Eating organic may seem out of reach for some. Whether it is the price tag that too often accompanies the organic produce, or the early morning farmers’ market runs that make organic eating not quite practical, Fear no more!
The Environmental Workers Group have added a level of practicality to clean eating. They have created the Dirty Dozen, Clean 15 cheat sheet (1). This shows you which foods are blanketed in chemicals and soak up these nasties, along with the fresh produce that has least exposure to chemicals and once prepared to be eaten, contain the least amount of these nasties.
Research from Oats et al has confirmed that eating 80% organically for only 1 week (one week!) is enough to reduce your toxic levels (more specifically your organophosphate pesticides) by a whopping 89% (2). Take the challenge and feel the difference.
Reduce your chemical exposure by choosing organic sources for those foods in the Dirty Dozen list. Don’t feel guilty about enjoying the non-organic sources of those in the Clean 15 list. Simple.
- Environmental Working Group 2017, Washington DC, accessed 18/09/18, < https://www.ewg.org/foodnews/>
- Oates L, Cohen M, Braun L, Schembri A, Taskova R. Reduction in urinary organophosphate pesticide metabolites in adults after a week-long organic diet. Environmental research. 2014;132:105-11.
About The Author - Samantha Mainland
Samantha is a highly educated Naturopath having graduated from both Southern Cross University with a Bachelor of Naturopathy, and University of Tasmania with a Bachelor of Medicine Management with Professional Honours in Complementary Medicine.