Eating organic food can lower your risk of developing cancer according to a new study. The study published recently in JAMA Internal Medicine finds those who primarily ate organic foods were less likely than others in the study to be diagnosed with some cancers compared to those who rarely or never ate organic foods.
Sarah Cawley is a wife, mother, physician assistant and cancer survivor. “In my own research, lifestyle factors can play a role in this,” She was diagnosed with breast cancer shortly after having her second child.
She believes stress, lack of sleep, the food she ate may have all played a role in her cancer diagnosis. Cawley changed her lifestyle. She traded her stressful Emergency Room job for something less stressful and she started eating organic food. “Your entire lifestyle becomes a part of your long term lifestyle strategy and fight to stay alive,” said Crawley.
“We’ve known for several years organic food is better,” explained Cawley. Now this new study backs it up. The study looked at nearly 70,000 French adults. They were divided into three groups, those who always eat organic, those who sometimes eat organic and those who never eat organic.
“There was a reduction of some cancers in people who always ate organic food,” said Cleveland Clinic Oncologist Dr. Dale Shepard.
“Postmenopausal breast cancer and non-Hodgkin lymphoma were at a lower risk,” explained Shepard
According to the Organic Trade Association, sales of organic food was nearly 50 billion dollars in 2017. That’s up three billion from 2016.
Alison Groleau knows there is a demand for organic food. She opened Alison’s Superfoods Market in Strongsville almost two years ago. Groleau has already added space and extra hours to keep up with the demand. “There are more and more people becoming aware that eating organic improves the quality of life,” said Groleau.
Researchers suggested chemicals and pesticides used on traditionally farmed fruit and vegetables may be to blame which means eating organic food could help prevent it.
Because of the way the study was conducted, it is impossible to say that the organic foods people ate were the only reason why they had fewer cases of cancer according to researchers.
But experts said the results are significant enough to warrant more studies.
