{"id":15,"date":"2010-08-14T00:51:45","date_gmt":"2010-08-14T00:51:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/medicinetomoveyou\/2010\/08\/going-organic-the-dirty-dozen.html"},"modified":"2010-08-14T00:51:45","modified_gmt":"2010-08-14T00:51:45","slug":"going-organic-the-dirty-dozen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/medicinetomoveyou\/2010\/08\/going-organic-the-dirty-dozen.html","title":{"rendered":"Going Organic – The Dirty Dozen"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the last post, we defined ‘organic’ and revealed the Clean 17.  <\/span>Even with this list, the decision to buy organic is one that is not as black and white as it may seem.  <\/span>The choice to purchase organic products is one
\nthat is quite personal in nature, but is usually a weighted decision
\nbased on 4 key factors.  <\/font>These key factors include Chemical Toxins, Global Impact, Ethics, and Nutrition.  <\/span>With so much information to share about each factor, we will explore them throughout our ongoing 6 part series on Going Organic.
<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/font><\/p>\n

The first key factor we’ll consider is one that appeals to me both as a physician and mother of two beautiful children.  <\/span>That factor is Chemical Toxins.  <\/span>First off, what is a ‘Chemical Toxin,” you may ask?   <\/span>In
\nthe world of farming, there are many ‘natural’ challenges to deal with
\nsuch as insects, weeds, poor soil and fungi (to name a few).  <\/span>A
\nhundred years ago, farmers learned how to use ‘nature to combat
\nnature’, using ‘good’ insects to control ‘bad’ insects\/fungus, food
\ncompost to improve soil conditions, and good old fashion labor to keep
\nweeds at bay.  <\/span>Organic farming methods today are actually just refined farming methods that our country was built on.  <\/span>As
\nfarming became more and more commercialized, pressures for increased
\nprofits and larger yield brought about the use of synthetic and\/or toxic
\nchemicals.  <\/span><\/font><\/span>These chemicals include pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, and fertilizers.<\/font> <\/span>The FDA now estimates that the average American’s food is exposed to about  <\/span>20 lbs of pesticides per person.  <\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/font><\/p>\n

DDT (d<\/span><\/b>ichlorod<\/b>iphenylt<\/b>richloroethane) is a great example of how a chemical compound can yield dangerous results when commercialized.  <\/span>DDT was used as a large-scale pesticide during WWII.   <\/span>Soldiers were routinely doused with the powder form of DDT to protect against insect-borne disease.  <\/span>It took over 30 years for us to learn that this Noble-Prize winning chemical causes serious birth defects and infertility.  <\/span>Ultimately,
\nDDT was banned in 1972; however a 2001 clinical study published in a
\nprestigious medical journal, The Lancet,  showed that DDT ‘breakdown
\nproducts’ were still present in the umbilical cords of premature new
\nborn babies.   <\/span><\/span>Areyou picking up what I am putting down?  <\/span>These chemicals that were banned 18 years prior were still turning up in the blood of premature (“sick”) babies born in 2001.  <\/span>That’s quite concerning to me, both as a mother and a phy<\/span>sician.<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

While DDT is no longer used, the wide-spread use of synthetic chemical pesticides are the norm for much of our food supply.  <\/span>Conventional farming uses ‘chemicals to combat nature’ as opposed to organic farming which works to have ‘nature combat nature’.  <\/span>Strawberries are a great example as 65 synthetic chemicals are approved for the use of growing strawberry crops.  <\/span>You might seriously consider this the next time you reach for a conventionally grown strawberry.  <\/span><\/font><\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

It is the role of the EPA to determine ‘acceptable risk’ levels for chemicals used in farming.  <\/span> <\/span>These chemicals are tested on adults, but of course, kids are smaller and likely can suffer from issues at smaller levels of exposure.  In reality, the produce that kids eat most often tend to be the most heavily treated with pesticides (e.g. grapes, apples, and strawberries).  <\/span>The EPA currently considers 33% of registered pesticides to be cancer-causing.  <\/span>I think the EPA is getting better at identifying potentially-harmful chemicals before they’re approved for use…BUT<\/span> for now, I do my part and limit my family’s exposure to foods grown using an abundance of chemicals.<\/font><\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

In
\nmy last blog, I provided you with the list of the Cleanest 17 fruits
\nand vegetables so that you could shop with a cleaner conscience.   <\/span>Based on today’s discussion, I will leave you with the list of the “Dirtiest.”  These are the produce items that I try to purchase organic as much as possible.  But I understand we are all a ‘work-in-progess’ so do the best you can.  <\/span><\/span>If
\nit is not feasible for you to purchase all of these foods organic,
\nthere are a few things you can consider – (1) I strongly recommend a
\nquality fruit and vegetable wash to remove as much chemical residue as
\npossible, (2) select the produce from this list that you eat more than
\nonce per week and commit to purchasing that organic, (3) since this list
\nis in order of ‘dirtiest’ first, consider making the commitment to
\npurchase the first 4 or 6 or 8 organic.  <\/span>Every little bit helps.<\/font><\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

