When we select foods to buy and to eat, healthfulness and nutritional value should be top of our list of priorities. Here is a list of healing foods to buy organic.
When choosing healing foods, we want ones that are high in supportive nutrients and clear of toxic chemicals. Consuming foods as they are grown from Nature is where to begin – fresh fruits, wholesome vegetables, hearty whole grains, lively legumes, nutritious nuts and seeds, some calming low-fat dairy, and non-toxic animal proteins, from eggs to flesh, if these are desired and feel right for you. Then, make sure that the main foods you eat are not filled with additives, exposed to pesticides and chemical sprays, or contaminated in other ways, such as from the water, soil or industrial treatments.
The key foods to buy organically grown and/or manufactured from organic ingredients are:
- Those that are commonly heavily treated – strawberries are a good example.
- Those where you eat the parts that are sprayed, as in leafy greens or broccoli.
- Those that you consume frequently, so exposure will accumulate over time, such as apples or bananas. Ideally, our entire diet should be made up of wholesome, healthy organic foods.
My list of healing foods to buy organically grown 1includes:
1. STRAWBERRIES
Strawberries are red and energising, rich in vitamin C and carotenoids (beta-carotene and others). But this fruit is the most heavily contaminated produce food in the USA, according to data from a number of environmental groups. Strawberries in California are treated with more than 130 kg of pesticides an acre, and some areas of the country use up to 225 kg an acre. As a comparison, conventional farming in the US currently uses about 10 kg of pesticides an acre on the average crop.
Also, some growers spray the harvested strawberries for shipping, adding to the chemical concentration in the fruit. Strawberries were also found to have the highest levels of hormone-affecting pesticides, including benomyl, vinclozolin and endosulfan. Methyl bromide is another common toxic spray used on strawberries. Out-of-season strawberries may be even more heavily treated because they come from other countries and are sprayed before shipping.
2. LEAFY GREENS, SUCH AS LETTUCES, SPINACH, KALE AND CHARD
These foods are vital and nutritious. They contain folic acid as well as calcium, iron and other minerals. However, sprayed chemicals tend to remain on the leaves, which is potentially even more harmful because those are the parts we eat. In US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) studies, spinach was the leafy green most frequently found to contain the more potent pesticides, especially the organophosphates (neurotoxic) and permethrin (mildly carcinogenic).
3. GRAPES
Grapes contain cleansing fibre, B vitamins and vitamin C, plus some minerals from the soil. Red grapes contain many phytonutrients, including the healthy proanthocyanidins, which appear to protect the heart. Unless they are organically grown, however, grapes may receive multiple applications of a variety of chemical agents. Many fruits, including grapes, ripen quickly and attract insects and moulds. They therefore tend to be heavily treated in order to get them to the market – and protect the financial interests of the grower.
4. RICE
Rice is the most frequently consumed food on the planet. This high-fibre, low-fat staple contains many B vitamins and minerals including the important antioxidant, anti-cancer mineral selenium. You should seriously consider buying organically grown rice and rice products, especially if it is one of your staple foods. The dangerous herbicide 2,4,5-T was sprayed on rice before being banned in 1984, and many persistent water-soluble herbicides and insecticides have been found to contaminate the ground water near major rice fields. I suggest buying organic rice in bulk – this way it's as economical as non-organic pre-packaged rice, and it's much safer.
5. CRUCIFEROUS VEGETABLES
Because of their healthy antI-cancer phytonutrients, vitamin and mineral content, high fibre and low calories, the cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts and cauliflower) are excellent foods to eat regularly. But here again we are eating the parts that may have been sprayed with carcinogenic chemicals, so it’s preferable to buy the organically grown versions of these vegetables.
6. APPLES
A staple in many diets, apples contain cleansing fibre, detoxifying pectin and many nutrients. However, most apples have been found to be nearly as contaminated as strawberries. Forty-eight different pesticides were detected by FDA testing in nearly 2 500 samples from 1984 to 1991, while 36 different chemicals were found in their 1992 – 1993 evaluations. Nearly half of these 36 chemicals were either neurotoxic or carcinogenic. In the FDA analyses, apples and peaches were the two crops with the highest number of different pesticides per crop – seven! Fortunately, a shift away from spraying orchards is occurring in some areas; about 70% of apple growers in the US are using organic practices and integrated pest management. If you buy non-organic apples, be sure to peel them and discard the skin before you eat them, since most of the chemical residues are on the apple skins. We might want to change our saying to ‘an organic apple a day keeps the doctor away.'
7. ALMONDS AND SUNFLOWER SEEDS
These nutrient-rich life forms of Nature contain high amounts of vitamins and minerals as well as vital essential fatty acids (EFAs). Unfortunately they can also contain high quantities of pesticides and other chemicals, since many of these are attracted to oil rather than water. They are compact essences of nutrition with many B vitamins, minerals (including hard-to-find minerals like zinc and selenium), and healthy, tissue-feeding essential oils. It’s wise to consume the freshest possible low-salt forms of these ‘mini-vitamins’. Add to your list some pumpkin seeds, walnuts, pine nuts and sesame seeds.
