Frequently eating organic food

Researchers observed a significant reduction in overall risk of cancer JAMA Internal Medicine.

"Although organic foods are less likely to contain pesticide residues than conventional foods, few studies have examined the association of organic food with cancer risk," Julia Baudry, PhD, from the Center for Research on Epidemiology and Statistics Sorbonne Paris Cité, National Institute of Health and Medical Research, France, and colleagues wrote.

Baudry and colleagues conducted a population-based prospective cohort study to determine how an organic food-based diet affects cancer risk. The researchers enrolled 68,946 adult volunteers from France (78% women, mean age at baseline, 44.2 years).

Participants provided information on how often they consumed organic products, such as fruits, vegetables, soy-based products, dairy products, meat and fish, eggs, grains and vegetables, bread and cereals, flour, vegetable oils and condiments, coffee and tea, wine, and dietary supplements. The researchers measured the frequency of the participants' consumption of organic products as "never," "occasionally" or "most of the time."

Participants were allocated two points for answering the question and asked for an opportunity for an organic food score of up to 32 points. They were categorized into four quartiles based on the average organic food score. The first quartile had a mean score of 0.72, the second quartile had a mean score of 4.95, the third quartile had a mean score of 10.36 and the fourth quartile had a mean score of 19.36.

During follow-up, the identified researchers 1,340 first-incident cancer cases; of these, 34.3% were breast cancers, 13.4% were prostate cancers, 10.1% were skin cancers, 7.4% were colorectal cancers, 3.5% were non-Hodgkin lymphomas and 1.1% were other lymphomas.

With HR for quartile 4 vs. quartile 1 = 0.75, 95% CI, 0.63-0.88, absolute risk reduction = 0.6%, HR for a 5-point increase = 0.92, 95% CI, 0.88-0.96).

Postmenopausal breast cancer, non-Hodgkin lymphomas and all lymphomas.

There was no apparent association between both a high-quality diet and a high frequency of low-quality diet and low-cost diet.

Baudry and colleagues concluded, "Further prospective studies using a large number of individuals are necessary to confirm these results. "Although we are interested in confirming the development of the disease, we believe that it is possible to have a successful prevention strategy against cancer."

In an accompanying editorial, Elena C. Hemler, BS, The Chancellor of the School of Public Health, and colleagues wrote that the study by Baudry and colleagues pointed to the need for more research and validated tools to assess the cost of food and its association with cancer risk.

"Concerns over pesticide risks are not practical and are difficult to achieve. … current recommendations should continue to focus on modifiable risk factors that are backed by strong evidence and encourages healthy dietary patterns, including higher intake of fruits and vegetables, whether or not organic, "they wrote. – by Alaina Tedesco

Disclosures:
Baudry and Hemler report no relevant financial disclosures. Please see study and editorial for all other authors' relevant financial disclosures.