Are you wasting your time buying organic produce?
Despite the healthy spin of organic food, a new study has revealed that it doesn’t cut the risk of a woman developing cancer.
The research found that women who always ate organic fruit and vegetables over a period of nine years were no less likely to develop one of 16 types of cancer, compared to those who never ate those types of food.
The study will no doubt come as a blow to women, as organic produce is relatively that little more expensive than regular fruit and vegetables.
What’s more, the Oxford University’s Million Women study found that there was a small increased risk of breast cancer in those who only ate organic produce.
A reduction in the risk of the blood cancer non-Hodgkin lymphoma was also linked to eating organic, but scientists said this could be due to other factors, or just chance.
Professor Tim Key, a Cancer Research UK-funded scientist at Oxford University, told the Mail Online: 'In this large study of middle-aged women in the UK we found no evidence that a woman's overall cancer risk was decreased if she generally ate organic food.
'More research is needed to follow-up our findings of a possible reduction in risk for non-Hodgkin lymphoma.'
Organic food cuts the risk of pesticide contamination, which many believe increases cancer risk. But when researchers looked at cancers specifically linked to pesticides, such as breast cancer and soft tissue cancers, they found no evidence of increased risks.
The new findings appear in the British Journal of Cancer, which is owned by Cancer Research UK.
Dr Claire Knight, the charity's health information manager, said: 'This study adds to the evidence that eating organically grown food doesn't lower your overall cancer risk.
'But if you're anxious about pesticide residues on fruit and vegetables, it's a good idea to wash them before eating.
'Scientists have estimated that over 9% of cancer cases in the UK may be linked to dietary factors, of which almost 5% are linked to not eating enough fruit and vegetables.
'So eating a well-balanced diet which is high in fruit and vegetables - whether conventionally grown or not - can help reduce your cancer risk.'