The Dirty Dozen and the Clean Fifteen

By Garrick Dee

Guest writer for Wake Up World

In this modern era of fast living we are so busy that we don’t pay attention to the environment around us or what’s in the food we eat. But here’s a sobering fact — we are bombarded with pesticides, literally billions of pounds of them. Based on this report by the EPA, 6 billion pounds of pesticides were used in 2012, and as time goes on, that number continues to rise.

Among the most lethal pesticides used are organophosphates and based on the report above it is still being used extensively, around 33 million pounds (back in 2007). The negative effects of organophosphate exposure can’t be ignored — studies have shown that it can cause developmental problems in children, cause issues with pregnancy and reproductive health. It also has been linked to diseases like leukemia, lymphoma and Parkinson’s disease.

That’s just one in many chemicals used by pesticide manufacturers and there are a lot more out there. My point is we have to be careful when shopping for produce and try to minimize if not totally avoid pesticide exposure because our lives are at stake.

We can do this by looking at the Environmental Working Group’s Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen. These are a list of the dirtiest and cleanest produce based on pesticide residue. It guides you by arming you with the knowledge of which items to buy organic and conventional. Obviously you’d for the dirty dozen you’d want to buy organic and you can opt for conventionally grown produce for the clean fifteen.

EWG also has a special section called the dirty dozen plus that list three items that contain traces of hazardous pesticides that are hazardous to our nervous system, these are collard greens, kale and hot pepper.

If you’re familiar with the dirty dozen, this is the infographic version that has a few special sections as well. One of them is that it lists five places where you can buy organic fruits and vegetables at a cheaper price. I know everyone loves a good deal so make sure to check that out.

Also by Garrick Dee:

• Health Benefits of Drinking Lemon Water (Particularly in the Morning)

About the author:

Garrick Dee is the man behind Juicing With G, a site he created to share the juice recipes he’s tried and experimented with, and help other new juicers to get juicing!

Less than inspired by his health-conscious mom’s apple/celery juice concoctions, Garrick used to eat a diet of junk food… until a health issue forced him to limit his junk food intake. At this time, he still hated juicing and relied on pharmaceutical medications rather than healthy choices. But this decision ultimately affected the health of Garrick’s liver.

Now Garrick has a different perspective. Married with a son, he watches what he eat for his family’s sake. Still not fond of celery juice (“yuck!”) Garrick started Juicing With G to document and share his recipes and his research as a reluctant juicer on a mission to find the perfect health blends for the taste-conscious.

You can connect with Garrick at JuicingWithG.com or Facebook.com/JuicingWithG.