Pesticides and Toxins: We take a stand!

We are now partnering with Environne (http://www.vegiwash.com/) to offer an effective way to remove pesticide residues from fruits and vegetables.

The risk from pesticide and other contaminants is very real, especially for children, pregnant women and those over sixty.

Recent findings of chemical and pesticide residues on fruits and vegetables are disturbing. A new study in the journal Pediatrics associates exposure to pesticides with cases of ADHD in the U.S. and Canada. The fact is we simply do not know all the risks of exposure to these contaminants, but all evidence is that they are serious and cumulative.

In addition to pesticides from fruits and vegetables we also know that chemical exposure is potentially even greater from a variety of plastics and packaging. These exposures have been shown to cause reproductive abnormalities amongst other health issues.

The chart below lists the "dirty dozen" of contaminated fruits and vegetables. The best bet is to purchase the most highly contaminated items in organic form, but when this is not possible due to cost or supply reasons, the use of the Environne wash is the best way to minimize contaminant exposure. Note that it is a good idea to wash even organic vegetables for a variety of reasons, including mishandling and false labeling of non-organic products.

I have often mentioned the risks from contaminants in seafood. A recent research report however has shown that heavy metals and toxins beyond anyone's imagination has been found even in remote areas of the oceans in whales. "These contaminants, I think, are threatening the human food supply. They certainly are threatening the whales and the other animals that live in the ocean," said biologist Roger Payne, founder and president of Ocean Alliance, the research and conservation group that produced the report.

It is difficult at best to choose safe seafood, but it is safe to assume all predatory seafood is contaminated, and that virtually all wild seafood carries at least minimal contamination. The chart below may help and can be viewed at: http://www.edf.org/page.cfm?tagID=17694.

Please don't let the seemingly pervasive exposure to chemical contaminants deter your efforts to eat and stay healthy. I firmly believe that you can make a difference by eating food you know from people you trust!