Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides

I think most of us try these days to eat a healthy diet. Of course we all have our moments when we have to eat pizza or ice cream or even chocolate plus a whole host of other junk foods.

What I hate though is when you try to eat right and be textbook, so to speak, only to find out that what you’ve been eating all these years is harmful to your health.

What I’m talking about is the news that came out the other day about pesticides on your fruit and vegetables. I eat oatmeal every morning with frozen mangoes and blueberries on top sprinkled with cinnamon. Now they tell us that the blueberries have such large doses of pesticides that even washing the frozen ones won’t get enough of them off. Here I thought I was being so good and health conscious.

Making healthy food choices is simple, especially if we have the right tools to guide us down the produce aisle. The Environmental Working Group provides this easy-to-use list so we can all shop smarter, save money and be that much more healthy — and happy.

This list shows the “Dirty Dozen” those with the highest levels of pesticides and the “Clean 15” those with the lowest levels. You can view that here.

In addition, below Dr. Andrew Weil, renowned medical expert on natural health and wellness, tells us why and how he uses the Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides.

Although it’s not always easy to purchase organic foods whether it’s due to cost or the location we live in, it’s still very important for us to stay abreast of what’s going on environmentally, for the sake of our children and ourselves.

I suppose I’ll have to start adding something from the “Clean 15” to my oatmeal instead of my usual blueberries or I’ll just have to double up on the mangoes.