Fruits, vegetables, and whole grains are considered healthy. To the horror of many, especially fitness enthusiasts and teetotallers, the American Association for Cancer Research has linked the consumption of these healthy food items to an increased risk of lung cancer.
Residual pesticides used on crops are cited as the reason for non-smokers being at risk of lung cancer. Young non-smoking women are more likely to be diagnosed with lung cancer than their male counterparts, the report further found.
Eating healthy causes lung cancer?
The observation was part of research presented at the American Association for Cancer Research's annual meeting on April 21, US media reports said. It categorically claimed that non-smokers "who eat a higher quantity of healthy foods than the general population" are more likely to develop lung cancer. Fruits and vegetables are likely to have more pesticide residues than dairy, meat, and many processed foods, which makes "eating healthy" a risk.
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The researchers came to this conclusion after completing a survey comprising 187 lung cancer patients. It was found that these individuals had consumed more whole grains, fruits, and vegetables than the general population. Using the Healthy Eating Index (which measures the "healthy" quality of a person's diet), they found that the average participant had a score of 65 out of 100; the average American has a score of 57, and women, on average, ate healthier diets than men, People.com said in a report.
"On average, the young lung cancer patients ate more daily servings of fruit, vegetables, and whole grains than the general population. For example, participants averaged 4.3 servings of dark green vegetables and legumes and 3.9 servings of whole grains per day, while the average U.S. adult eats 3.6 servings of dark green vegetables and legumes and 2.6 servings of whole grains per day," another report elaborating on the research's methodology said.
READ THE STORY ON THE RESEARCH REPORT HERE
Lung cancer has typically been a disease that affects older adults, men more than women, and smokers. However, the participants of this research were 50 years old or below.
The researchers are preparing to test these patients' blood and urine samples to measure levels of pesticides in their systems. If this succeeds, they are hopeful that it will be possible to single out the pesticide(s) that may be cancerous, the report added.