So, until next time, I leave you with The Dirty Dozen!<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/font><\/p>\n

Strawberries<\/font><\/font><\/b><\/p>\n

Peppers<\/font><\/font><\/b><\/p>\n

Spinach<\/font><\/font><\/b><\/p>\n

Cherries <\/font><\/font><\/b><\/p>\n

Peaches<\/font><\/font><\/b><\/p>\n

Nectarines<\/font><\/font><\/b><\/p>\n

Celery<\/font><\/font><\/b><\/p>\n

Apples<\/font><\/font><\/b><\/p>\n

Pears<\/font><\/font><\/b><\/p>\n

Grapes<\/font><\/font><\/b><\/p>\n

Raspberries<\/font><\/font><\/b><\/p>\n

Potatoes<\/font><\/font><\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the last post, we defined ‘organic’ and revealed the Clean 17.  Even with this list, the decision to buy organic is one that is not as black and white as it may seem.  The choice to purchase organic products is one that is quite personal in nature, but is usually a weighted decision based…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":220,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,7,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-everyday-health-tips","category-happy-parenting","category-healthy-eating"],"yoast_head":"\nGoing Organic - The Dirty Dozen - Medicine to Move You<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/medicinetomoveyou\/2010\/08\/going-organic-the-dirty-dozen.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Going Organic - The Dirty Dozen - Medicine to Move You\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In the last post, we defined ‘organic’ and revealed the Clean 17.  Even with this list, the decision to buy organic is one that is not as black and white as it may seem.  The choice to purchase organic products is one that is quite personal in nature, but is usually a weighted decision based…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/medicinetomoveyou\/2010\/08\/going-organic-the-dirty-dozen.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Medicine to Move You\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2010-08-14T00:51:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Dr. Shilpa P. Saxena\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Going Organic - The Dirty Dozen - Medicine to Move You","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/medicinetomoveyou\/2010\/08\/going-organic-the-dirty-dozen.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Going Organic - The Dirty Dozen - Medicine to Move You","og_description":"In the last post, we defined ‘organic’ and revealed the Clean 17.  Even with this list, the decision to buy organic is one that is not as black and white as it may seem.  The choice to purchase organic products is one that is quite personal in nature, but is usually a weighted decision based…","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/medicinetomoveyou\/2010\/08\/going-organic-the-dirty-dozen.html","og_site_name":"Medicine to Move You","article_published_time":"2010-08-14T00:51:45+00:00","author":"Dr. Shilpa P. Saxena","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/medicinetomoveyou\/2010\/08\/going-organic-the-dirty-dozen.html","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/medicinetomoveyou\/2010\/08\/going-organic-the-dirty-dozen.html","name":"Going Organic - The Dirty Dozen - Medicine to Move You","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/medicinetomoveyou\/#website"},"datePublished":"2010-08-14T00:51:45+00:00","dateModified":"2010-08-14T00:51:45+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/medicinetomoveyou\/#\/schema\/person\/807f82bfba5364ad865f1d8b7f3fc6c6"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/medicinetomoveyou\/2010\/08\/going-organic-the-dirty-dozen.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/medicinetomoveyou\/2010\/08\/going-organic-the-dirty-dozen.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/medicinetomoveyou\/2010\/08\/going-organic-the-dirty-dozen.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/medicinetomoveyou"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Going Organic – The Dirty Dozen"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/medicinetomoveyou\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/medicinetomoveyou\/","name":"Medicine to Move You","description":"Beliefnet Voices - Shilpa P. Saxena","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/medicinetomoveyou\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/medicinetomoveyou\/#\/schema\/person\/807f82bfba5364ad865f1d8b7f3fc6c6","name":"Dr. Shilpa P. Saxena","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/medicinetomoveyou\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/medicinetomoveyou\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/cea\/ceaf5cd6e90a1416112a550fb68870c6x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/medicinetomoveyou\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/cea\/ceaf5cd6e90a1416112a550fb68870c6x96.jpg","caption":"Dr. Shilpa P. Saxena"},"description":"A physician grounded in education, respect and patient service, Dr. Shilpa P. Saxena is leading a movement to bring Integrative Medicine to the masses. As a Board Certified Family Practice physician specializing in functional and integrative medicine, she helps patients and doctors understand that the only successful way of treating chronic illness is by correcting the underlying causes. As the founder of the SevaMed Institute and the Center for Living Wellness, Dr. Saxena connects with her patients through her compassionate style and lectures nationally to spread lifestyle-based solutions to our healthcare crisis. Her passion is contagious and audiences thrive on the energy of learning complex medical topics to bring about real, meaningful life-long change. Her latest personal and professional growth step: the Fellowship in Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona, founded by Dr. Andrew Weil.","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/medicinetomoveyou\/author\/ssaxena"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/medicinetomoveyou\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/medicinetomoveyou\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/medicinetomoveyou\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/medicinetomoveyou\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/220"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/medicinetomoveyou\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/medicinetomoveyou\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/medicinetomoveyou\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/medicinetomoveyou\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/medicinetomoveyou\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}