Organic foods can reduce cancer risk, finds JAMA study

The fact that pesticides are not used in organic foods could be the reason for their anti-cancer properties

If you swear by organic food, this is something that will cheer you up. Consumption of organic foods helps reduce cancer risk.

A new study in JAMA Internal Medicine has concluded: “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.”

Cancer is one of the most feared non communicable diseases. According to estimates, the annual burden of cancer in India is over 1 million new cases. It is predicted to double in the next 20 years with age-adjusted mortality rates of 64.5 per 1,00,000 people. The world over in 2012 14 million new cases were detected. Organic food items are only now gaining popularity in India but their availability is restricted to big cities. They are also very expensive. In fact the price of organic foods seems to be a deterrent the world over when it comes to using them as a preventive public health strategy.

“A higher frequency of organic food consumption was associated with a reduced risk of cancer…promoting organic food consumption in the general population could be a promising preventive strategy against cancer.”

The researchers hypothesised that the fact that pesticides are not used in organic food items could the reason for the association. “One possible explanation for the negative association observed herein between organic food frequency and cancer risk is that the prohibition of synthetic pesticides in organic farming leads to a lower frequency or an absence of contamination in organic foods compared with conventional foods and results in significant reductions in pesticide levels in urine,” the study says

It also flags the issue of high prices of organic foods. It says: “While organic food (on confirmation of our findings) may be important to reduce the risk of specific cancers, the high price of such foods remains an important hurdle. Indeed, organic foods remain less affordable than corresponding conventional products, and high prices are a major obstacle for buying organic foods.“