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There are a lot of “shoulds” and “shouldn’ts” associated with healthy eating. You should read labels. You shouldn’t eat processed food. You should shop local.
To make things even more complex, even when you stick to a mostly clean diet, you still should be mindful. The Environmental Working Group compiles a list each year to inform us that some of that “clean” produce is in fact dirty.
What you buy and how you eat is always your choice. However, eating fruits and vegetables that are three times the size they were fifty years ago has to raise an eyebrow, and it does come with consequences.
To become more of a conscious consumer, here’s info about your dirty dozen: the fruits and vegetables that have the most pesticides. Should you be able to pay a little extra for organic, it might be best to do so for these 12.
1) Peaches. These innocent fuzzy rounds are considered the worst on the list, sprayed on a weekly basis from March to harvest. Best to look for the little organic sticker.
2) Apples. They won't keep the doctor away with 40 herbicides, pesticides and fungicides on a non-organic apple. Note: these are also found in apple juice and applesauce. Yikes.
3) Bell Peppers. Often the conventionally grown kinds are coated with a petroleum-based wax loaded with fungicides to prolong the shelf life. Not the most appetizing image for one of the most popular vegetables in North America.
4) Celery. In the ground, these porous stalks love to absorb nutrients, but this also enables them to absorb toxins equally well. In fact it’s the most likely candidate for pesticide residue after rinsing.
5) Nectarines. With high water content, nectarines absorb pesticides like sponges. Even after a good washing, 2 pesticides remained in most samples.
6) Strawberries. You’re not the only one who loves this sweet fruit – so do pests. To prevent them from being infested, 65 pesticides, herbicides and fungicides are sprayed on, which can be difficult to clean with their external seeds.
7) Grapes. Be especially careful not to buy imported grapes, as they're often shipped from Chile and fumigated with methyl bromide when they arrive. Methyl Bromide depletes the ozone and has been shown to cause reproductive harm. Many of the 30 pesticides are also found on raisins. Luckily, the fermentation process allows wine to be quite clean. You’re welcome.
8) Spinach. Vitamin C, iron, calcium and…48 different kinds of pesticide? Just say no, kids. Luckily, a cheaper option does exist – frozen Spinach typically has 90% less residue.
9) Lettuce. In the leafy greens category, this pairs well with Spinach to make the consumer feel virtuously healthy. However, it also carries with it more than 50 kinds of pesticides.
10) Cucumbers. Although high in Vitamin A, cucumber skin is also sprayed with produce wax that gives the produce its appealing shiny appearance. This is hard to scrub off along with over 35 pesticides it carries. If you can’t buy organic, peel before eating.
11) Potatoes. Although this is one vegetable that is often scrubbed or peeled, it still may have some of the 37 pesticides in its core. We‘re talking pesticides that are known or suspected as carcinogens as well as suspected hormone disruptors.
12) Blueberries. As this fruit is quite delicate, they're often not washed as thoroughly, and with more than 50 pesticides, this is not optimal for health. Frozen blueberries have significantly less and can be the choice if you can’t afford the organic variety.
Although the “dirty fifteen” doesn’t have the nice zing of alliteration as the dirty dozen, there are three bonus veggies for you to consider: green beans, kale and collard greens.
If you do buy any of the above non-organic, be more diligent in washing for at least 30 seconds to reduce the number of pesticides you consume. You can even make a disinfecting produce spray with vinegar, water, baking soda and lemon.
A small price to pay to protect your future health.
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Courtney Sunday has two cats and a boyfriend who are very patient with her health and wellness obsessions. She teaches yoga, Pilates and indoor cycling and gives Thai massages through her Toronto business Om at Home Yoga. When she's tuckered out, she takes up the sport of sleeping.
