Eating fruits and veg can increase chance of lung cancer according to new study

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Recent research suggests a possible connection between healthy eating and a lower risk of lung cancer in people under a certain age who have never smoked. Scientists believe exposure to pesticides might play a role in this connection.

Researchers from the University of Southern California – Health Sciences shared new information at the American Association for Cancer Research’s yearly meeting. The findings highlighted lung cancer cases in people younger than 50 who had never smoked.

Studies show more young adults, especially women, are being diagnosed with lung cancer even though they’ve never smoked. This is happening despite an overall decrease in lung cancer cases linked to smoking.

Study links higher diet quality to lung cancer cases in young non-smokers

Researchers studied 187 people participating in the Young Lung Cancer Project, examining their diets, lifestyles, and medical diagnoses. The majority of these individuals had never smoked and received their lung cancer diagnosis before turning 50.

As a big follower of the research, I found it really interesting that Dr. Nieva and his team discovered that younger people who got lung cancer but never smoked actually tended to have pretty healthy diets – even healthier than most people! It’s a surprising finding, and definitely makes you rethink some assumptions about lung cancer risk.

According to our study, young people who have never smoked but eat a particularly healthy diet have a surprisingly higher risk of developing lung cancer, according to Nieva.

Participants’ diets were generally healthier than the national average, scoring 65 on the Healthy Eating Index compared to a national score of 57. They also ate more fruits, vegetables, and whole grains each day.

The study found that women generally had healthier diets than men, but were also at a greater risk of being diagnosed with lung cancer in the same age range.

Researchers point to pesticide exposure as possible factor

The research indicates that eating produce grown with pesticides might play a role, but it doesn’t prove a direct link.

According to Nieva, produce like fruits, vegetables, and whole grains often contain more pesticide residue than other types of food. He pointed to increased lung cancer rates in farmworkers exposed to pesticides as further proof of potential harm.

Researchers didn’t actually test participants for pesticides. They estimated pesticide exposure by looking at existing data on how much residue was found on different types of food.

The team will do more tests with blood and urine to see if certain pesticides might raise the risk of cancer.

Lung cancer is often thought of as a disease that affects older people and smokers, but there’s been an increase in cases among younger adults – particularly women – who have never smoked.

According to Nieva, this research is an important advance in pinpointing environmental factors that could be changed to help prevent lung cancer in young people.

Recent research has turned up some surprising findings: a study from July 2025 linked eating cheese to bad dreams, and a December study suggested that smelling your own farts might actually help protect against Alzheimer’s disease.

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2026-04-27 17:52