What to Buy Organic

I stopped in at Nature's Pantry, a health food store, about 12 miles from my home. Normally I buy my fruits and vegetables closer to home, but when I happen to be in the vicinity I make a point of stopping by. They usually have a great selection of organic produce, and this day was no exception. I had to control myself not to overbuy. Everything looked so good!

This reminded me of a question that many people ask: if you can't afford to buy exclusively organic which foods are most important to buy organic?

You can consult the list at Environmental Working Group to determine which foods have the most and the least pesticides. Every year they revise the list of the "Dirty Dozen" and the "Cleanest 12". Notice that peppers and celery are high on the "Dirty Dozen" meaning they are high in pesticides.

These are the two vegetables that I make a point of buying organic because I eat them often. I also buy organic carrots. It saves time if you can just scrub them and don't have to peel them. (If I am serving people outside my family, I do peel them just because most people are squeamish about having unpeeled carrots because they don't know that organic ones are fine unpeeled.)

When it comes to apples I often buy locally grown ones, in favor of the organic. This may be a mistake, but the locally grown ones do taste great. If possible, I ask the farmer about their use of pesticides.

It makes sense to cut down on ingesting pesticides, which are a source of chemical stress on the body, and have been implicated in contributing to cancer. Take a look at the EWG list and determine which foods you should be sure to buy organic. Those high on the Dirty Dozen that you eat often are prime candidates.

Copyright ©2009 Ruth S. Sheets. All rights reserved.