Top 5 Fruits and Vegetables to Buy Organic
When I go grocery shopping , my first stop is always to the produce section to pick up my fruits and vegetables. Lately though, I’ve noticed more and more “organic” options.
What exactly is organic and how is it different than “regular” fruits and vegetables? According to the dictionary, organic means an item that is raised without the use of drugs, hormones, or synthetic chemical fertilizers and pesticides.
I was raised to simply wash off the outer skin of the fruits and vegetables that I buy to rinse off any pesticides. Therefore, would it really matter if it was organic?
Actually, yes it does! There are some fruits and vegetables that can actually absorb these chemicals through the skin. This means that organic fruits and vegetables are the healthier option since they do not even have the opportunity to absorb the pesticides.
Well, I tried buying all organic options once and my total shopping bill was quite a bit higher since organic products tend to cost more. I decided to do some Internet research and found out that some fruits and veggies absorb a lot more pesticides than others.
This means that I can target my organic shopping to include the fruits and vegetables that are most likely to absorb pesticides. You can simply buy the organic version of the ones most likely to be contaminated.
Top 5 fruits to buy organic:
1. Peaches- actually ranked number 1 for all fruits and veggies that contain pesticides and a single serving often exceeds the safe daily limit for a 44-pound child
2. Apples- 98% of apples have at least 1 pesticide contaminant in them. You may actually want to skin your apples before eating them too.
3. Nectarines- 97.3 percent of samples tested positive for pesticides
4. Strawberries- they have very soft skin that absorbs pesticides easily. Also, they grow close to the ground so they are susceptible to soil pesticides as well. The Organic Trade Association found that USA strawberries can be exposed to 371 approved pesticides.
5. Cherries- over 90% of cherries are contaminated with pesticides and USA cherries are more likely to be contaminated than imported varieties
Top 5 vegetables to buy organic:
1. Sweet bell peppers- there are many different types of pesticides used on them and testing has shown that this is the vegetable most likely to contain the most pesticides overall
2. Celery- since it has no skin, the pesticides are absorbed directly into the vegetable. The chemicals won’t be removed even if you scrub them prior to eating.
2. Spinach – can contain possible human carcinogens (cancer-causing chemicals) and DDT (banned toxin) is still often found in spinach from contaminated soil
4. Lettuce- similar problems as spinach. You may want to consider growing this one at home.
5. Potatoes- the use of pesticides on potatoes is increasing so it is definitely one to avoid
Doing Internet research definitely changed my produce selection habits. Of course it would be great to buy all organic options if you had the ability to do so. However, if you are on a budget like me and still want to make the healthiest choices, you can buy some organic fruits and vegetables and some regular ones as well.
Please tell me about your experiences at the grocery store. Did this change your mind about your purchase choices? Let me know by leaving a comment below.
Posted by marj | in Nutrition | No Comments
