Ria Chhabra
A recently published article has provided tantalizing clues on the benefits of eating organic food. The study compared fruit flies grown on organic banana, raisins, soybeans, and potato versus those fed on conventional produce. Flies raised on diets made from organically grown produce had greater fertility and longevity. In addition certain organic foods provided greater activity and resistance to stress when compared with conventional produce. This is one of the first studies to clearly demonstrate that organic food provides direct health benefits.
There have been previous studies that have shown that organic foods have increased amounts of vitamins, carotenoids, unsaturated fatty acids, and polyphenols. However the corresponding health benefits of consuming organic food have till now not been clearly established. This study now does that. It clearly demonstrates the benefit of eating organic food.
While the results of this study are remarkable and path breaking, what is even more remarkable is that this study is the brainchild of 13-year-old Ria Chhabra! One day when Ria found her parents arguing about the benefits of organic food, she decided to conduct an experiment to settle the issue. For her middle school science project she evaluated the content of Vitamin C in organic produce and found organic performed much better than conventional produce. Encouraged, she decided to take this a step further. She wanted to clearly establish the impact of organic food on overall health. She began researching on the Internet. She determined that studying the impact of organic food on fruit flies would suit her purpose. She then e-mailed several professors who maintained fruit fly laboratories. She hit pay dirt when Dr. Johannes Bauer of Southern Methodist University in Dallas responded positively.
Under normal circumstances Dr. Bauer would not agree to work with middle-school students, but he was impressed by Ria’s approach. According to him, “She performed at senior college level, or graduate level.”
Ria worked through the summer and submitted her research to local science competitions where it won top honors. Dr. Bauer then convinced Ria to pursue publishing the paper in a peer reviewed scientific journal. (Dr. Bauer and a S.M.U. research associate are listed as co-authors on the research). When the paper got accepted for publication Ria had no idea what it meant, but her mom explained that, “it was a big deal.”
Ria now 16, continues to work with Dr. Bauer. She is now building an experiment to study Type II diabetes in fruit flies. Once this is established she plans to carry the work forward to study the effects of alternative remedies such as cinnamon and turmeric on diabetes in fruit flies. We can expect more groundbreaking results from her and Dr. Bauer. In the meantime she says that the debate for buying organic has been settled in her house. “We buy all our produce organic,” she says.
Related:
Do One Thing
Dirty Dozen And Clean Fifteen
Credits: This article is based on a NY Times Article. You can find the original research paper here.