The Dirty Dozen

Like I said in my previous post I don't break my budget by eating everything organic. I just focus on the foods that come with the heaviest burden of pesticides, additives and hormones. According to the Environmental Working Group (EWG), consumers can reduce their pesticide exposure by 80% by avoiding the most contaminated fruits and vegetables and eating only the cleanest. If consumers get their USDA-recommended 5 daily servings of fruits and veggies from the 15 most contaminated, they could consume an average of 10 pesticides a day. Those who eat the 15 least contaminated conventionally grown produce ingest less than 2 pesticides daily.

EWG has been publishing guides to the "dirty dozen" of most pesticide contaminated foods since 1995, based on statistical analysis of testing conducted by the USDA and the FDA.

1. Peaches

Multiple pesticides are regularly applied to these delicately skinned fruits in conventional orchards.

Can't find organic? Safer alternatives include watermelon, tangerines, oranges and grapefruit.

2. Apples

Like peaches, apples are typically grown with the use of poisons to kill a variety of pests, from fungi to insects. Scrubbing and peeling doesn't eliminate chemical residue completely, so it's best to buy organic when it comes to apples. Peeling a fruit or vegetable also strips away many of their beneficial nutrients.

Can't find organic? Safer alternatives include watermelon, bananas and tangerines.

3. Sweet bell peppers

Peppers have thin skins that don't offer much of a barrier to pesticides. They're often heavily sprayed with insecticides.

Can't find organic? Safer alternatives include green peas, broccoli and cabbage.

4. Celery

Celery has no protective skin, which makes it almost impossible to wash off the chemicals that are used on conventional crops.

Can't find organic? Safer alternatives include broccoli, radishes and onions.

5. Nectarines

There were 26 different types of pesticides found on tested nectarines.

Can't find organic? Safer alternatives include, watermelon, papaya and mango.

6. Strawberries

If you buy strawberries out of season, they're most likely imported from countries that use less-stringent regulations for pesticide use.

Can't find organic? Safer alternatives include blueberries, kiwi and pineapples.

7. Cherries

Even locally grown cherries are not safe. In fact, cherries grown in the U.S. were found to have three times more pesticide residue then imported cherries.

Can't find organic? Safer alternatives include blueberries, raspberries and cranberries.

8. Kale

Traditionally kale is known as a hardier vegetable that rarely suffers from pests and disease, but it was found to have high amounts of pesticide residue when tested this year.

Can't find organic? Safer alternatives include cabbage, asparagus and broccoli.

9. Leafy Greens

Leafy greens are frequently contaminated with what are considered the most potent pesticides used on food.

Can't find organic? Safer alternatives include cabbage, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts.

10. Grapes

Imported grapes run a much greater risk of contamination than those grown domestically. Vineyards can be sprayed with different pesticides during different growth periods of the grape, and no amount of washing or peeling will eliminate contamination because of the grape's thin skin.

Can't find organic? Safer alternatives include blueberries, kiwi and raspberries.

11. Carrots

In Europe pesticides commonly used on carrots, parsnips and onions will be banned within the next decade. The U.S. has yet to catch up with its European counterparts, so organic is the way to go with carrots.

Can't find organic? At least be sure to scrub and peel them. Safer carrot alternatives include sweet corn, sweet peas and broccoli.

12. Pears

As insects become more resilient to the pesticides used on pears, more and more chemicals are used. The safest bet is to go organic.

Can't find organic? Safer alternatives include grapefruit, honeydew mellon and mangos.

Organic Milk

I try to eat as much organic food that I can, but milk is one item that I always buy organic. It's amazing how much organic food is now available in Wal-mart and Target, and the prices are decent. I don't kill my budget every month going to Whole Foods, I purchase the organic foods that are available at at these two stores.

The one question I'm always asked about when I recommend someone to switching to organic milk is "Does it taste the same?" -- YES, it does! Some of my friends have refused to try it thinking it would taste different, but I have given them organic milk without them knowing and they could not tell the difference. So, just try it!

