HEALTH TIP

Hopefully, by now we should all be trying to eat more organic fruits and vegetables. Organic produce is not grown with any pesticides, chemical fertilizers, sewage sludge and it is not bioengineered. We don’t need those nasty chemicals inside our bodies! Recently, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) tested 50 kinds of fruits and vegetables for their pesticide load.  Of the 50 different fruit and vegetable categories tested, the following "Dirty Dozen" had the highest pesticide load, making them the most important to buy organic versions - or to grow them organically yourself:

“The Dirty Dozen”

Celery

Peaches

Strawberries

Apples

Blueberries (Domestic)

Nectarines

Sweet Bell Peppers

Spinach

Collard Greens/Kale

Cherries

Potatoes

Grapes (Imported)

The EWG also compiled the list below of the “Clean 15”. These foods had the lowest pesticide load, and consequently are the safest conventionally grown crops to consume from the standpoint of pesticide contamination:

“The Clean 15”

Onions

Avocados

Sweet Corn

Pineapples

Mangoes

Sweet Peas

Asparagus

Kiwi

Cabbage

Eggplant

Cantaloupe (Domestic)

Watermelon

Grapefruit

Sweet Potatoes

Honeydew Melon

This is great news to our ears and pocketbooks! Organic produce can be more expensive than conventional produce, so keep this list handy when you are doing your shopping and by choosing from the “Clean 15” list you may be able to save some pennies!