Over the last decade I have started to be more concerned about the foods my family and I eat. I preach on a daily basis to my clients to take care of their skin, use high quality skin care products and avoid excessive sun exposure. As we know, eating healthy and exercising is critical to the overall health and look of our skin and bodies. The fat-free, sugar-substitute food products of the 80’s and 90’s decades are behind us and I believe people are more educated today on what foods provide the most nutrition to better our health. Organic foods are much more popular today but they can often come with a higher price tag. So if you are trying to add more organic, clean food products into your diet, consider which organic choices may be the best.
In May of 2014, the Huffington Post published an article on the “Dirty Dozen”, as part of the Environmental Working Group’s (EWG) yearly Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce. The 2014 “Dirty Dozen” are listed below. You may think twice next time you are food shopping!
12. Imported Snap Peas (a single pea sample carried 13 different pesticides)
11. Potatoes (average potato sample carried more pesticides by weight than any of the tested foods)
10. Cherry Tomatoes (a single tomato tested positive for 13 different pesticides)
9. Cucumber
8. Imported Nectarines (every sample tested for at least 1 pesticide)
7. Sweet Bell Peppers
6. Spinach
5. Peaches
4. Celery (a single sample tested positive for 13 different pesticides)
3. Grapes (a single grape contained 15 pesticides)
2. Strawberries (a single strawberry tested positive for 13 different pesticides)
1. APPLES (almost every sample, 99%, tested positive for at least 1 pesticide residue)
Julie Vondrak, Master Aesthetician
