Eating organic can be stressful and costly but the benefits to both our health and our environment are undeniable. That’s why I formulated the post, How to Eat Healthy and Organic on a Budget.

As to help you transition into a healthier lifestyle without breaking the bank. Think of eating organic though not as expensive (which is a mindset that comes from lack) but as an investment in yours and your family’s health (a mindset of abundance).

I personally highly recommend eating everything organic because of the environmental benefits but I understand not all of us can jump right in like that and sometimes we have to pick and choose our battles.

So if you haven’t heard of the clean fifteen and dirty dozen, they’re lists of the foods that contain the most pesticides (dirty dozen) and the least (clean fifteen), created by the Environmental Working Group.

Reasons to Organic

More than 98% of the dirty dozen list tested positive for pesticides.
Organic food is higher in nutrients because the soil it’s grown in is higher richer in minerals.
Some of the dirty dozen have tested positive for up to 20 different kinds of pesticides.
No amount of poison in our food is acceptable (in my opinion).
Pesticides are linked to many health problems including but no where near limited to cancer, ADHD and autism.
Pesticides harm bee colonies.

Therefore, if you’re going to pick and choose which foods you buy organic and which ones you don’t, these lists are great reference points so that you can avoid the most toxic ones.

Clean Fifteen

Asparagus
Avocados
Cabbage
Cantaloupe
Cauliflower
Eggplant
Grapefruit
Kiwi
Mangoes
Onions
Papayas
Pineapples
Sweet Corn
Peas
Sweet Potatoes

Dirty Dozen

Apples
Celery
Cherries
Cucumbers
Grapes
Nectarines
Peaches
Potatoes
Snap Peas
Spinach
Strawberries
Sweet Bell Peppers

The Rest of the List in order from most pesticides to least:

Hot Peppers
Kale
Collard Greens
Blueberries
Green Beans
Plums
Tangerines
Raspberries
Carrots
Winter Squash
Oranges
Summer Squash
Bananas
Green Onions
Watermelon
Mushrooms
Sweet Potatoes
Broccoli

I hear far too often people write off organic food because, in their opinion, the government would never allow anything into our food that is harmful.

Don’t fall into this.

As wonderful as it would be for it to be true, it just isn’t. We haven’t evolved far enough as a society as of yet to have officials that clean up the world we live in for us so that we don’t have to worry about it.

Things are progressing, don’t get me wrong, but these things take time and move much faster when normal people like you and I do our part to live by how things should be done and get the word out about it the best we can.

Don’t put something as important as yours and your family’s health into the hands of polices that should exist but don’t. Take control of your life, after all, no one could care for your family as fully as you do, right?

If you need some support in cleaning up your diet in a non stressful manner, message me. It never hurts to talk about it.

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