Is eating organic food worth it?

I have often wondered weather paying that bit more for organic food is worth it.  Sometimes I do and sometimes I don’t.  I normally buy organic eggs and meat but with vegatables I am really not very consistent.  I know with organic vegatables you get less pesticides but is it worth it.  I know in the past studies have shown that there was no benefit.

However recently researches in France tracked 68,946 adults and decided to compare cancer rates in people who eat organic food and those who didn’t.  They discovered that eating organic food

  • reduces your risk of cancer by 25%
  • reduces your risk of non-Hodgkins lymphoma by 73%
  • reduces your risk of post-menopausal breast cancer by 21%

Non-Hodgkins lymphoma is a cancer of the infection fighting white blood cells of our immune system.

They also discovered that those eating organic ready meals where also less likely to develop cancer thant those who rarely if ever choose organic.

While the evidence of the reduce risk of cancer is very clear, and some of the numbers are very high,  I did wonder if there were other lifestyle differences between those that eat organic food and those that didn’t which impacted the results.

Reference

Baudry J, Assmann KE, Touvier M, et al. Association of Frequency of Organic Food Consumption With Cancer Risk: Findings From the NutriNet-Santé Prospective Cohort Study. JAMA Intern Med. 2018;178(12):1597–1606.

Related Posts

  • The superfood that can combat metabolic syndrome

    Every few months a new super food seems to emerge into the public domain.  Avocado seems to have caught the british public's imagination as sales soar.  With Avocado the hype seems to be justified. The fruit slows down and even reverses metabolic syndrome, a cluster of conditions -

    • high blood pressure
    • high cholesterol
    • high blood pressure
    • high body mass index (i.e. overweight)
    Metabolic syndrome can lead to diabetes and heart disease. Avocado's bignest impact is on lipids, or fats, as it can alter levels of HDL and LDL cholesterol, trigylcerides and phospholipids. Researches who reviewed studies of Avocado say there is strong evidence that the fruit has all the ingredients to counter symtoms of metabolic syndrome.   It should be noted that the whole fruit that was studied including the peel, stone, flesh and leaves. Research J Tabeshpour, BM Razavi, H Husseingzadeh, 2017, Effects of Avacado (Persea americana) on Metabolic Syndrome: A comprehensive Systemic Review, Phytotherapy Research, Vol 31, Issue 6, pg 819-837  

  • Can you eliminate the risk of a “preemie” baby?

    The focus of all pregnant women is a happy, health, baby and that includes carrying the baby full term obviously if there is no risk to the mother's health. Women in the US and the rest of the developed world are typically low in DHA (omega-3), with levels well below those reported in countries like Japan where more fish is eaten.  Women with low levels of the nutrient are much more likely to give birth prematurely.  Until recently there was no effective method to prevent spontaneous early preterm birth. Analyses of two clinical trials -- one in the U.S. and the other in the Australia -- suggest that thousands of early preterm births -- those at or before 34 weeks' gestation -- could be prevented if pregnant women took daily omega-3 supplements.  Taking the supplement can reduce the risk to just 1.5%.  Researchers estimated that more than 106,000 high-risk early preterm births could be avoided in the U.S. and about 1,100 could be prevented in Australia each year if pregnant women took daily supplements of omega-3. Reference https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/10/161013130104.htm

  • The role of Vitamin D in common ailments

    Low levels of vitamin D in childhood have traditionally been linked to rickets, which thankfully is now very rare.  However, there is a growing body of evidence shows that low levels of vitamin D are linked to a huge variety of current common medical conditions. Cardiovascular disease Vitamin D is very important for reducing hypertension, atherosclerotic heart disease, heart attack and stroke. One study showed that vitamin D deficiency increased the risk of heart attack by 50 percent. (see >> https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2851242/) Autoimmune diseases Vitamin D is a potent immune modulator, making it very important for the prevention of autoimmune diseases.  Research has shown that MS is more common in countries further away from the equator (see>> http://www.bmj.com/company/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/JNNS-MS-lat.pdf).  In 2016 researches found that low levels of Vitamin D were common in people with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and is associated with higher morbidity and disease severity.  (see >> http://www.nature.com/ajg/journal/v111/n5/full/ajg201653a.html) Migraine Recent research also suggests vitamin D can play a role in migraines. Researchers at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center found that many who suffer from migraines have deficiencies in vitamin D, riboflavin (B2) and coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10).  (see >> http://www.medicaldaily.com/migraine-headaches-vitamin-d-riboflavin-coenzyme-q10-389272) Girls and women who suffered migraines were particularly prone to having CoQ10 deficiency, while boys and men were more likely to be deficient in vitamin D. Those with chronic migraines were more likely to have CoQ10 and riboflavin deficiencies, compared to those with episodic migraines. Neurological/psychological/mental disorders Vitamin D also plays a major role in neurotransmission, and vitamin D deficiency has been associated with a number of neurological and brain disorders, including cognitive dysfunction and Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, Parkinson's disease, stroke, epilepsy and depression. In one study, those who were most vitamin D deficient had a 31 percent increased relative risk of suffering neurocognitive decline. (see >> http://nervedoctor.info/research-reveals-which-chronic-illnesses-caused-by-vitamin-d-deficiency/)