Produce and Pesticides

What's In Your Fruits & Vegetables?, An Article From Nutrition Action Health Letter

...If you want to avoid pesticides but don't want to buy everything organic, use this [list] to find out which organic produce makes the most difference. It was created by the Washington, DC-based non-profit Environmental Working Group (EWG)...

The Dirty Dozen:

• Peaches
• Apples
• Sweet bell peppers
• Celery
• Nectarines
• Strawberries
• Cherries
• Pears
• Grapes (Imported)
• Spinach
• Lettuce
• Potatoes

The Consistently Clean:

• Papaya
• Broccoli
• Cabbage
• Bananas
• Kiwi
• Sweet Peas (frozen)
• Asparagus
• Mango
• Pineapples
• Sweet corn (frozen)
• Avocado
• Onions

My Comments:

This list is wonderful when buying produce. You can lower your pesticide exposure by almost 90% if you avoid "The Dirty Dozen" and eat the 12 least contaminated instead. You can buy organic and eliminate the problems from eating the traditional versions of "The Dirty Dozen." If you don't buy organic, you are better off eating fruits and vegetables with pesticides than not eating fruits or vegetables at all.

Seasonal Affective Disorder

From SAD to Glad, An Article From Health & Wellness Weekly News:

For many women, the start of autumn means the start of SAD, seasonal affective disorder. If you've recently spent an afternoon curled up on the couch eating a bag of potato chips and sobbing over a movie on the estrogen channel (or if you've wanted to), it's time to trade that bag of chips for a bottle of fish oil.

To bring balance to your mood and your food, cut back on sources of omega-6 fatty acids, like the corn, safflower, and sunflower oil in most processed snack foods, and boost your intake of the omega-3 fatty acids found in salmon and other fatty fish, walnuts and flax seed. It's the imbalance of omega-6 to omega-3 that contributes to depression. The American diet is so skewed towards omega-6 that it makes sense to add an omega-3 supplement to your daily routine. You can use fish oil or one of the vegetarian supplements.

You'll be up and dancing in no time.


My Comments:

In Las Vegas, SAD is not as large of a problem as the northern cities because we still see so many sunny days in winter. However, keeping our omega 3 fats high enough for our brains to be healthy, alert and happy is always a good thing to do. When you choose your fish oils, like our krill oil or Omega Ultra Marine, make sure they are heavy metal free.