Reduce Pesticide Exposure: Protect Your Family - Dirty Dozen - Clean Fifteen?

Pesticides in your child's food?

I struggle at times just thinking about what to cook for dinner or breakfast. As parents trying to feed our families fresh healthy fruits and vegetables can also be a struggle for our picky eaters.

On top of all that, we need to be on guard against pesticide filled foods.

WHY SHOULD I CARE?

Pesticide chemicals are linked to a wide range of health problems such as, asthma, cancer, birth defects, Parkinson, Alzheimer's Disease, ADHD, reproductive problems, and possible disorders of the endocrine system (includes all the glands in your body that make hormones. If your endocrine system isn't healthy, you might have problems developing during puberty, getting pregnant, or managing stress) as well as the immune system.

Thank goodness that someones watching out for us and our loved ones.

WHO ARE THE USDA'S & EWG'S?

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) tests large number of fruit and vegetable crops each year for more than 230 pesticides with priority on the produce that is highly consumed by infants and children
The Environmental Working Group (EWG) reviews USDA's data to provide consumers with useful summaries of these tests.
EWG is a non-profit organization as well as non-partizan who is dedicated themselves to protecting human health and the environment.
Their tireless research benefits our health concerning our tap water, cosmetics and even those harsh cleaners under our sinks.

DIRTY DOZEN KEY FINDINGS:

20 different pesticides showed up on a single sample of strawberries.
spinach samples had, an average, 1.8 times as much pesticide residue by weight than any other crop.

TAKE ACTION - BE PROACTIVE

You can take steps to protect you and your family from pesticides. Limit your exposure to pesticides when shopping with being on the look out for the Dirty Dozen:

EWG's Dirty Dozen:

Strawberries
Spinach
Nectarines
Apples
Grapes
Peaches
Cherries
Pears
Tomatoes
Celery
Potatoes
Sweet Bell Peppers

Clean Fifteen Key Findings:

More than 80 percent of pineapples, papayas, onions asparagus, and cabbages had no pesticide residues.
Multiple pesticide residues were extremely rare on Clean Fifteen vegetables. Only 5 percent of Clean Fifteen vegetable samples had two or more pesticides.

**Some papayas and sweet corn in the United States is GMO grown.

Here is the 2018 Clean 15 List:

Avocados
Sweet Corn
Pineapples
Cabbage
Onions
Frozen Sweet Peas
Papayas
Asparagus
Mangoes
Eggplant
Honeydew
Kiwi
Cantaloupe
Cauliflower
Grapefruit

Other Ways To Protect Your Family From Pesticides:

Scrub, while washing fruits and vegetables.
(Washing doesn't always get rid of all pesticides and chemicals as it grows into the entire plant, but it can reduce your risk and exposure)
Consider buying organic.
Buy seasonal fruits and vegetables.
Serve a rainbow variety of produce to reduce repeated pesticide consumption
Buy Frozen
Grow your own (my grandpa grew vegetables in a bucket)
Save the Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen on your notes app on your iPhone for quick access
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