This is a question I get asked a lot by clients and my answer is always YES, absolutely!
As you have probably realised by now , I am a huge believer in ‘we are what we eat’ and I believe we should always look at how to buy the best food we can.
A supermarket potato is doused with an astonishing 30 active chemical ingredients, compared to 40 years ago when a potato would have been treated with just 5.3 chemicals
If you want to increase your nutrients and significantly reduce the amount of toxins(and fat) in your body then GO ORGANIC!
By going organic, you’ll make a serious reduction in the toxic load and pesticides going into your body and into our water supply, the soil, the air we breathe and our planet as a whole! You’ll also get more nutrients as organic soil is richer. And they taste way better than the supermarket mass produced varieties.
I do personally try buy organically grown fruit and vegetables( and local if possible ), however ,It can be more expensive switching to an organic diet, although supermarkets such as Aldi are now offering more organic fruit and vegetables at low prices.
By using th latest Dirty dozen and Clean 15 lists below ,( keep reading ) you will be able to make better informed buying choices as these lists tell you which vegetables and fruit have the most and least amount of pesticides/ toxins on them . It is also worth remembering that by buying organic the environment is generally better protected from additional chemicals pollution. Many of the pesticides used nowadays are ‘systemic’ which means that residues are contained within the entire piece of fruit or vegetable rather than just on the surface. As a result, peeling and washing fruit and vegetables before eating will often be insufficient to remove all pesticide residues. Pesticides are also not water soluble so do not wash off with water and these pesticide residues are in the soils that the vegetables are ‘feeding from’!
Which non-organic foods contain the most pesticides?
The Environmental Working Group has completed a series of tests and revealed the ‘dirty dozen’ foods that have the highest concentration of pesticides.
Now, it is important to stress that whilst this list is shocking, it shouldn’t stop you from eating fresh produce and turning to processed foods. There are ways to reduce pesticide build up on fruits and vegetables such as washing then in vinegar water (I will explain how to do this in more detail in my future blog on Toxins , Nutrients and Fat coming soon)BUT the best way to avoid these nasties in your produce is to BUY ORGANIC.
So, which non-organic foods are on the dirty dozen list?
Well there is a way to help make sure you can get the best groceries and know which ones you need to avoid.
This is using current data available to the public on the amount of pesticide residue on foods in the US.( There isn’t an equivalent in the UK but as most supermarket fruit/ veg now comes from all over the world, it is still very relevant and a good guide )
The below list of foods is kept up to date each year by the nonprofit, Environmental Working Group (EWG). This is the current list of foods for 2023.
The Dirty Dozen Food List for 2023
- Strawberries
- Spinach
- Kale, collard & mustard greens
- Peaches
- Pears
- Nectarines
- Apples
- Grapes
- Bell & hot peppers
- Cherries
- Blueberries
- Green beans
If you regularly eat any of the produce above, swapping to an organic alternative will mean that harmful toxins from pesticides remain out of your body. There have been significant links between pesticides and cancer – particularly in children so really think before you buy non organic produce. There are also links between pesticides and food allergies, infertility and diabetes.
Watch this 3 minute clip from the highly acclaimed ‘Food Matters’ film: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4DOQ6Xhqss
The next time someone questions how much you spend on organic food and tries to tell you that it’s not worth it, tell them this…
A recent government residue check in the US found that a single grape tested positive for 15 different pesticides!
Another reason I would always try to but organically grown produce is because some produce such as sweet corn, papaya and summer squash can be produced from genetically modified seeds. So if you want to avoid genetically modified produce then BUY ORGANIC !
The Clean 15 Food List for 2023
So, a little bit of good news amongst all this doom and gloom…
The following ‘clean fifteen’ foods contained the least amount of pesticides when tested:
- Avocados
- Sweet corn
- Pineapple
- Onions
- Papaya
- Sweet peas (frozen)
- Asparagus
- Honeydew melon
- Kiwi
- Cabbage
- Mushrooms
- Mangoes
- Sweet potatoes
- Watermelon
- Carrots
Do you want to remove unwanted fat?
Then you have to remove excess toxins and thoroughly spring clean your body on a regular basis !
In my B-Fit B-Fabulous 21 Day Weight Loss Plan you also get the added benefit of webinar coaching sessions on nutrition and how to eat the right foods for life and optimum health.
As part of this highly effective and successful plan, we touch on the effects of toxins and pesticides in the body. The research will shock you! It’s making our population fat! Excess toxins in the body are stored in fat cells and we get toxins from so many different sources. Eliminate the toxins and you reduce the fat, thus losing weight.
In addition to the information that’s been packed into the plan, there’s also fat burning workout videos, recipes, meal plans and the Nature’s Sunshine Healthy Starter program to really ensure you remove as much fat as possible in the 21 days. My B-Fit B-Fabulous 21 Day Plan comes with a MONEY BACK GAURANTEE and you are guaranteed to drop a dress size or 8-14lb in the 21 days (Ts and Cs apply).
For a free confidential chat and to talk through my B-Fit B-Fabulous 21 Day Weight Loss Plan, click here. Call me on 07748 298728 or Click HERE
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