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Why you NEED to clean your produce

Updated: May 10, 2022



Cleaning produce? Heck! I used to eat the grapes in the grocery store out of the bag, (took a couple of oz off the price too, shh!) until I read about the ‘Dirty Dozen’…



Like me, most of you reading this probably didn’t clean your fruit or you just rinsed it off under the sink for a couple of seconds, if anything. Yanno, just to get the dirt off and stuff. But let’s talk about the other stuff that’s on our fruits and vegetables that we NEED to clean off before ingesting.


What are the Dirty Dozen?


The DD, as I like to call them, are the 12 most heavily sprayed fruit and vegetables in the U.S. They are:

  1. Strawberries

  2. Spinach

  3. Kale, collard, and mustard greens

  4. Nectarines

  5. Apples

  6. Grapes

  7. Cherries

  8. Peaches

  9. Pears

  10. Bell and hot peppers

  11. Celery

  12. Tomatoes

These foods are considered to be the most contaminated by pesticides and the like because of the nature of their absorbable, thin skin or lack thereof. Fruits like bananas have a thick protective covering, where the fruit is not directly sprayed. Other fruits like strawberries have no protective layer, so, they are directly exposed to the spraying of these chemicals.


To see the full, click here


What exactly are these foods sprayed with?


Pesticides, insecticides, rodenticides, herbicides, fungicides, and preservatives- just to name a few :')


Pesticides are used to kill fungus, bacteria, insects, plant diseases, snails, slugs, or weeds among others. The chemicals can kill by just touching a sprayed area

Insecticides are designed to kill insects only, including bees :(

Herbicides are used to kill “weeds” but can kill any living plant

Fungicides are designed to kill fungi

Rodenticides are designed to kill rodents, also known as 'rat poison' o_O


The chemicals not only affect the plants and insects directly, but they get into our drinking water and pollute the air.


All of these chemicals get absorbed into the food that we eat. Different studies show that they may cause:

  • Gut microbiome dysfunction

    • Note that pesticides kill all bacteria, even the ones in our stomach

  • Parkinson’s, cancer, and miscarriages

  • Birth defects in young humans and animals alike

  • Alachlor can cause eye, kidney, liver, and spleen problems

  • Atrazine can cause cardiovascular and reproductive problems

  • Endothall can cause stomach and intestinal problems

Effects from these chemicals may not show symptoms until years after your initial exposure.


How to avoid pesticide consumption


  • Shop seasonal produce

  • Buy organic when you can, especially the Dirty Dozen, and for fruits with no protective skin layer

  • Buy from local farms

  • Soak produce in white vinegar and water before consumption, see below!

  • Grow your own produce!!


How I clean my produce!

I got this process from Pinterest years ago when I was doing some research after wondering why the the frosty, wax-like coating on my grapes made them taste weird...

  1. Buy local, organic fruit- of your choice

    1. ADLI for the win for cheap, organic produce!

  2. Empty in bowl

  3. Pour 1 part white vinegar, 1 part water

  4. Let soak for 15 minutes

  5. Rinse!


This is what's at the bottom of the bowl!


References

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