by Rich Carson
July 31, 2007
Ever wonder how much pesticide is in your fruits and vegetables? This should be of special concern to Fibromyalgia and ME-CFS patients, whose fragile bodies are frequently overburdened with toxins.
The non-profit Environmental Working Group developed a list of the 10 fruits and vegetables that are most laden with poison, as well as the 10 that are most likely to be free of chemicals. Results were derived from about 43,000 tests for pesticides on produce collected by the USDA and FDA - and nearly all of the data used to create the list already consider how people typically wash and prepare produce.
Those in the ‘worst’ list are the fruits and vegetables that would be most worth spending the extra money on to make sure they are organic.
The 10 ‘worst’ are:
1. peaches
2. apples
3. bell peppers
4. celery
5. nectarines
6. strawberries
7. cherries
8. lettuce
9. grapes (imported)
10. pears
The 10 ‘best’ are:
1. onions
2. avocado
3. corn
4. pineapples
5. mango
6. peas
7. asparagus
8. kiwi
9. bananas
10. cabbage
Is it better to completely avoid the ‘worst’ produce when you can't find or afford organic sources? Experts say that consuming fruits and vegetables, no matter how they are grown, is better than not eating fruits and vegetables at all. Still, your best bet is to spend the extra money by buying organic whenever possible. (To review details of the Environmental Working Group’s findings for the 46 most commonly consumed types of produce, see their Complete Data Set at http://www.foodnews.org/fulldataset.php)
Here’s to your good health,
Rich Carson
CFS patient, ProHealth founder
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