8. TOMATOES AND SWEET PEPPERS
These ‘fruits of the vine’ are full of healthy nutrients including vitamin C, B vitamins, carotenoids and other phytonutrients, notably the prostate-helpful and tissue-supporting lycopenes. Both red and green peppers, however, have been found to contain residues from the most neurotoxic of the pesticides. In the FDA’s measurement of both US and Mexican crops, 64% of peppers contained at least one pesticide, while 36% contained two or more. Peppers may also be waxed, which makes it difficult to remove the residues and other chemicals.
One study found that as many as 30 different pesticides are used to spray tomatoes! Because their skins are thin and absorbent, and because tomatoes are a staple in many salads, soups and sauces, they are well worth buying organically grown. Farmers’ markets are a great source for fresh unsprayed tomatoes, or better yet, grow your own.
9. OTHER CLASSES OF FRUITS AND VEGETABLES
A few other particularly healthy classes of fruits and vegetables are best when organically grown. The implications of long-distance shipping are also something to keep in mind.
Tropical fruits. Although wonderfully tasty, high in carotenes and containing many other nutrients and enzymes, pineapples, papayas and mangoes are just as attractive to tropical pests and so may be heavily treated during cultivation, storage and shipping. Because of their thin skins they absorb sprays easily, resulting in higher levels of chemical contamination. We call these systemic pesticides, and as they cannot be washed away they get into our systems as well.
Imported produce. Imported produce, usually out of season, is often heavily treated for easier growing and shipping. Chemicals that have been banned in the country the food is being shipped to may even be used. In the USA, cantaloupes and other imported melons were found to have a high concentration of pesticides in two-thirds of tested samples – 48% of Mexican cantaloupes had two or more residues. Another consideration is the impact on our planet of transporting food over vast distances – high food miles have high environmental costs!
Baby foods. When we are feeding infants, we want to make particularly certain that we don’t stress their sensitive and vulnerable systems with chemicals. I suggest a completely organic diet from the first solid food at about six months through to age two.
Shop locally. Ideally, it is healthiest to eat foods grown and cultivated near the area you live in, and in the season they are harvested. Seasonal eating is one of the keys to a balanced and wholesome diet. These foods are the freshest, often the most economical, and usually less treated, even when they are not organic, because they don’t need to be protected for long-distance shipping. Eating as much as possible from Nature, the bounty of Mother Earth, is a key message for healthy nutrition.
10. Other healing foods
Other healing foods that may or may not be available organically grown include oily (omega-3 oils) fish such as salmon, olives and olive oil, wild berries or blueberries, and garlic and ginger.
IMPORTANT FACTS ABOUT MILK PRODUCTS, EGGS, WHEAT AND CORN
DAIRY PRODUCTS. Because pesticides are pervasive and stored in higher amounts in the fats of food, dairy products tend to retain residues and chemicals from feeds and other sources. This is not yet well researched, but especially if you have a family with growing children it makes excellent sense to buy organic milk products.
MILK is also a common source of the herbicide atrazine (a known endocrine disrupter) and the growth hormone BGH, which has been genetically engineered to boost milk production.
EGGS are a good source of bio-available protein, especially for growing children, pregnant women and others who need extra protein, especially if you digest them well and aren’t allergic to them. They contain many nutrients that feed the body tissues, sexual glands, sperm and eggs, and hormones. However, eggs are typically produced in factory farms where the hens live in crowded, unhygienic conditions. This may be one of the reasons why salmonella bacteria are found in eggs so frequently. More than two million eggs each year are contaminated, resulting in more than half a million cases of food poisoning. Battery eggs also may be lower in nutrients than organic ones, and they don’t taste as good as farm-fresh eggs from free-ranging chickens that are not fed antibiotics. Our best option is organic eggs, which are becoming more freely available.
WHEAT is another staple in much of the world. It contains vitamins, minerals and fibre. However, a recent review reported that 91% of the wheat sampled by the FDA contained pesticide residues! Wheat can be one of the most heavily treated grains, because it is stockpiled as a basic commodity and fumigated periodically to keep down pests. When it is milled, the outer coating – the bran included in whole-wheat bread and cereals – is the portion that receives the most chemical treatment. The bran and germ portion of the wheat also retains the most residues. It has been suggested that some forms of so-called wheat allergy, which has been associated with learning problems and difficulty in concentrating, may actually be a neurotoxic reaction to the pesticide residues in the grain. These pesticides are by definition neurotoxins – that’s how they affect the insects they are intended to destroy.
CORN is an excellent source of B vitamins, especially niacin, and adds healthy fibre to the diet. A primary staple in the USA, it is typically heavily treated. Locally grown fresh corn tends to be treated less, so sweetcorn on the cob is likely to be safer than corn by products. However, corn is still heavily treated with the herbicide atrazine and it is also typically sprayed after harvesting.
Editor's note: Here is an article on how to Grow your Own. Is it possible to get Pesticide-free, Organic Fish? We are what we eat. This article looks at our Food as Medicine.
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