Before switching to organic milk I would never finish the milk by the time it expires and end up throwing away half a carton of milk. Organic milk stays fresh much longer, about two weeks longer than conventional milk. I have over a month to use up my milk, and now I throw away empty cartons. The reason is organic milk undergoes a different process to preserve it.

Eligibility for the organic seal requires that dairy farmers provide outdoor "access" for their animals, do not treat herds with added growth hormones or antibiotics, and do not use feed treated with synthetic pesticides or that is genetically modified.

Organic milk is much more beneficial to us and to our children.

On big industrial farms animals are kept in crowded, dirty conditions and these condition increase the chances of illness in the animals. With illness and infection, the animals need to be treated with antibiotics. An ethical farmer would destroy the milk until it tested negative for antibiotics, but this would mean a high cost for a business. Unfortunately, most big corporations don't destroy the milk. About 25 million pounds of antibiotics, which is roughly 70 percent of US antibiotic production, is given to chicken, pigs and cows.

Also, on industrial farms cows are given hormones to increase milk production and when we drink this milk, we are also given the same hormones.

Organic milk contains 71 percent more Omega 3, 500 percent more Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA), two to three times more of the antioxidants lutein and zeaxanthin, 50 percent more vitamin E and 75 percent beta carotene.

Omega 3 is an essential fatty acid which is required for healthy growth and its deficiency has been the reason of various health problems recently. Regular intake of Omega3 keeps you away from various diseases and helps you in reducing incidences of heart disease, inflammations (in skin diseases such as eczema), cancer, arthritis, etc.

CLA increases metabolic rate, immunity to diseases and muscle growth. It also reduces abdominal fat, cholesterol, and allergic reactions. It is worth noting that human body cannot produce this substance and most of our CLA intake happens through the milk and milk products that we consume. Also, CLA is beneficial in cancer treatment.

Lutein is extremely important for eye health and is effective in preventing numerous eye diseases such as macular degeneration and cataract. Zeaxanthin is also important for good eye health. It protects the eye from UV damage and free radicals. It is very helpful in preventing cataract, diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma and macular degeneration.

Vitamin E is useful for protecting your body cells from free radicals and thus delays ageing. It also reduces the incidence of various chronic diseases including heart diseases, diabetes and cataract. Beta carotene is converted by our body into Vitamin A. Vitamin A, also called retinol, is useful for strong eyesight, increasing resistance to infections, good skin, bone growth, tooth development, reproduction and gene expression.

Currently, only three percent of the milk sold is organic, but this segment is growing rapidly.

Let me know what you think about buying organic.

High Fructose Corn Syrup...

High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) is the first ingredient I removed from my diet, and I recommend removing this from everybody's. HFCS is made from corn and is used as a sweetener, preservative, and makes food "look natural" (like it came out of grandma's oven) and is found in just about any food product.

Click here for a list of products that contain HFCS.

**(Can you believe how many products contain HFCS?)**

There has always been a debate on wether HFCS is a cause of obesity, but recently researchers at Princeton University discovered that HFCS prompts considerably more weight gain than other sweeteners. Also, leads to abnormal increase in body fat, especially in the abdomen.

Click here for the article about HFCS from Princeton University.

The three main types of sugars are sucrose, fructose, and dextrose. Both dextrose and sucrose our body is able to break down before they reach our liver, but our body is not able to break down fructose before it reaches our liver. HFCS contains an even higher concentration of fructose and this causes our liver to release fatty acids into our bloodstream. The flood of fatty acids causes our muscle tissue to develop insulin resistance. This leads to diabetes and other health problems.

Also, fructose causes our body to burn sugar instead of fat (the other types of sugar burn fat). When consuming fructose our metabolism actually stores fat.

The reason so many products now contain HFCS is because corn is a lot cheaper than sugar, and back in the 1970s the government wanted to make food cheaper for Americans. Also, major corporations are all about making a profit. Unfortunately, the causes of using man-made ingredients in our food is making our country obese and unhealthy, which only leads to higher medical care costs.

Go to your pantry, refrigerator, or grocery store and check the ingredients of your favorite foods to see if it contains HFCS.

Do you think you could go without eating/drinking these foods or do we need to try and get this ingredient taken out of our foods?