Make Sure You Aren't Eating Pesticides/Herbicides

How to Make Sure You Aren't Consuming Pesticides and Herbicides: The 5 Key Steps
by www.SixWise.com

http://www.sixwise.com/Newsletters/2008/September/4/How-to-Make-Sure-You-Arent-C\
onsuming-Pesticides.htm?source=nl

Eating fruits and vegetables is an important part of being healthy. Yet, with
each bite of apple and every stalk of broccoli there could be a hidden hazard to
your health: pesticides and herbicides.

Studies have linked pesticides to an astounding array of health problems
including:

Cancer
Fertility problems
Brain tumors
Childhood leukemia
Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma
Birth defects
Irritation to skin and eyes
Hormone or endocrine system problems
Nervous system damage

Those especially at risk from pesticides are children, whose bodies are still
developing, along with pregnant women, whose unborn children are extremely
susceptible to damage from these toxic chemicals.

Even low levels of pesticides, consumed over time, can be problematic. A study
in the journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine, for instance, found that
people who had been exposed to low levels of pesticides were 1.13 times as
likely to have Parkinson's disease as those who had never been exposed.

And if you eat produce, there's a good chance you're being exposed. According to
Hazardous Pesticides in the European Parliament, released October 2007, the
eight food samples they tested, which ranged from oranges to strawberries to
grapes, contained 28 different pesticide residues, with an average of almost
five per fruit.

The pesticides included:

10 known carcinogens
3 neurotoxins
3 reproductive or developmental toxins
8 suspected endocrine disrupters
2 contaminants classified as "Highly Hazardous" by the World Health Organization

Three of the eight food samples contained pesticide residues so high they were
technically illegal to sell, and the oranges contained illegally high levels of
imazalil, a carcinogen. By eating just one orange, a 5-year-old would receive 70
percent of the "Acute Reference Dose" for that chemical.

Fortunately, the amount of pesticides you consume is something you can take
control of.

How Can You Stop Consuming Pesticides?

There are numerous ways to make sure that the food you and your family depend on
is as pesticide- and herbicide-free as possible. The top tips include:

Choose organic produce and animal products (dairy, eggs, meat). By definition,
organic producers must "abstain from the application of prohibited materials
(including synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, and sewage sludge) for 3 years
prior to certification and then continually throughout their organic license."

Wash your produce thoroughly using a high-quality veggie wash. Contrary to
popular belief, simply washing with water and peeling fruit and vegetables is
not enough to protect yourself and your family from pesticides. It will reduce
the levels somewhat, but it will not eliminate them. An excellent alternative
that will help to remove pesticides from your produce better than water alone is
Vermont Soap Organics' Wash dem Veggies. This fruit and veggie wash naturally
eliminates pesticides, dirt, mold and other residues.

If you can't buy organic, choose the least contaminated produce. According to
the Environmental Working Group (EWG), a not-for-profit environmental research
organization, by avoiding the most-contaminated produce out there, and
concentrating on the least contaminated instead, you can reduce your exposure to
pesticides by almost 90 percent. (Click here for a list of the 20 most
contaminated and 20 least contaminated pesticides.)

Choose organic varieties of other foods as well. Pesticide use usually centers
on produce, but some studies have found wine, bread, wheat and flour products
(such as pasta, pizza, cookies, cereal, and more) to contain high levels of
pesticides as well.

Make sure your water is pesticide-free. DEET, a chemical found in insect
repellants, has been found in some drinking water supplies. The U.S. government
doesn't have standards for DEET in your water, so to find out if your water is
safe you can have it independently tested to find out what, if any, contaminants
exist.
Also incredibly important is using a high-quality Wellness Kitchen Filter for
your home's water. The Wellness Kitchen is tested to reduce VOCs, pesticides,
and herbicides -- including DEET -- below detectable levels for the life of the
filter.

The Wellness Kitchen combines the best filtration and enhancement technologies
to deliver the purest and most natural tasting water available. It effectively
reduces harmful contaminants, while at the same time enhancing the water with
delicate ions and minerals.

Once you implement these tips, you may be wondering, will it really make an
impact? According to a study in Environmental Health Perspectives, yes!

When kids switched from conventional food to organic food, their levels of
pesticides became undetectable within eight to 36 hours.

"Once you switch from conventional food to organic, the pesticides (malathion
and chlorpyrifos) that we can measure in the urine disappears. The level returns
immediately when you go back to the conventional diets," said Chensheng Lu, the
lead author of the study and a professor at Emory University's School of Public
Health.