Dirtiest and the Cleanest Produce

Lifestyle Health & Fitness
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These days, we have more options for organic produce than ever before. Trends show that more consumers are buying organic more frequently because of concerns about health, pesticide exposure, and the environment.
But when you stroll into the produce section, do you ever wonder which organic fruits and vegetables you should be buying? Since organic foods are often more expensive, it’s important to know what to look for, so you don’t end up paying extra for organic fruits and veggies that are pretty clean, even in their non-organic versions.
One useful source for this information is the Environmental Working Group. Its Web site lists 44 fruits and vegetables ranked by the amount of pesticide residue each contains. Knowing which fruits and vegetables are usually carrying the most pesticides and which are cleanest, you can decide when it would be wisest to buy organic.
**The EWG’s “dirty dozen” are peaches, apples, sweet bell peppers, celery, nectarines, strawberries, cherries, lettuce, grapes (imported), pears, spinach, and potatoes. The “cleanest 12” are onions, avocados, sweet corn (frozen), pineapples, mangos, sweet peas (frozen), asparagus, kiwis, bananas, cabbage, broccoli, and eggplants. **
Think especially about buying organic when you’re choosing one of the “dirty dozen.” And, once you’re home, your best bet is to wash all produce, even the organic ones, in warm water before preparing them. Firm produce can be scrubbed with a vegetable brush; softer, riper produce can be washed with a sink sprayer — or use one of those special washing products designed just for produce.
Peeling fruits and vegetables does reduce pesticide exposure, of course, but peeling also removes some important nutrients found in the peel, such as fiber.

Produce: The Dirtiest and the Cleanest on Yahoo! Health

There you have it Ladies ‘n’ Gentlemen! Eat Right! Stay well!

Thoroughly wash all your veggies and fruits before storing it away or preparing it.

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Re: Dirtiest and the Cleanest Produce

thanks for the info , yups it's imp to wash/ clean & handle raw fruits , veggies and even meat in a proper way, though often ignored but it's a health concern.i see the cleanest 12 r mostly veggies

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Re: Dirtiest and the Cleanest Produce

great article!
also beware of peanuts. peanuts are planted on the same ground that cotton is- and cotton is heavily, heavily sprayed with pesticides. peanuts are planted as an alternate crop since cotton cannot be planted year after year, so you can imagine how much crud is in your average peanut.

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Re: Dirtiest and the Cleanest Produce

^^ dont peanuts grow in shells?, that should protect them from dirt.

Most of the dirty fruits/vegetables have no protective layers, whereas the clean ones have thick skin that is peeled before eaten, like onions/bannanas.

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Re: Dirtiest and the Cleanest Produce

Why the Nut that is Not a Nut Can Be Dangerous

For starters, the peanut (arachis hypogea) is actually not a nut at all. It is a bean – and a peculiar one at that. It is part of the legume family, and while most of the beans found in this family grow in pods on sprawling, climbing vines, the peanut plant is a lonely bush that matures its pods underneath the ground in a root system.

It is primarily due to the peanuts’ direct contact with the soil that they have become harmful, and even dangerous, to your health.

While actual nuts like almonds and walnuts have strong, hard shells that protect them, the legume known as a peanut has soft and porous skin. When the environment surrounding the peanut becomes warm, humid and wet – as it does in most regions of the U.S. where peanuts are commonly grown – a fungal growth occurs.

The fungus itself is not dangerous, but the poison it releases, known as “aflatoxin,” is. This cancer-causing agent attacks the liver and is one of the more deadly food-borne toxins in existence.

Largely because of the regions they’re commonly grown in and the fact that they’re relatively easy for pests to attack and penetrate, peanuts are also one of the crops most heavily sprayed with pesticides. So the standard peanut packs a double-whammy risk to your health.

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Re: Dirtiest and the Cleanest Produce

i just came across this thanks for the info. I need to do a better job washing em. :bummer: