I’ve shared some advice from Dr. Mercola in the past. I use to be a patient of his and still subscribe to him. I respect his opinion and agree with him on most everything. He shared that he believes some organic foods are rip-offs, when their conventional counterparts are already grown using low amounts of pesticides and the food in question must be peeled anyway, such as bananas.
The Environmental Working Group is a reliable source when trying to decide on what to buy organic. According to their latest 2010 pesticide review, the following 12 foods rank as the most pesticide-free produce, even when conventionally-grown, so you can save a few bucks by opting for the conventionally-grown version of these:
Onions Avocados Watermelon Pineapple Mango Frozen sweet peas Asparagus Kiwi Cabbage Eggplant Cantaloupe Frozen sweet corn was on the list above but he removed it to avoid confusion. He does NOT recommend consuming non-organic corn and even organic corn should be consumed sparingly.
The foods you want to splurge on by buying organic are foods that have permeable or edible skins, and/or that are conventionally grown with higher amounts of pesticides. Based on the EWG’s report, the top 12 foods to buy organic include:
Grapes Potatoes Kale / Collard greens Cherries Spinach Sweet bell peppers Nectarines Blueberries Apples Strawberries Peaches Celery For the whole list of produce, ranked from best to worst in terms of pesticide load, please see the EWG’s listing.
Another major rip-off is organic milk. Because while organic milk must come from a cow that hasn’t been fed artificial growth hormones or pesticide-laden feed, they’re not necessarily pastured, or grass-fed cows. And worst of all organic milk (unless RAW) is still pasteurized, which destroys vital nutrients.
So, just because it’s organic, doesn’t mean it’s worth a much higher price.
For more info visit his site at www.mercola.com
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