Why eat organic when possible?
Every week, each household writes out their weekly grocery list and heads to the store to pick up necessities for the household, snacks for the kids, and ingredients for meals. Near the front of many stores is the produce section. And within the produce section, we see the regular produce and the organic section.
What is the organic section? Is that just where the overpriced fruit and veggies are kept? Is it a scam by the store to make more money? Or is there something about the organic section that’s actually helpful and healthful?
The simple explanation is that organic produce is grown and harvested without synthetic growth hormones, antibiotics, pesticides, biotechnology, synthetic ingredients, or irradiation. The standards of growing produce organically is much different than the standards used to grow regular produce. Organic produce is also required for their operations to conserve biodiversity, cycle their resources, and preserve ecological balance. In short, organic produce is as close to nature’s original and unchanged creation as we can get to.
When we eat, our body absorbs the nutrients from whatever it is that we’re eating. When we eat spinach, for example, our bodies absorb the high levels of vitamin C, iron, magnesium, and B6 that spinach contains. Through the digestive system, these nutrients are broken down and distributed throughout the body.
When something else is on your food, like dirt, waste, or pesticides, your body is absorbing and distributing that throughout your body, too. And that does not make for healthful living. The absorption of pesticides in our bodies can disrupt certain systems within us, such as the endocrine system. A high level of these toxins can knock our health off balance and make us weaker, less able to absorb the nutrients we do need, and can even make us sick.
When it comes to eating healthier, knowing which fruits and vegetables are the safest to buy conventionally versus organically can make all the difference. That’s where the Clean 15 and Dirty Dozen lists come in. They are lists curated based off of which produce is produced with the least pesticides and interference (The Clean 15) and which produce is usually produced with the most pesticides and interference (The Dirty Dozen). These lists help guide our shopping choices by highlighting which produce contains the least and most pesticide residues, so we can eat as clean and naturally as possible
The “Clean 15” - again, the fruits and vegetables that are grown, cultivated, and harvested with the least artificial and chemical interference, are:
Avocados
Sweet corn
Pineapple
Onions
Papaya
Sweet peas (frozen)
Asparagus
Honeydew melon
Kiwi
Cabbage
Watermelon
Mushrooms
Mangoes
Sweet potatoes
Carrots
These fruits and vegetables are safe to eat from the regular produce section of your grocery store.
The “Dirty Dozen” - again, the fruits and vegetables that are grown, cultivated, and harvested with the most artificial and chemical interference and contain the most pesticide residues, are:
Spinach
Kale, collard, and mustard greens
Grapes
Peaches
Pears
Nectarines
Apples
Bell & Hot Peppers
Cherries
Blueberries
Green Beans
It’s recommended that you purchase these fruits and vegetables from the organic section of the store, so that you can avoid all those nasty, toxic chemicals and pesticide residue in your foods.
