Hey everyone! So yesterday, I gave you my first tip in “going clean” – picking one thing that is most important to you. For my family, it was getting clean animal products. In case you’re wondering, we buy most of our poultry as well as some sustainably sourced fish directly from an organic farm up in Ancaster (Fenwood Farm) and other meats and fish from local organic butchers.
Today, I want to continue to talk about food, but move on to produce and discuss the Environmental Working Group’s (www.ewg.org) clean 15 and dirty dozen. Each year, the EWG posts the 12 most highly sprayed produce items that you should ideally buy organic. Why? These pesticide and herbicide laden fruits and veggies are doused in a chemical cocktail that are hormone disrupting, disrupt your gut ecology, and are known or suspected carcinogens. Who wants to eat a bowl full of chemical soup? For example, glyphosate, the main component of Monsanto’s Roundup (#1 in the pesticide business) was determined in 2015 by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) to be “probably carcinogenic” (i.e. cancer promoting!) (source). Another study showed that glyphosate can activate Estrogen Receptor Alpha (ERα) which can trigger abnormal tissue growth, particularly in the uterus. Women suffering from estrogen-dominance and abnormal cell proliferation conditions (PMS, endometriosis, uterine fibroids, cysts, etc.) would do best to avoid foods contaminated with glyphosate. This is just one of the dozens of chemicals you’ll find on your everyday, favourite fruits and veggies; each chemical having it’s own disruptive effects to our bio-system.
In order to do your best to avoid a chemical cocktail, here is the current list of the EWG’s dirty dozen and clean 15:
Clean 15 (safe to buy conventional)
· Sweet corn (though I would still buy organic, since corn is one of the top 3 GMO foods)
· Avocado
· Pineapple
· Cabbage
· Onion
· Sweet peas, frozen
· Papayas
· Asparagus
· Mangos
· Eggplant
· Honeydew melon
· Kiwi
· Cantaloupe
· Cauliflower
· Grapefruit
Dirty Dozen (ideally buy organic)
· Strawberries
· Spinach
· Nectarines
· Apples
· Peaches
· Pears
· Cherries
· Grapes
· Celery
· Tomatoes
· Sweet bell peppers
· Potatoes
For the full EWG guide to pesticides in produce, you can visit the dirty dozen page on the EWG website. They update their list annually – the 2018 version is anticipated this spring! And I totally get that it’s not always affordable to buy organic produce. If you can’t afford the organic versions of the dirty dozen, either avoid them, or soak and wash them thoroughly with a quality produce cleaner (available at health food stores). I’ve got a great bio-degradable cleanser that I use for all our produce, including those times when organic options for the dirty dozen are way pricey or unavailable.
I’m going to go ahead and throw herbs and spices into this post as well. The sad reality is that just as our produce is being dowsed in chemicals, so too are the plants the provide our beautiful assortment of herbs and spices. Now I’m not suggesting that you go and overhaul your spice cabinet in one shot! That would be rather costly – and again, overwhelming! But gradually, as you empty out your jars of conventional herbs and spices, opt for replacing them with organic versions. My personal fave is simply organic – they have an extensive line, it’s totally reasonably priced (honestly, not much difference from the “regular” stuff) and the taste is extraordinary! You actually don’t need to use as much as you would the conventional seasonings – so your dollar ends up going a bit further 😊 Another good brand is 365 organics – the flavour is fantastic, the price is too, but I find their seasonings to be a little bit more powdery vs. granular (it’s a matter of personal preference, really).
Thanks for joining me again today! Scary stuff, I know, but loads of healthy and safe alternatives out there to keep your health in tip-top shape. Tomorrow, I’ll be talking water - such a benign topic, but oh so important!
Until then!
Yours in balanced health,
Stephanie