EATING WELL ON A BUDGET: Avoiding pesticides like the plague PART II
Can you wash pesticides off of produce?
The simple and quick answer is: NO!
Best way to avoid pesticides in your food is to buy organic or grow them yourself. If that is not possible, then at least avoid the 14 most contaminated veggies and produce. Buy those organic. Find the list, here from a previous post: “Toxic Food”.
Steps to reduce pesticide exposure
Pesticides are not your friend. If you must buy conventionally grown and pesticide sprayed produce, at least attempt to reduce your toxin exposure by following these steps:
- Avoid the 14 most contaminated produce featured in this list.
- Peel fruits and vegetables
- Wash your veggies and fruits
- Make your own veggie and fruit wash
PEEL FRUITS AND VEGETABLES
Washing veggies and fruit
Most pesticides are not water soluble.
You can’t wash all pesticide residue off of produce with water. However, some studies have said you can reduce a percentage of toxic residues if you rinse produce in warm running water for at least 30 seconds.
However, there are two other approaches that seem more effective.
WASHING WITH SOAP?
Wash your veggies with soap. When I first heard this advice, I was disgusted! I didn’t want to have any soap residue or smell on what i eat. But truth is – those ‘healthy’ veggies had been showered with chemicals long before they got to my table. But be careful! Make sure your soap is an organic, natural soap! Otherwise, you will be just adding more toxins to your food. Most dishwashing soaps are loaded with artificial colors, carcinogenics and neurotoxins. So buy a natural soap such as Better Life dish soap. Find it here.
MAKE YOUR OWN VEGGIE AND PRODUCE WASH
Simply rinsing produce with water is not enough. Follow these directions and you have a better chance of reducing the amount of toxic pesticides you might ingest along with your veggie serving for the day.
Soak your vegetables in a solution of vinegar and water for at least a few minutes. The solution is 1 part vinegar and 3 parts water. You can use white vinegar or apple cider vinegar.
Or soak vegetable in a solution of sea salt and water.
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