Wellness Wednesday

When It Comes To Fruit and Vegetables, The Benefits Outweigh The Risks Of Pesticides

A newly released report on the top fruits riddled with pesticides has many thinking about ditching fruits and vegetables to avoid the pesticides on the surface.

A list of 12 vegetables labeled the "Dirty Dozen" and an accompanying list labeled the "Clean Fifteen" have many grocery consumers on the fence about buying and consuming products such as strawberries, apples and nectarines. However, fruits and veggies are an essential part of our diet that supplies us with vitamins and antioxidants, while keeping our calories low. The staple foods also have been linked with a reduced risk of heart disease, cancer, diabetes and obesity. So are fruits and vegetables worth giving up due to the risk of pesticides, and are the reports of pesticide laden fruits and veggies even impacting consumer choices that much?

The Illinois Institute of Technology researchers looked into 500 low income families and their consumer choices after learning about the "Dirty Dozen" report. The results were rather astounding, as the families didn't just avoid the "Dirty Dozen" fruits and veggies mentioned in the report, but avoided fruits and veggies as a whole. The report did find, however, that 61% of people in the study were likely to buy organic produce but couldn't afford them due to the 47% mark-up.

Carl K Winter, a food toxicologist, stated that despite the report the foods in the "Dirty Dozen" list have very small traces of pesticides actually detected on the foods. He also stated that when small amount of pesticides on the food, and the fact that they should be washed before consumption makes leaving them out of a diet nonsensical. The Environmental Working Group, who published the Shopper's Guide to Pesticides Report, recommended consuming fruits and vegetables, because the benefits outweigh the negatives.