Top 12 Foods to Buy Organic

Here are the fruits and vegetables containing some of the worst pesticide levels.  You can buy smarter knowing which organic choices are going to have the biggest impact on your health.

The list can be found in the book RX from the Garden: 101 Food Cures You Can Easily Grow

• Peaches (highest pesticide levels)
• Apples
• Bell Peppers
• Celery
• Nectarines
• Strawberries
• Cherries
• Kale
• Lettuce
• Grapes
• Carrots
• Pears

The NY Times has a great article about Five Easy Ways to Go Organic where they list five highly-consumed foods that are worth buying organic.  Here are the five items.

• Milk
• Potatoes
• Peanut butter
• Ketchup
• Apples

The dairy industry uses growth hormones, anti-biotics, and pesticides that can be found in regular milk bought in grocery stores.  A recent USDA survey found specific pesticides in 30% of regular milk samples and low levels in only one organic sample.  If you or your family members drink milk, consider putting down a little extra for organic milk to avoid a contaminated product.

Commercially farmed potatoes are some of the most pesticide-laden vegetables.  81 percent of potatoes still had pesticides even being washed and pealed, according to a 2006 USDA test.

Fungicides are used to harvest peanuts.  Enough said.

Recent research has shown that organic ketchup has about double the anti-oxidants of regular ketchup.

Apples are one of the worst fruits for pesticide levels.  Thankfully any store that carries organic produce will probably have at least one variety of organic apples.

Read more about why it's important to choose organic when possible:

Pesticides Affect Children's Intelligence - NYTimes.com
Babies exposed to high levels of common pesticides in the womb have lower I.Q. scores than their peers by the time they reach school age, according to three new studies.