To Your Health
Are You Going Organic?

by Paulette Avery RN, MSN

My 18-year-old daughter has been asking my husband and me to buy organic foods for several years now, but I'll admit that until recently I wasn't persuaded it was the way to go. However, the more I learn about the subject, the more convinced I've become to choose organic foods when I can. It began last year when one of the vendors at the Kaiser Oakland Organic Farmers Market explained to me the importance of buying organic strawberries because the nonorganic berries are full of pesticides. She may have been referring to a 1993 study by the Environmental Working Group (EGW) that found supermarket strawberries were the most heavily contaminated fruit or vegetable in the US.

Strawberries are not the only problem food. A more recent study by the EGW identified the 12 most contaminated fruits and vegetables. In general, fruits are more contaminated than vegetables, and the worst offenders are peaches, strawberries, apples, nectarines, pears, cherries, and red raspberries. If you want to avoid the worst of the vegetables, stay away from nonorganic spinach, celery, potatoes, and sweet bell peppers. Some fruits and vegetables contain as many as eight or nine different pesticide residues. Based on that information, it seems wise to choose the organic versions whenever possible.

On the other hand, some fruits and vegetables contain little or no pesticide residues. For example, in the EGW study, 73 percent of the peas and broccoli samples were free of any detectable pesticides. So if avoiding pesticides is your main concern, you are probably okay buying nonorganic for those two vegetables. The 12 fruits and vegetables found to be the least contaminated were avocados, bananas, broccoli, cauliflower, corn, kiwi, mangos, onions, papaya, pineapples, and peas.

Pesticide contamination isn't the only thing to consider when deciding whether or not to go organic, because organic produce contains higher amounts of valuable nutrients than the nonorganic counterparts. According to a study reported in the Journal of Applied Nutrition, when compared ounce-to-ounce, organic produce contains twice the amount of certain nutrients as nonorganic produce. And fresh produce isn't the only type of food to consider. For example, 82 different drugs may be found in conventional dairy products, and conventionally grown rice may be contaminated by groundwater containing water-soluble herbicides and insecticides.

So here's my simple plan for beginning to incorporate more healthful foods into my family's diet. First, buy organic when possible, especially the foods most likely to be contaminated by pesticides. Sometimes the price difference is not that great, especially when you consider the benefits of the organic foods. Second, buy fresh produce from your local farmers market whenever you can. Even nonorganic produce is likely to have fewer pesticides than the produce you'll find in your supermarket. Third, always wash your produce thoroughly before eating it, even if it's organic. Washing won't remove all the pesticides, but it will reduce your exposure.

If we all begin to show retailers what we want, the popularity of organic products will eventually make them both more readily available and more affordable.

Paulette Avery is a registered nurse and a freelance writer who specializes in health issues.