OPs), one of the most widely used type of insecticides in the United States.

For the past three decades, overall use of OPs has declined. But recent U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) data shows them to be among the top insecticides used on crops that include apples, peaches, and blueberries. According to the latest data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), more than 33 million pounds of OPs were used in the U.S. in 2007.

Treated crops include broccoli, cantaloupe, grapes, green beans, lettuce, nectarine, oranges, pears, spinach, strawberries, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, mangoes, and onions. So if youre eating conventionally grown produce grown in the U.S., its more than likely that youve eaten some that was treated with OPs. Washing and/or peeling will remove some residues but not necessarily all for all fruit and vegetables.

Organophosphates have been shown to be toxic to the nervous system in people who are exposed to them directly. Breathing OPs can cause immediate acute adverse effects (headaches, dizziness, weakness, nausea, difficulty breathing). Long-term exposure can cause a range of neurological effects including memory loss, anxiety, and depression. Prenatal and childhood exposure has been shown to harm developing brains and result in lowered IQ and other cognitive problems. These effects have been studied primarily in farmworkers and their families and others living in agricultural communities and elsewhere that OPs have been used.

Numerous studies have shown OP exposure among people living and working where these insecticides are applied. But the EPA has also shown that among the general U.S. population, the primary route of exposure is through food. In its biomonitoring surveys, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has found OPs in the urine of more than 75 percent of the U.S. population, indicating that exposure is indeed widespread.

What we dont yet know is whether adverse effects may be occurring in people exposed to OPs solely through food. The first step is to determine the connection between levels of OPs in the body and food actually eaten. Thats what Cynthia Curl set out to do.

Curl, an assistant professor in Boise State Universitys School of Allied Health Sciences and the lead author on this study, managed a research project while at the University of Washington known as the MESA air studythe Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis. The MESA study, which began in 1999, was designed to investigate cardiovascular disease in six major U.S. metropolitan areas. The data Curl and colleagues used was from part of that study that was conducted between 2010 and 2012 with nearly 4,500 participants. Participants were already completing dietary questionnaires at multiple time points, explains Curl. We added questions about organic food consumption.

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Eating Organic Produce Exposes You to Fewer Pesticides, Study Says