Hi guys! I apologize for being a bit MIA on the blog, but I’m finally finished with this semester of grad school! It’s been a tough one, trying to balance my full time clinical position with school work, blogging, eating healthy/working out and having a social life! I’m finally done (at least for a few weeks until summer classes) and I’m really taking this time to soak in some of my favorite self care activities!
Today’s blog post topic is fitting for this time of year as there is an abundance of spring produce and you may be wondering, what foods should I buy organic? In an ideal world, we would like to all buy organic foods 100% of the time, but that isn’t always the case as organic foods are usually more expensive than conventionally grown foods.
When grocery shopping, I always have my phone prepared with a list of the Dirty Dozen and Clean 15. These are two lists updated yearly by the Environmental Working Group to give us the low down on the top 12 most heavily pesticide laden foods versus the 15 conventional foods that have the least pesticide residues. Foods that are on the top of the Dirty Dozen list should always be bought organic to avoid heavy pesticide exposure, and foods on the Clean 15 list I tend to buy non-organic as their pesticide exposure is low. The foods at the top of the dirty dozen list have the most pesticides, and it descends down the list in order of decreasing pesticide residues.
Using these lists as a guide can help you save money by making educated decisions about which foods are more beneficial to buy organic than others.
Dirty Dozen (2018): Buy these organic!
- Strawberries
- Spinach
- Nectarines
- Apples
- Grapes
- Peaches
- Cherries
- Pears
- Tomatoes
- Celery
- Potatoes
- Sweet Bell Peppers (Red)
Clean 15 (2018): Buy these Conventional/Non-organic!
- Avocado
- Sweet Corn
- Pineapple
- Cabbage
- Onions
- Frozen Sweet Peas
- Papaya
- Asparagus
- Mangoes
- Eggplant
- Honeydew
- Kiwis
- Cantaloupe
- Cauliflower
- Broccoli
Find the original summary of both lists by the EWG here.
*If you’re still not sure about a certain fruit or vegetable, a good rule of thumb relates to whether or not it contains an outer shell or skin that we don’t consume. For example, avocados and bananas have an outer skin that we don’t eat, so I tend to buy these non-organic. And if you can tell from the Clean 15 list, many of these fruits and vegetables contain an outer skin or layer we don’t eat. Always remember to wash your produce thoroughly, whether organic or not!
Meat and Dairy
I also recommend buying organic meats, poultry, and dairy as much as possible to ensure that the feed the animals are consuming have low pesticide residue, and these animals are never fed any hormones, antibiotics, or animal byproducts that conventional meats may contain. Higher levels of antibiotics in conventional foods have a negative impact on our gut microbiome over time and may increase the risk of antibiotic resistance. Some studies have also shown that organic meat and dairy contain higher content of omega 3 fatty acids (1).
Organic farming is also a more sustainable practice for the future of farming compared to conventionally raised crops! Organic crops have also been shown to have higher percentage of antioxidants and polyphenols compared to non-organic crops. Conventional meat has been found to have slightly higher level of saturated fatty acids such as myristic and palmitic acids that have unfavorable effects on cardiovascular health (1).
When in doubt, come back to this blog post before grocery shopping so you become a savvy produce shopper, save money, and live healthier!
And don’t forget, these lists change yearly depending on the EWG and their yearly assessment of produce!
Reference:
1. Baranski, M., Rempelos, L., Iversen, P., et al. Effects of organic food consumption on human health; the jury is still out! Food Nutr Res. 2017; 61(1): 1287333.
