Organic food, bottled water unlikely to improve health, increase life span
Dear Dr. Roach: Does eating strictly organic food and drinking only bottled water help in a meaningful way to prevent diseases and contribute to a long and healthy life? — M.T.
A: There is no consistent high-quality evidence that consuming organic foods lead to improvement in health outcomes, including longer life. Some, but not all, studies have found slightly higher amounts of nutrients in organically grown produce. Organic foods are made without synthetic pesticides, but may use pesticides found in nature. There is not convincing evidence that natural pesticides are any safer, nor that the small amount of residual pesticides left in conventional produce leads to significant health risks. However, there is preliminary evidence that consumption of mostly organic food led to a decrease in the risk of one type of cancer, non-hodgkin’s lymphoma, but not an overall decrease in cancer. Based on current available evidence, I don’t recommend organic food consumption for health benefits.
The quality of tap water varies greatly across North America, but most locations have high-quality water available at extremely low cost with minimal environmental impact compared with bottled water. Even if tap water is unpalatable in a person’s location, I recommend a filter system rather than bottled water, again for environmental concerns as well as cost.
Dear Dr. Roach: All of the latest information states that an adult needs seven to nine hours of sleep a night. Is this “unbroken” sleep? For example, I sleep for four hours, wake up for one to two hours, and then sleep three to four more hours almost every night. If the sleep is to be continuous, is it better to take a sleeping aid or continue with the current pattern? Nothing I read indicates if sleeping seven to nine hours with a sleeping aid provides the same benefit as not sleeping continuously. — P.M.
A: While it is true that people who sleep seven to nine hours per night tend to live longer than those who sleep less (or more), it is likely that there are some people who need more or less sleep than the average. Further, it isn’t clear whether the apparent improvement in longevity is due to better sleeping, or whether people who don’t sleep well have an underlying medical condition that is really responsible for the harm seen. As far as whether continuous sleep is better than interrupted sleep, there isn’t good evidence to compare the two.
Most sleeping aids adversely affect sleep quality, and increase risk of falls and accidents the next day. If interrupted sleep is working for you, continue that versus using a sleeping pill.