Remembering the Clean 15 and Dirty Dozen

Welcome back to Wellness Wednesdays!

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Most of you have learned through my writing that eating healthy is important to me since I grew up in an holistic, organic and non-toxic household. Now, I try to educate others about clean eating. With Harvest season right around the corner, I thought it would be fitting to write about the Dirty Dozen and Clean 15.

Founded in 1992, the Environmental Working Group is an American organization that focuses on research and advocacy involving toxic chemicals, lands and farming. It is a non-profit organizations who’s goal is to inform the public on both public health and the environment. Back in 2010 the Environmental Working Group (EWG) but together a list of 12 foods the we should buy organic. This list is now refereed to as “The Dirty Dozen.” This is because the food on this list contained at least 47 chemicals and up to 67. This list is altered every year based on current research. The list includes:

celery
peaches
strawberries
apples
domestic blueberries
nectarines
sweet bell peppers
collard greens (spinach and kale)
cherries
potatoes
imported grapes
lettuce

In addition, the EWG released a list of 15 foods that had the lowest pesticide count in regular commercially grown crops. This list include:

Asparagus
Avocados
Cabbage
Cantaloupe (Rockmelon)
Eggplant
Grapefruit
Kiwi
Mangoes
Mushrooms
Pine-apples
Onions
Sweet corn
Sweet peas
Sweet potatoes
Watermelon

We need to be aware that these foods contain harmful chemicals since they have been proven to have a negative affect on our health. Children are particularly susceptible to negative side effects like childhood cancers, behavioral problems and trouble learning. In adults, pesticide exposure has been linked to issues like rheumatoid arthritis, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, lupus and cancer. These foods are prone to absorbing chemicals which are due to lacking protective skin.

However, it is important to be aware of which foods are more likely to have a higher pesticide exposure since they can have a poor affect of health, specifically during important stages of development.

Remember, both the Dirty Dozen and the Clean 15 were composed after all the food was washed. The idea that you can wash pesticides away is pure fantasy, but we should still always wash our food and utensils before you eat or cut eat our food.

It is important to shop organically for the dirty dozen and support local farmers markets.