Mary Ann's Blog
An Apple A Day Could Keep the Doctor Coming
August 28, 2009
Recent food reports suggest that apples and peaches rank one and two among all fruits for highest pesticide levels. That’s a bummer because right now peaches are at their peak, and with school just around the corner, many a lunch box will have a nice, shiny apple tucked in next to the PB&J.
What’s more, it’s hard to minimize our exposure to harmful pesticides. Washing the fruit may help eliminate surface germs, but it will not get rid of pesticides which are not only on the surface, but inside the fruit as well. Same goes for vegetables. Peeling may help eliminate a fraction of surface pesticides but it also gets rid of a great deal of the nutrients and fiber that are part of the foods we eat. You could go all organic, a good idea if you are independently wealthy. Or you could choose those fruits and vegetables with the least amount of pesticides.
Fruits with the least number of pesticides include: bananas, kiwi, mangoes, pineapple and blueberries.
Fruits with more pesticides include: raspberries, plums, grapefruit, tangerines, honeydew melon and watermelon.
If you can, avoid the pesticide sprayed fruits like peaches, apples, nectarines, strawberries, cherries, and pears.
The other thing you can do is write a letter to your Senator or Member of Congress. Tell them to do more legislatively to protect the consumer from harmful pesticides that we eat in our foods every day. Think of all the money they could save on health care!
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