May 19, 2010

Pesticides in produce linked to ADHD in kids

This REALLY bothered me! My mom saw it and dvr'ed (is that a word?) it, my husband saw it at the gym and came home all fired up, and then I read the article and felt like I needed to share it.

If you don't have time to read the article or watch the videos, get this as a bottom line!
WHAT YOU CAN DO TO PROTECT YOUR KIDS
- Buy organic, make sure to wash
The best advice for parents — and anyone who wants to avoid pesticides — is to choose foods least likely to contain them. The Environmental Working Group, a consumer advocacy organization, advises shoppers to buy organic versions of a dozen fruits and vegetables that grow in the ground or are commonly eaten with the skin, because they’re most likely to be contaminated.

Make sure to wash all fruits and vegetables under cold running tap water and scrub firm-skinned produce with a brush. Be sure to rinse frozen fruits and vegetables, too.

But don’t wash produce with soap. The Food and Drug Administration says that could leave behind residues of detergent, yet more chemicals that everyone would do best to avoid.

- Follow the DIRTY DOZEN rule! The EWG came up with a list of the 12 "dirtiest foods" that contain the most amount of pesticides and the cleanest 15 so you as a consumer would know which ones to shop organically for.

The Dirty Dozen and Clean 15
Download the guide on your computer or your iphone at the link below!
Download the Guide | Environmental Working Group


This website is great! A lot of useful information on pesticides and protecting your kiddos!
http://www.foodnews.org/walletguide.php

Today Show Clip from May 17th 2010

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy



Read the entire article from the link below!!
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/37156010/

Dr. Andrew Weil, renowned medical expert on natural health and wellness, tells us why and how he uses the Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides.

Where to find organic produce
Local grocery store (slim pickings at mine)
Whole Foods, Sun Harvest, Trader Joes
Local CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) membership
We just signed up last week! When we lived in Las Vegas there was not a local CSA I could join. Once we moved to Texas and got settled I started looking right away. Now we have found a farm that only sells certified organically grown fruit and veggies. You pay a seasonal fee and pick up a basket of a variety of fruits and veggies each week.
To learn more and find a local CSA to join in your area visit the link below.
http://www.localharvest.org/csa/

2 comments:

  1. Leslie! What a wonderful blog! I have been a vegetarian for 18 years and have always tried to strive to eat and serve the healthiest, and organic foods, that I could. I love the local/organic/green movement and hope that as awareness grows (thanks to blogs like yours)supply and demand will make organic foods affordable and available to everyone. As the amount of allergies and health related concerns (both physical and mental) for children increase, I suspect we will continue to see more and more links to chemicals we add to our food or pesticides used to help grow them as the cause. Enjoy your CSA! We belonged to one when we were back in the States and LOVED it. I look forward to your next post!

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  2. Leslie - I'm soooooo proud of you for speaking out in such a neat way! What an amazing mother you are! Keep up the good research and thanks for sharing what you learn with our family. We are all about protecting the health of our girls as well. We buy local, are a member of a CSA, eat organic as much as possible, buy "grass" fed (not grain and corn fed) beef and free range chickens, farm fresh eggs and eliminate dyes/colorings and processed food about 95% of the time. It's not 100% because of the military lifestyle but being aware of chemicals and removing them has made a huge impact on the health and development of our children. Once I got the junk out of their diet they took off developementally. I also removed the cleaning chemicals from our home which can be a big problem for some kids. Keep up the good work Leslie. Just because a product is on a shelf doesn't make it safe as we are reminded of the recalls of products that have been on the shelf for 25 years+. As I remove hands from my wallet, I'm reminded that we are our children's greatest advocates. The decisions you make today will pay huge dividens in the health of your children. Good luck to you. Love Tonya

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