A headline-making study recently found that apples top the list of fruits most contaminated by pesticides. But there are several fruits and vegetables that are considerably less risky, and even the apple’s danger may have been exaggerated.
The Environmental Working Group, a watchdog group, said that pineapple is the fruit least contaminated by pesticides. Others included mangoes, domestic cantaloupe, kiwi and watermelon. The least contaminated vegetables: onions, sweet corn, avocados, asparagus and frozen sweet peas.
(In case you missed the earlier news, the most contaminated fruits and vegetables are apples, celery, strawberries, peaches, spinach, imported nectarines, imported grapes, red and bell peppers, potatoes and blueberries.)
According to the EEG, many of the samples had been washed and peeled before testing, so the amount of pesticide remaining in the food is the amount that’s likely to be eaten.
To avoid the nasty residues, which the EEG links to brain disorders and ADHD, the organization recommends that you eat organic fruits and vegetables as much as possible. If that’s beyond your budget, they suggest that as much of your fruit and vegetable consumption as possible should come from the foods showing the lowest traces of pesticides.
While this information can certainly help you determine the healthiest possible food choices, experts also caution against an overreaction. Washing fruits and vegetables for at least 10 seconds can help get rid of some of the pesticides, and you can peel off the outer leaves of leafy products as an additional safety step.
And a report published earlier this year in the Journal Of Toxicology sounds a much more cautious note than the EEG. The study said that the levels of pesticides in foods cited in 2010 by the EEG were at least 1,000 times lower than the amount a person would have to have in order to be negatively affected.
Marion Nestle, a professor of nutrition, public health and sociology at New York University, cautions that the research on the long-term harm of pesticides on fruits and vegetables is “weak, uncertain and unhelpful.”
So what’s the bottom line, or is there one? Experts may disagree about the harmfulness of particular levels of pesticides, but all agree that they are present—and that it can’t hurt to buy organic when you can.
And no matter how you slice them, fruits and vegetables are healthier than processed, fried or greasy food. In other words, a pineapple is still better than a parfait.
Robin Westen is ThirdAge’s medical reporter. Check for her daily updates.
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