The Five Ways to Get Fruits & Veggies Into Your Family's Day Today post examined a few sugestions on how to increase fiber and nutrition content in your day. What we didn't examine, however, were the types of fruits & vegetables on which you should concentrate your efforts.
According to a study featured in Natural News (and Hungry for Change), eating a mostly organic diet can reduce your exposure to pesticides by 90%! The study also shows that these dramatic internal changes can happen as a result of eating like this for just one week. Read about that here.
In terms of how you should buy fruits and vegetables, if you aren't able to grow your own (I wish! but I can't...) and can't get everything organic, you should take a look at what the Environmental Working Group has compiled. You might have seen these or heard of them before; the "Dirty Dozen" and "Clean Fifteen" lists below can help you to reduce your family's exposure to toxins, while still being reasonable with the corresponding costs. I include this not to scare you, but to make you more mindful of what you can do to reduce the effects of pesticides and other toxins in your own household and body.
DIRTY DOZEN (this means they are the most likely to contain harmful toxins when produced conventionally, so if you are can buy organic any produce, start here):
- apples
- grapes
- strawberries
- pears
- peaches
- sweet bell peppers
- celery
- cherries
- spinach
- lettuce
- potatoes
- nectarines
CLEAN FIFTEEN (this means that although they are not organic, even produced conventionally, they are the least likely to contain harmful chemical residues):
- onions
- avocados
- asparagus
- pineapple
- cabbage
- cauliflower
- eggplant
- mangoes
- kiwi
- papayas
- sweet corn
- sweet potatoes
- sweet peas-frozen
- grapefruit
- cantaloupe
This post is simply meant to be a reminder that through what you buy at the store or farmer's market, you control the amount of pesticides to which your family is exposed. You determine what is in your shopping cart. By being mindful of the most and least toxin-containing foods and your decisions on which ones your family wants, you can be more mindful, overall, of how you treat your body.
And if you're participating in the May Wellness Challenge, keep it up!Labels: Body & Mind, Go Ahead--Try It!, May Wellness Challenge, Mindful Eating