Which Foods Need to be Organic?

Organic food (or just "food", as our ancestors called it), tends to have higher levels of antioxidants and nutrients available, and depending on the source, is less likely to have been farmed industrially. Whether you can taste the difference or not, is questionable, but the quality level can be vastly superior in organic produce. What is the difference between organic and non-organic anyway? Organic food is not sprayed with pesticides, or treated with any other chemicals, and it is not genetically modified. Non-organic food is generally not GM either, but depending on the country where you live, it could be, and you may not know it. Genetically modified foods are controversial and seen as un-natural. The longterm effects of eating them are unknown, and they are suggested to have serious adverse effects on health.

But, eating organic is expensive...

Very few people can afford to avoid non-organic food all the time, and if you eat out a lot, it's next to impossible. What can help, in this case, is to know which fruits and vegetables are more contaminated with pesticides, and which ones are lower in these chemicals. There are 2 lists, updated and published every year by the Environmental Working Group, which show the worst pesticide offenders, and the cleanest of the non-organic foods. They are the Dirty Dozen and the Clean Fifteen. Knowing the foods on each list can help you to cut down on the toxic load of pesticides in your food, and introduce some organic food into your diet. Your body will thank you for it!

The Dirty Dozen

1) Strawberries