South Forsyth County – Alpharetta-Cumming Chiropractor Reports:

Over the years there has been a great debate over organic versus non-organic foods. Do you really need to go organic… or… is it just a waste of money?

The Environmental Working Group (
www.ewg.org) is a nonprofit organization that advocates in Washington D.C. for policies that protect global and individual health. Among the many valuable services they provide is a Shoppers' Guide to Pesticides in Produce.

It is based on the results of nearly 43,000 pesticide tests performed on produce and collected by federal agencies between 2000 and 2004. Nearly all of the data used took into account how people typically wash and prepare produce - for example, apples were washed and bananas peeled before testing.

Of the 43 different fruit and vegetable categories tested, these had the
highest pesticide load, making them the most important to buy organic versions of or to grow organically yourself:

Peaches - Apples - Sweet bell peppers - Celery - Nectarines - Strawberries - Cherries - Lettuce - Grapes (imported) - Pears - Spinach - Potatoes

Of the 43 different fruit and vegetable categories tested, the following 12 foods do not have to be organic. These had the
lowest pesticide load, and consequently are the safest conventionally grown crops to consume from the standpoint of pesticide contamination:

Broccoli - Eggplant - Cabbage - Banana - Kiwi - Asparagus - Sweet peas (frozen) - Mango - Pineapple - Sweet corn (frozen) - Avocado - Onion

Why Should You Care About Pesticides?

The EWG points out that there is a growing consensus in the scientific community that small doses of pesticides and other chemicals can have adverse effects on health, especially during vulnerable periods such as fetal development and childhood.

A few other notes from the EWG: Nectarines had the highest percentage of samples that tested positive for pesticides (97.3 percent) followed by peaches (96.6 percent) and apples (93.6 percent). Peaches had the highest likelihood for multiple pesticides on a single sample: 86.6 percent had two or more pesticide residues.

For more information about how we can improve your overall health or for more information about our
pain relief services, please call our office at 770-777-0900 and visit our website at http://www.painreliefcare.com

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