Have you heard of the “Dirty Dozen” and the “Clean 15”? And did you know they can change every year?!
Each year the Environmental Working Group analyzes data to produce a list of fruits and veggies ranked by contaminants and pesticides! These images show 2020’s results.
Dirty Dozen: Fruits and vegetables that tested positive for a number of different pesticides and show the highest concentration overall. These are produce items you should try to buy organic – if possible!
Strawberries are the DIRTIEST for the fourth year in a row with almost all samples – 99% – having detectable residues of at least one pesticide.
Clean 15: Produce that tested with the lowest amount of pesticides! With the cleanest award going to: the holy avocado! These are the produce items that you can skip organic on!
“But why should you be aware of pesticide residues on produce? Well, pesticides are bad news for your bones, because many are pro-oxidant, which means they produce free radicals in your body. And free radicals can trigger low-grade, chronic inflammation which causes bone loss!
Plus, pesticides have been linked to fertility issues in both men and women.”
Also from EWG…
“In four separate clinical trials, people who switched from conventional to organic foods saw a rapid and dramatic reduction in their urinary pesticide concentrations, a marker of pesticide exposure. Additional studies have linked higher consumption of organic foods to lower urinary pesticide levels, improved fertility and birth outcomes, reduced incidence of non-Hodgkin lymphoma and lower BMI.”
Did any of these produce rankings surprise you?
For the full summary visit: https://www.ewg.org/foodnews/summary.php