The study found that while there is a an overall risk reduction of 25 percent for all cancers, the reduced risk was greater for two specific types of cancer. Lymphoma was reduced by 76 percent and postmenopausal breast cancer was reduced by 34 percent in those who eat mostly organic diets. The lead author of the study noted that these reductions in risk are much larger than normally found for nutritional factors. The authors also examined the connections between organics and reduced cancer risk, finding that the banned pesticides in organics may be responsible.
The authors mention some limitations to the study, despite the very large sample size of 70,000. These limitations include that the majority of the population followed for the 4 1/2 years were health-conscious, educated and female. However, the results are interesting and further research should be continued to find the link between organic diets and cancer risk reduction.
While eating organic may help lower your cancer risk, the authors mentioned other lifestyle factors such as maintaining a healthy weight, exercise, eating a diet that's rich in vegetables, fruits, and whole grains, while avoiding or limiting alcohol, added sugars, refined grains and red and processed meats.
