Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen
Healthy eating is one of the important parts of living a healthy lifestyle.
Eating fresh fruits and vegetables instead of packaged, processed, preservative laced products is ALWAYS better, no matter what. However, if you have already made that transition in skipping most of the centre of the grocery store and staying to the perimeters where the fresh foods are, then let’s take that step further and be more discerning about the type of fresh fruits and vegetables we eat.
This is where the dirty dozen and the clean fifteen come into play.
When we look at fresh food choices, we have to start looking at pesticides, handling, shelf lives, etc. and what that does to the quality and healthy make-up of that food. As well, aside from pesticides and fertilizers, you have to look at the government economics where financial breaks and subsidization are given to those producers who are commonly outside of our own country leaving our local producers at a disadvantage.
I am not telling you to go 100% organic. There are always benefits and costs to all of this. Organic often tends to be more expensive and more difficult to find. However, perhaps you can make better choices like choosing to buy foods locally (e.g. farmer’s markets, go to u-pick berry farms, local meat providers, etc.). And if you decide to go one step beyond and buy organic, look at making some of your purchase choices organic. Take those foods that perhaps have the highest contamination and buy some of them organic. It’s all about a matter of making a lot of small choices that all add up to big health.
Here are the top 12 fresh produce with contamination:
Apples
Celery
Sweet bell peppers
Peaches
Strawberries
Nectarines
Grapes
Spinach
Lettuce
Cucumbers
Blueberries
Potatoes
Here are the top 15 fresh produce in order of least contamination:
Onions
Sweet Corn
Pineapples
Avocado
Cabbage
Sweet Peas
Asparagus
Mangoes
Eggplant
Kiwi
Cantaloupe
Sweet potatoes
Grapefruit
Watermelon
Mushrooms
Remember, when you’re buying produce as a whole, you shouldn’t expect your tomatoes or apples or cucumbers or strawberries or raspberries to last for a week or more. Keep in mind that they have already traveled a long ways (most of the time) and they have already been sitting in warehouses or stores before they are out for sale. How much nutrition has been lost in that transition?
FRESH IS ALWAYS BEST, no matter what, organic or non-organic. Just know you can always make a wiser choice!
Please feel free to visit our website at www.accesschiropractic.net or our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/accesswellness! You can also call to book with Dr. Bajor at the north location behind the Superstore at 403-945-1349 or contact the south location in the Airdrie CO-OP at 403-945-0855 to book with Drs. Jacqueline Boyd or Katie Lingard!
Drs. Jacqueline Boyd and Paul Bajor are also both registered and active members of the ICPA (International Chiropractic Pediatric Association).
