People who eat organic food are 25 percent less likely to get cancer, according to experts who studied the diets of tens of thousands of volunteers.
Researchers suggested chemicals and pesticides used on traditionally farmed fruit and vegetables may be responsible for causing the disease – which means eating organic food could help to prevent it.
The researchers quizzed 68,946 French adults about their diets and then followed them for an average of five years, with 1,340 developing cancer during that time.
The quarter who ate the most organic food were 25 percent less likely to get cancer, compared to the quarter who ate the least organic food.
And the findings were reportedly the same, even when other factors – such as age, class, and existing health problems – were taken into account.
But scientists admitted the study did not prove a definitive link between a non-organic diet and cancer – pointing out that richer people tend to be healthier, and are the most likely to choose more expensive organic food.
And the people who ate organically in the study tended to have healthier diets overall, eating lots of fruit and vegetables and avoiding processed meats and junk food.
The study was published in the JAMA Internal Medicine journal, with the article concludes: “A higher frequency of organic food consumption was associated with a reduced risk of cancer; if the findings are confirmed, promoting organic food consumption in the general population could be a promising preventive strategy against cancer.”
