Have you heard of the DIRTY DOZEN? How about the CLEAN FIFTEEN? If you're heading to the Farmer's Market, read on...

So, who are the Dirty Dozen, and why should we be concerned about them?  And who are the Clean Fifteen, and how can they help us out in a pinch?  Hint -if you're heading to the Farmer's Market this weekend, how do you know if you REALLY need to purchase organic fruits and vegetables - and what do you do if you can't afford to buy everything organic?  Wouldn't it be nice to have a SIMPLE LIST which guides us?  Turns out there IS such a list!  You can get it here:  http://www.ewg.org/foodnews/

For years, the Environmental Working Group has been studying fruits and vegetables to see how much pesticide remains in them AFTER proper washing (and peeling, for fruits such as bananas.)  It turns out that some fruits and vegetables have  high levels of pesticide, despite our best efforts to scrub our produce!  Luckily for us, the EWG publishes a list every year, with updated research, which tells us which non-organic produce is 'dirtiest' - the Dirty Dozen - and which produce is relatively clean - the Clean Fifteen.  When you purchase produce on the Dirty Dozen list, it makes sense to purchase ORGANIC versions of those, to minimize exposure to pesticide.  When you purchase produce on the Clean Fifteen list, you don't have to be QUITE as careful - if you need to, you can buy non-organic versions of these, and still have minimal pesticide exposure.

Why is this important?  Pesticide exposure has been linked to ADHD in children:

http://www.nbcnews.com/id/44260583/ns/health-childrens_health/t/pesticides-food-linked-adhd-kids/#.U3Yu11zpVok

"Children with substantially higher levels of a breakdown product of neurotoxic organophosphate pesticides were twice as likely to be diagnosed with ADHD. The university researchers conclude that parents should buy organic for their kids..."It's mainly exposure through food. Diet is the driver," says pediatrician and public health expert Phil Landrigan, MD, professor and chair of the department of community and preventive medicine at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City. "For most people, diet is the predominant source. It's been shown that people who switch to an organic diet knock down the levels of pesticide by-products in their urine by 85 to 90 percent…Numerous other researchers stress the importance of women eating organic at least six months before conception and throughout pregnancy, too.”

And pesticides have been linked to autoimmune disorders (and a new report shows autoimmune disorders have dramatically increased.)  http://nihrecord.nih.gov/newsletters/2011/03_18_2011/story4.htm 

"Frequent or extended exposure to pesticides may increase the risk for developing autoimmune diseases such as lupus and rheumatoid arthritis, according to the results of a longterm follow-up study of thousands of postmenopausal women."  

And pesticides have been linked to many other health problems:   http://www.cbsnews.com/news/pesticides-aplenty-in-your-fruits-and-veggies-the-2014-dirty-dozen/

"In a number of medical studies, pesticide exposure has been linked to Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, autism and endometriosis…."The USDA washes and peels the produce items that it tests and they still find pesticide residues on 65 percent of the samples," Alex Formuzis, vice president of EWG, told CBS News….Here is the Environmental Working Group's list of the "Dirty Dozen" fruits and vegetables (buy these organic):

1. Apples
2. Strawberries
3. Grapes
4. Celery
5. Peaches
6. Spinach
7. Sweet bell peppers
8. Nectarines
9. Cucumbers
10. Cherry tomatoes
11. Snap peas
12. Potatoes

So, when you're heading out to get your fantastic fresh fruits and vegetables this weekend, keep the Dirty Dozen and the Clean Fifteen in mind!  Better yet, print out the list, and bring it with you!  Remember, buy the Dirty Dozen in the ORGANIC version!  http://www.ewg.org/foodnews/list.php