The nonprofit advocacy agency, Environmental Working Group (EWG), just revealed that many nutritious foods we eat are not as healthy as we think because they're drenched in pesticides. The EWG's list of the most pesticide-contaminated fruits and vegetables sold in markets is quite shocking.
And, can you guess WHICH popular fruit topped the list? Hint: You probably put one in your kids' lunch boxes every day…
The Huffington Post confirms that apples are at the top of EWG's Dirty Dozen list, which focuses on 48 forms of healthy foods. The list also includes __strawberries, grapes, celery and peaches–__o round out the top 5 most contaminated foods. You can check out the rest of the dirtiest foods here. Shockingly, even after washing those fruits and vegetables, 67 percent STILL carried pesticide residues as stated in data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration.
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So why should you care about your foods having pesticides__?__ Well, pesticides have been linked to many health issues, including developmental problems in children. Not to mention the effects they may have on hormones and also acting as carcinogens.
This doesn't mean we should give up fruits and vegetables, but the key is to pick the right produce. In fact, the best option you can choose is organic. And although organic prices can be steeper, the EWG is noticing that people are starting to care more about making sure their food is as free of pesticides as possible.
The good news is that not ALL fruits and vegetables are affected by pesticides the same way. There are foods that are less at risk as seen in the EWG's Clean 15 list, which includes avocados, cabbage, asparagus, corn, onions and mangos. You can get the full Clean 15 list here.
I think most of us can benefit from going organic with the foods we eat the most on the Dirty Dozen list and the rest less risky food can be bought as is. This would be a good way to balance the budget and to remain as healthy as possible simultaneously.
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