Pesticides in Food: What To Eat And What To Avoid

Use of pesticides on fruits and vegetables is very common. So it is important that we are aware of what we are putting on our plates. Of the 1.2 billion pounds of pesticides used annually in the US, less than .01% actually reach their intended targets - the bugs. A good part of it enters our food chain and are known to have connection to various health problems - nervous system toxicity, cancer, hormone system effects, and irritation of skin, eyes, and lungs among them.

Thankfully, the Environmental Working Group has put together a ranked list of the 49 most purchased produce items, based on laboratory tests conducted by the US Department Of Agriculture Pesticide Testing Program. So if you can't get organic, at least you know which foods are the safest, and which should be avoided.

The EWG rated the 49 items based on a variety of measurements, including percent of detectable pesticides and multiple pesticides, average number and amount of pesticides on samples, and maximum number and amounts of pesticides per item. The list is based on analysis of 96,000 pesticide tests the USDA and FDA conducted between 2000 and 2008. Most of the tests were conducted on poduce that had been rinsed and peeled.

You can get the full report from EWG of the 49 listed items. However, we'll give you a list of the 5 most contaminated conventionally grown fruits and vegetables you'll want to stay away from, as well as the 5 safest to consume with the least amount of toxins (ranked in the order):

Worst:

1. Celery - ranks worst when it comes to pesticide contamination. 95%  contained pesticides.

2. Peaches - 96% of peaches were positively tested for pesticides.

3. Strawberries - had multiple pesticides.

Apples - 93.6% of the apples had pesticides.

5. Blueberries - 10 different chemicals were found on the berries.

Safest:

1. Onions - ranked # 1 as being the safest. 90% tested had no chemicals.

2. Avacado - ranked # 2. Less than 10% of the samples had pesticides.

3. Sweet Corn - ranked # 3. 90% of the samples had no chemicals.

4. Pineapple - ranked # 4. 90% of the samples had no pesticides.

5. Mangoes - ranked # 5. 90% of the samples had no pesticides.

Dr. Andrew Well discusses his thoughts on pesticides. "Pesticides are toxins and they can't be good for you, so the only question is how bad they are".

Source: as posted by TRAVIS WALTER DONOVAN - Huffington Post.