"Organic" Milks Are Poorer In Minerals. Why?
Author: Karen Lennox
Time for reading: ~1
minutes
Last Updated:
August 08, 2022
Concentrations of zinc, iodine and selenium are significantly lower. How can this problem be compensated?
The concentration of nutrients in animal products is mainly associated with the diet of livestock.
Conventional methods of animal husbandry include sufficient minerals and mineral supplements, while organic farming relies solely on the quality of water and soil in the area where they are raised.
Spanish researchers from the University of Santiago conducted a study comparing the content of mineral and toxic elements in ordinary and organic milk. Their study concluded that they did not differ much in toxicity - toxic cadmium compounds were found in both types of milk, being well below the limit to pose a threat to health, but the levels of beneficial elements differed dramatically .
After comparing the milk of more than 30 local cow farms, the researchers found that the content of iodine, copper, selenium, zinc is almost twice lower. Experts comment that organic milks are not suitable for pregnant women and children due to their scarcity of minerals. The misconception that they are consuming a better product can lead to avoiding conventional milk , which is a major source of iodine , along with salt.
Iodine is necessary for good metabolism , its deficiency leads to the development of goiter and scurvy . Historically, these diseases were most common in places far from the seas and oceans, where fish was a delicacy.
This does not mean denying organic milk, because it also has its advantages over ordinary milk. The expert group suggests that its producers start adding ecologically clean algae to their livestock feed - an excellent source of iodine, which will improve the status of the organic product. So far there is no such practice among organic farms.