Disclaimer: I have no idea what I am doing when it comes to organics so I am using this page as a way of documenting what I am learning. Please comment or email me with suggestions, resources, opinions, etc!
Yay for organics!
The Dirty Dozen
I’ve heard people refer to the “dirty dozen” but until today, I could never remember the full and complete list. Ok, first of all, what is the dirty dozen? According to the Summer 2009 Northwest Community Hospital magazine, they are fruits and vegetables that have higher levels of pesticide residue than other fruits and veggies. If you aren’t going to buy 100% organic (which I am not), these are the fruits and veggies to avoid:
- Peaches
- Apples
- Sweet bell peppers
- Celery
- Nectarines
- Strawberries
- Cherries
- Lettuce
- Grapes
- Pears
- Spinach
- Potatoes
Update: A list located at Environmental Working Group included Carrots and Kale, instead of Potatoes and Spinach.
Is it surprising to you that most of these fruits and veggies are the same ones that comprise most of “American” cuisine?
Prevention Magazine recently created a list of 7 foods that should never cross our lips. The list was taken directly from the site:
1. Canned Tomatoes – What is a girl to do with many already-purchased cans of tomatoes?? I feel almost guilty donating them to the food drive after reading this…
2. Corn-Fed Beef – Hmmm.
3. Microwave Popcorn – Now I need suggestions on a healthy mid-afternoon snack!
4. Nonorganic Potatoes – Basically, the herbicides, etc are absorbed INTO the potatoes, not just on the skin. No amount of washing gets rid of it. DIRTY.
5. Farmed Salmon – Not sure that I am ready to switch over to the expensive wild-caught salmon or buying it in a can … but definitely something to consider!
6. Milk Produced with Artificial Hormones – Already doing this one! Check it off the list!
7. Conventional Apples – This was a tough one to swallow… ha ha ha… get it? ah, I kill me.
Check out the links and let me know what you think! (I rhymed!)
The Clean 15
- Onion
- Avocado
- Sweet Corn
- Pineapple
- Mango
- Asparagus
- Sweet Peas
- Kiwi
- Cabbage
- Eggplant
- Papaya
- Watermelon
- Broccoli
- Tomato
- Sweet Potato
Interesting to note that most of these produce items have naturally thick skins or outer layers that we don’t eat. I also found it interesting that list includes cabbage, but lettuce, kale and spinach are on the dirty dozen. Curious.
Chemicals to Avoid! (source: Nutrition Action Healthletter, May 2008)
Acesulfame Potassium
Artificial sweetener – Chewing gum, diet soda, no-sugar-added baked goods and desserts, tabletop sweetener (sunett)
Poorly done safety tests in the 1970s suggested that acesulfame potassium may cause cancer. The FDA has refused to require better studies. Acesulfame potassium is often used together with sucralose.
Aspartame (NutraSweet)
Artificial Sweetener – Frozen desserts, diet soda, tabletop sweetener (Equal).
Disturbing new Italian research in animals indicates that longterm consumption may increase the risk of leukemia, lymphoma, and breast cancer. Although some people report dizziness, hallucinations or headaches after drinking diet soda, only one of the controlled studies that looked for a link found one (to headaches). People with the rare disease PKU (phenylketonuria) need to avoid aspartame.
Butylated Hydroxyanisole (BHA)
Antioxidant: Cereal packages, chewing gum, oil, potato chips.
It retards rancidity in fats, oils, and foods that contain oil. According to the federal government’s National Toxicology Program, :it is reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen,” based on animal studies.
Artificial Colorings:
Blue 1: Baked goods, beverages, candy. Inadequate tests suggested a small cancer risk.
Blue 2: Beverages, candy, pet food. The largest study suggested that it caused brain tumors in male mice. Unfortunately, the Food and Drug Administration concluded that there is “reasonable certainty of no harm.”
Green 3: Beverages, candy. A 1981 Industry-sponsored study showed hints of bladder cancer in laboratory animals, but after the FDA reanalysed the data, it concluded that the dye was safe. Fortunately, Green 3 is rarely used.
Red 3: Baked goods, candy, cherries in fruit cocktail. The FDA’s recommendation that Red 3 be banned – based on evidence that it caused thyroid tumors in rats – was overruled by pressure from the Reagan Administration.
Yellow 6: Baked goods, beverages, candy, gelatin, sausage. Industry-sponsored animal tests indicated that the third most widely used dye caused tumors of the adrenal gland and kidney. What’s more, small amounts of several carcinogens can contaminate Yellow 6. Even so, the FDA concluded that the coloring doesn’t endanger humans. Yellow 6 may also cause allergic reactions.
I was just reading about Stonyfield yogurt (organic yogurt!) and they had some info on organics. They had the dirty dozen listed, but it is different than your list. Not sure which to believe? They also had a statistic about pesticides stating that on average every person ingests 12 pesticides A DAY. OMG!! Gross! I’m buying as much organic stuff as possible!
Yeah, the more I learn, the more concerned I am! Organic, here we come!
Is it possible to run the first list of foods under water and dry it to make it safe. I just love the Honey Crisp Apples. They are a variety that has been developed right here in the midwest. I hate to give them up.
I don’t think so… but I have been wrong before!!
[…] organicalicious […]
I bought almost everything organic at Trader Joes today. I’m probably going to transition the animals to organic food and then transition us to organic/natural/safe/non-toxic cleaning products. I hate that the quality of our stuff is determined by people who only have money on their mind!! Jillian Miicahels from the Biggest Loser has a book out now called Master Your Metabolism. It’s generally about balancing your hormones for optimum health ande weight loss/control. The book focuses heavily on what to eat, when to eat, etc. But she has many resources listed in the back that seem really helpful. She’s big into organics. I am finding it really helpful!
[…] organicalicious […]
LOVE EM!