How to Protect Yourself from Pesticides, Fertilizers, Preservatives and Harmful Additives

Although there is absolutely no way to avoid dangerous toxins entirely, certain precautions can dramatically reduce your children's exposure to them.

WHAT TO DO:

• Eat organic. Conventionally grown produce --especially apples, broccoli, carrots, celery, peaches, pears and spinach -- often are laced with dangerous pesticides. Seventy-nine percent of spinach and greens contain most potent pesticides that are way above established safety levels. Apples and pears usually contain up to 36 pesticides, half of them are neurotoxins which may cause brain damage. Organic produce, although not entirely safe, is usually far safer.
• Eat less fat. Because most food pollutants dissolve in fats, eating less fat, especially animal fat, automatically reduces dangers of toxins. Avoid: fatty meats, gravy lard, meat drippings, and deep-fried foods. Get no more than 30% of your calories from fat.
• Eat more fiber. Fiber not only speeds the passage of dangerous toxins through the intestinal tract, it also binds to and neutralizes them before they do damage. In addition, the cabbage family of vegetables contains indoles - potent anticancer chemicals.

• Peel fruits and vegetables. Bananas, corn, grapefruit, melons, oranges and other produce with peelable "wrappers" are usually safe because most, but not all pesticide residues are thrown out with the peel. Also peel carrots, potatoes, beets, onions and other root vegetables, as well as shiny waxed vegetables -- green and red peppers, cucumbers and apples. And remove the outer leaves of cabbage, lettuce, kale, endive, spinach and similar vegetables.
• Eat lower on the food chain. Since toxins become more concentrated with successive predator, you should limit your intake of swordfish, tuna, and similar fish.
• Eat natural foods. Instead of trying to determine which additives are safe and which are not, choose foods that are as close to their original state as possible. For example: a fresh orange is safer than orange juice, which is safer than powdered orange drink. A potato is better than instant mashed potatoes, which are better than potato chips. Eating natural foods may cut your food additive intake by whopping 90%! When you buy processed foods, choose those with minimal list of ingredients.
• Avoid locally processed peanuts and peanut butter which don't have to comply with federal aflatoxin standards. Aflatoxin is a mold that grows on peanuts, grains and seeds and is a strong carcinogen (causes cancer).
• Avoid chemically "dirty" foods". Seventy-eight percent of the pesticide risk in the American food comes from just 15 foods:

  tomatoes beef potatoes oranges lettuce apples peaches pork

  wheat soybeans beans carrots chicken corn grapes

  
  Although it's hard to eliminate these items from your diet, try to avoid them in their most highly-processed forms - ketchup, beef jerky, chips, raisins, etc., in which toxins are most highly concentrated. Also avoid foods that contain excessive levels of chemical residues - unpeeled baked potatoes, spinach, raw sweet green peppers, collards, strawberries, squash, frankfurters, dry roasted peanuts, pumpkin and milk chocolate.

• Buy local and in-season. Produce shipped from distant sites is usually picked green, sealed in wax or gassed with preservatives -- all of which boosts toxin levels.
• Avoid burned foods. "Blackened" forms of steak, fish and other protein-rich foods contain highly-carcinogenic compounds. Eat your meats medium rather than well-done.
• Avoid foods that contain natural toxins.. Eat no more than one cup of mushrooms weekly.
• Avoid "perfect" produce. Sixty percent of the pesticides used in the US are for cosmetic purpose only. Shiny, blemish-free apples and fluorescent oranges look appealing, but odds are they've been heavily sprayed with potentially dangerous chemicals. Organic produce looks less appealing, but is actually more healthful.
• Take precautions with fish. Small fish are safer than big fish, because they are lower on the food chain. Avoid: bluefish, striped bass, swordfish, shark, shellfish, fish organs. Avoid fish caught in the Great Lakes, upstate New York and big city bays. Eat no more than half a pound of tuna weekly. Surprisingly, salmon is almost toxin-free.
• Eat more oats. Oats are so hardy that they thrive without heavy applications of pesticides. Eat more oat-based bread and oat-based products.

• Use no peelings. Although peels from oranges and other fruits are often vitamin-rich, they tend to be full of pesticide residues. Example: Citrus Red No. 2 is a food dye which is permitted by Food and Drug Administration (FDA) since 1956 only for use on skin on some Florida oranges. It is a proven carcinogen. Under the circumstances, citrus zest and peel should not be used. However, consumers are largely unaware of the fact that the outer orange portion of the peel is used in manufacturing frozen orange juice. One more reason not to use frozen orange juice. (Citrus Red No. 2 is listed on the California's Proposition 65, the most current and authoritative list of chemicals that are recognized to cause cancer).
• Buy Western produce. Produce grown in the humid American Southeast generally needs more pesticide and fungicide applications than food grown in the comparatively dry West.
• Eat less liver. Liver is full not only of minerals, vitamins and protein, but also concentrated pollutants.
• Watch out for risky food containers. Avoid foreign-made plates and glassware, which may contain leaded glazes. Also avoid milk in wax cartons - choose plastic containers instead. Minimize use of canned foods, since lead can leach from the can into the food; and soft plastics, including soft-drink bottles and sandwich bags. Never store food in opened cans.