When to Buy Organic
When it comes to eating healthy, the topic I'm asked most about is eating organic food.
What are the benefits and is it really necessary? The two grocery areas that I believe organic foods can really have an impact on your health is in meat and produce.
I'll reserve the meat discussion for a later date, but will talk here about produce.
Back to the original question of what are the benefits of buying produce organically and is it really necessary? It can certainly be a confusing topic.
Luckily, we have the Environmental Working Group to help guide us on our journey.
Every year, this group publishes a list of produce and ranks them according to the amounts of pesticides they contain on average.
They've just released this year's list.
Since even the US government has conceded that different pesticides can be linked to a variety of health problems including cancers, brain and nervous system disorders, I feel it is important to pay attention to this issue.
Certainly, many of us would love to buy all of our produce organically, but it can get expensive.
If you need to be selective about how much organic produce you buy, head over to the EWG website.
A link is provided at the end of this article.
There, you can find a shopping list of produce in two categories.
The "dirty dozen" ranks the fruits and vegetables which contain the heaviest amounts of pesticides.
Conversely, the "clean 15" is a list of the fruits and vegetables most free of pesticides.
Conveniently, you can print this chart and put it right in your wallet so you have it with you while shopping.
Topping the dirty dozen list this year is apples.
Don't worry all you apple lovers - there's good news.
Organic apples are easy to get and not too expensive either.
I can get a bag of organic apples at my regular grocery store for about $5.
Finally, here's what the Environmental Working Group has to say about buying the Dirty Dozen organically: "Eating five servings of fruits and vegetables a day from the Clean 15 list rather than from the Dirty Dozen can lower your pesticide intake by up to 92 percent!" Given all the we know and still do not know about the effects of pesticides on our bodies, I absolutely recommend using the EWG's charts to shop for your produce.
www.
ewg.
org/foodnews/summary
What are the benefits and is it really necessary? The two grocery areas that I believe organic foods can really have an impact on your health is in meat and produce.
I'll reserve the meat discussion for a later date, but will talk here about produce.
Back to the original question of what are the benefits of buying produce organically and is it really necessary? It can certainly be a confusing topic.
Luckily, we have the Environmental Working Group to help guide us on our journey.
Every year, this group publishes a list of produce and ranks them according to the amounts of pesticides they contain on average.
They've just released this year's list.
Since even the US government has conceded that different pesticides can be linked to a variety of health problems including cancers, brain and nervous system disorders, I feel it is important to pay attention to this issue.
Certainly, many of us would love to buy all of our produce organically, but it can get expensive.
If you need to be selective about how much organic produce you buy, head over to the EWG website.
A link is provided at the end of this article.
There, you can find a shopping list of produce in two categories.
The "dirty dozen" ranks the fruits and vegetables which contain the heaviest amounts of pesticides.
Conversely, the "clean 15" is a list of the fruits and vegetables most free of pesticides.
Conveniently, you can print this chart and put it right in your wallet so you have it with you while shopping.
Topping the dirty dozen list this year is apples.
Don't worry all you apple lovers - there's good news.
Organic apples are easy to get and not too expensive either.
I can get a bag of organic apples at my regular grocery store for about $5.
Finally, here's what the Environmental Working Group has to say about buying the Dirty Dozen organically: "Eating five servings of fruits and vegetables a day from the Clean 15 list rather than from the Dirty Dozen can lower your pesticide intake by up to 92 percent!" Given all the we know and still do not know about the effects of pesticides on our bodies, I absolutely recommend using the EWG's charts to shop for your produce.
www.
ewg.
org/foodnews/summary
