Thursday, September 13, 2012

The Dangers of Pesticides on Fruit and Vegetables - Useful Facts You Ought to Know

Pesticides are identical a natural characteristic of modern - living that we return them for surely. We might hear how dangerous they are, but more regularly than not, we tidily choose to wink at these warnings or conveniently put them at the ahead of our concerns. Environmentalists constantly alert us that these chemicals we use to control, rebuff or obliterate pests and is commonly used on all food crops, including fruits and vegetables coextensive as apples, pears, peaches, grapes, cherries, strawberries, potatoes and spinach are highly toxic and dangerous to our health and that of our heirs. Still we part no heed.

If you are recital this and are at all concerned about the safety of your loved ones, hence make affirmative that you completely internalize and understand these two dangers of pesticides on fruits and veggies explained below so you become wiser and more alert the next time you get ingredients for your smoothie or your green salad:

1. Fruits and vegetables grown with pesticides still contain residues even after they are washed or peeled. When ingested, pesticides build up in the fat deposits of your body where they can cause serious damage. Children are more prone to these health risks because their immune systems are still developing. In fact, residues of the pesticides malathion and chlorpyrifos which are banned for home use but are still widely used on a variety of crops are still routinely detected in food items commonly consumed by young children as revealed by an annual survey by U. S. Department of Agriculture ( USDA ) Pesticide Data Program. In a study of 23 elementary students in the Seattle area whose conventional diets were monitored then replaced with organic diets and were later returned to their conventional diets, project leader Dr. Chensheng Lu reveals a very interesting fact: " Immediately after substituting organic food items for the children ' s normal diets, the concentration of the organophosphorus pesticides found in their bodies decreased substantially to non - detectable levels until the conventional diets were re - introduced. "

2. Pregnant and nursing women who naturally consume more fruits and vegetables out of a sheer desire to carry a healthy pregnancy but unknowingly eat those grown using pesticides can pass them on to their unborn and nursing children. These can have adverse affects in the growing child ' s nervous and immune systems. Among these include birth defects, skin and eye irritation, brain tumors, childhood leukemia, Non - Hodgkin ' s lymphoma, other cancers, hormone or endocrine system problems, nervous system damage, lower body weights and a less developed immune system.

Thus, before you pick anything from the grocery shelves, make sure that you check that the produce you get is grown organically. Apples, peaches, pears, red raspberries, strawberries, cherries, nectarines, imported grapes, bell peppers, potatoes, celery and spinach are the usual vegetables grown with the aid of pesticides. Get them organic whenever you can. Conversely, asparagus, avocados, bananas, broccoli, cauliflower, kiwi, mangoes, onions, pineapples and sweet peas are safer for consumption since they have low pesticide levels. Sweet corn and papaya may be included in this list but make sure that what you ' re getting is not GMO.