The Dirty Dozen

Did you know that conventionally grown food is exposed to pesticides and fertilisers?

These pesticides do a great job of keeping the bugs away from the plants whilst they are growing, but the residue remains on the food. This means it is still there when we get it home and prepare it to eat.

Now, you can diligently wash your produce before eating it, but unfortunately, these chemicals penetrate the flesh of our fruits and vegetables which means you can’t simply just wash it off.

But does it really matter if you have trace amounts of these pesticides in your diet? Well, the argument is yes. These pesticides will also maim and kill your gut bugs (which are important for all facets of your health). Some of these pesticides even get taken up into your own cells, stopping them from working properly (ahhhh roundup 😞). Some studies have even suggested that consuming fruits and vegetables with high amounts of pesticide residue actually undoes the benefit of eating fruit and vegetables to begin with.

This is where the case for organic fruit and vegetables shines. Luckily, there are a lot more opportunities to get your hands on organic fruits and vegetables these days. The major supermarkets here in Oz stock a lot more than they used to. We also have many producers and farmers setting up direct-to-consumer services.

If going completely organic seems overwhelming and unachievable, start with the ‘Dirty Dozen’. It’s a list of the top 12 highest-sprayed produce, so these are the ones you should always try to buy organic. This list is from the US, but it is fairly translatable and is a great way to start.

Image Courtesy of EWG www.https://www.ewg.org/

You can read more about the Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen via the Environmental Working Group’s Website