By Elizabeth Whittington

The American Cancer Society’s top recommended dietary guideline is to eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, but a trip down the produce aisle may leave you questioning whether or not you should be buying organic. The benefits of organic foods over non-organic have not been scientifically proven, but that hasn’t stopped many people from switching to organic products. Organic meat, poultry, eggs and dairy products come from animals that have not received antibiotics or growth hormones, and organic crops are produced without using fertilizers made with synthetic ingredients, conventional pesticides, irradiation or bioengineering.

Diana Dyer, a three-time cancer survivor from Ann Arbor, Michigan, regularly eats organic foods. As a registered dietitian, she advises cancer patients to keep a diet of fruits and vegetables, preferably organic when available and affordable. She has donated the proceeds of her book, A Dietitian's Cancer Story: Information and Inspiration for Recovery and Healing, to the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) to fund research projects that focus on nutrition strategies for cancer patients and survivors. Her website, www.CancerRD.com, includes recipes and menus using organic foods.

"I took my diet from being healthy to being ultra-healthy after my third diagnosis in 1995,” she says. Dyer consistently eats about 12 servings of fruits and vegetables a day in her diet, which includes mostly organic foods.

Dyer is not alone. A survey conducted in 2004 by Whole Foods Market, a chain of grocery stores that promotes natural and organic foods, found that 27 percent of Americans are buying more organic foods than just a year ago. The survey cites one of the main reasons for the increase in popularity is that consumers believe it’s better for their health, including the belief that certain products used to grow crops and livestock may cause cancer.

When organic started becoming mainstream, many organic products were labeled; but without any guidelines in place, consumers did not have much to rely on when shopping for healthy alternatives. To prevent the term from becoming abused, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) revised its standards on organic food in October 2002. Claims such as free-range, hormone-free and natural can be found on many food packages, but only food labeled “organic” has been certified by the USDA in meeting organic standards.

Although organically grown foods are used without chemicals, traces can still be found depending on the product. Some of the fruits and vegetables that are at the top of the list include strawberries, spinach and sweet peppers, such as bell peppers and red peppers.

"Not all foods and vegetables are contaminated equally,” Dyer says. “There are probably some fruits and vegetables where it’s more worth your money to buy organically.” Dyer stresses that it’s more important to eat a balanced diet of fruits and vegetables, even if they’re not organic. “It’s very hard to find organic sweet red peppers,” Dyer admits. “Do I avoid them? No. You have to make practical choices in terms of availability and cost.”

The AICR notes that even organic foods may still contain small levels of chemical pesticides and fertilizers, but there is no convincing evidence that foods that have been treated or engineered will cause cancer.

D. Milton Stokes, a registered dietitian at the North General Hospital in New York, says it is not necessary to keep a diet of only organic foods to be healthy. “Organically grown food may taste better and usually contains fewer pesticides, but otherwise there are no nutritional differences between traditional farming practices and organic farming,” he says.

Also, someone who only changes their diet in regards to it being organic may still not be eating healthy—too many organic hamburgers, chocolate and potato chips are still not good for your health.

Dyer believes that while organic foods may be better for you, patients should just try to eat more fruits and vegetables, regardless. “Do not become so focused on the minutia of worrying about organic or non-organic,” she says. “I would say, personally, try to eat at least nine servings of fruits and vegetables a day, and I would tip it more toward vegetables.”

Stokes recommends patients strive for at least nine servings, but says it may be hard to change your diet overnight. “Since most people fall short of this goal, my emphasis is to simply get them to gradually build up to nine or 10 each day, and that takes time.”

Organic foods can now be found at large grocery chains, health food stores and farmers’ markets. Foods bought at a local farmers’ market are usually fresher than those found in a large grocery store, regardless of how they are grown. Another benefit is that consumers can talk to the growers themselves about whether their food has been treated with chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Farmers’ markets have become popular, and with nearly 2,500 across the country, they’re not hard to find.

"If patients are truly interested in organic farming, I encourage them to grow the produce themselves and to buy locally. And if money is no issue, they can buy organic, but it still may contain some pesticides and bacteria,” Stokes says. “Everyone, especially individuals with cancer, must properly wash produce no matter how it’s farmed or sold.”

While the benefits of eating organically grown foods have not been proven, the benefits of eating a wide variety of fruits and vegetables have. Antioxidants, which are found in most fruits and vegetables, may lower one’s risk of certain types of cancer, and taking antioxidant supplements may not be enough. If you want to pay a little extra for the peace of mind, and eating organic has you eating more fruits and vegetables, then the overall benefit is undeniable.