Is there evidence that people who eat organic live significantly longer ?

Question

Is there evidence that people who eat organic , exercise a lot and meditate ( or whatever ) live significantly longer than people who dont ?

Answer 1

I don't know, I'm not old enough to have tested the theory... but I live on a farm and now that I'm home eating fresh/home grown stuff I feel a lot better than when I was at college eating Ramen and frozen dinners!

I get more exercise at home too, so it's probably a combo of the two.

Answer 2

I know that exercise, particularly aerobic exercise, can make a big impact on your health, and both prolong your life and improve its quality.  I'm not sure about meditation.  I don't believe in any mystical effects of meditation, but if it helps you relax and de-stress, then it can't hurt.

I'm not sure if organic foods are significantly healthier than commercially grown ones, though.  I do know that they taste better, and organic farming is more sustainable and better for the environment.    Putting an "Organic" label on something doesn't automatically make it nutritious.  Wheat grass juice, for example, can be completely organic, yet despite many of its claims, has almost no nutritional or health value.

I think a lot of the benefit from organic foods comes more from lifestyle changes than from the food itself.  In other words, people who make an effort to eat organic foods are generally more nutrition-conscious.  In other words, replacing a diet of fast food and microwave meals with organically grown meals can provide a huge health benefit, but replacing a healthy diet of commercially-grown food with organic food wouldn't provide a significant benefit.

My girlfriend and I recently purchased a crop share at a local farm.  Even if the veggies themselves aren't much *healthier* than store-bought ones, they taste sooo much better, and it has inspired us to cook more of our own food, rather than eat microwavable dinners (more of an indirect health benefit).