Monday Feb 29, 2016 (foodconsumer.org) -- Organic milk has a much better nutritional profile than conventional milk, according to a new analysis published recently in British Journal of Nutrition.

The study based on data from 170 published studies found that:

Compared to conventional milk, organic milk has higher concentrations of total polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) (7% higher), omega -3 (n-3) PUFA (56% higher), α-linolenic acid (ALA) (69% higher), very long-chain n-3 fatty acids (EPA+DPA+DHA) (57% higher) and conjugated linoleic acid (41% higher).

Compared to conventional milk, organic milk also has lower ratios of n-6 to n-3 and LA to ALA (71% and 93% lower, respectively), and significantly higher concentrations of α-tocopherol and Fe.

The study concluded "organic bovine milk has a more desirable fatty acid composition than conventional milk." (David Liu)

Dominika ?rednicka-Tobera, Marcin Bara?skia, Chris J. Seala, Roy Sanderson, Charles Benbrook, Håvard Steinshamn, Joanna Gromadzka-Ostrowska, Ewa Rembia?kowska, Krystyna Skwar?o-Son?ta, Mick Eyre, Giulio Cozzi, Mette Krogh Larsen, Teresa Jordon, Urs Niggli, Tomasz Sakowski, Philip C. Calder, Graham C. Burdge, Smaragda Sotiraki, Alexandros Stefanakisa14, Sokratis Stergiadis, Halil Yolcu, Eleni Chatzidimitriou, Gillian Butler, Gavin Stewart and Carlo Leifert, Higher PUFA and n-3 PUFA, conjugated linoleic acid, α-tocopherol and iron, but lower iodine and selenium concentrations in organic milk: a systematic literature review and meta- and redundancy analyses, British Journal of Nutrition / Volume 115 / Issue 06 / March 2016, pp 1043-1060