Since Nomi Shannon must be one of my relatives some way, and since this list is appropriate for this time of year, I will include her blog entry in my blog.
Least and Most Contaminated Produce
A Seasonal Reminder
Here is a list of the most popular fresh fruits and veggies that are consistently the most and least contaminated with pesticides.
For the most contaminated items, try to substitute organically grown produce whenever you can-or grow what you can, if possible. Even if it’s not possible to find or afford organic produce, I still recommend that you eat lots and lots of fresh fruits and veggies-this guide should come in handy to help you decide when it’s more important to buy organic.
Don’t forget!! You can’t ‘wash off’ pesticides and chemical fertilizer, it is part of the plant…
Dirty Dozen Must Buy Organic List
The following lists are based on analysis of pesticide residue after washing. For example, conventionally grown peaches, raspberries, celery and spinach have the highest amounts of pesticides on a single sample, nine or ten different chemicals.
As I understand it, testing hasn’t been done on what you find inside a conventionally grown fruit or vegetable. Conventional apples start being sprayed before the flower forms.
When I cut into an apple grown “organically” in a friend’s back yard they almost always have worms in them. These worms start in the center and work their way out. To avoid this from happening, conventional produce gets exposed to chemicals early and often.
While organic is the very best way to eat it is not always possible due to money constraints or scarcity of organic produce in your area.
It is important to remember that eating as much fresh, ripe, raw fruits and vegetables as you can is the key to good health and prevention of disease.
Don’t give up this way of eating, even if you can only find or afford conventional produce.
It is far better to live on conventional produce than on twinkies, white bread, coffee, processed foods of all kinds, hot dogs etc…these processed/manufactured items contain veritable chemical soup and offer no nourishment as well.
The list below should help you be able to make wise choices when buying produce.
Foods you should buy Organic if at all possible:
Compiled from several sources including analysis done by The EWG Working Group)
(Items in CAPITAL LETTERS are the most laden with pesticides)
apples
bell peppers
CELERY
cherries
grapes (especially imported)
lettuce
PEACHES
pears
potatoes
RASPBERRIES
raspberries (red)
SPINACH
strawberries
Multiple Pesticides are rarely found on the following items:
avocado
banana
broccoli
cauliflower
corn
eggplant
kiwi
mango
onions
papaya
pineapple
sweet peas
So if you have to pick and choose, buy organic from the first list and go conventional from the second list.
About Nomi:
Nomi Shannon is an award winning author and world renowned coach. Her bestselling book, The Raw Gourmet, has sold over 150,000 copies. Her second book, Raw Food Celebrations (with S.Duruz), is flying off the shelves at bookstores worldwide.
No comments:
Post a Comment