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Pesticides are used by the U.S. food industry on crops to kill insects. Conventional growers use pesticides, but organic food producers do not use them. Exposure to foods grown with the use of pesticides has been linked to many health problems. Pesticides are harmful. It is much safer to buy organically grown food than conventionally grown food.

Pesticides are toxic chemicals and can lead to obesity and otherwise seriously damage your health. Although the government plays a role in protecting its citizens from pesticide exposure, it is no guarantee for our safety. People must still remain vigilant in how we select and prepare our food.

Pesticides should be avoided wherever possible. You need to protect yourself and your family from pesticides by avoiding foods that contain them or by removing the pesticides by washing and scrubbing whenever possible.

The EPA

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is responsible for regulating the use of pesticides. The EPA does recognize that pesticides are harmful and sets limits on the amount and types of pesticides that can be used in growing food and also sets limits on the amount of pesticides that can remain in the food when you buy it. Following are some quotes from the EPA website:

Laboratory studies show that pesticides can cause health problems, such as birth defects, nerve damage, cancer, and other effects that might occur over a long period of time.¹

Birth defects … nerve damage … cancer, and more. Certainly, it is important for people to be aware of pesticide contamination of the food we consume.

(The) EPA sets limits on how much of a pesticide may be used on food during growing and processing, and how much can remain on the food you buy.²

Although the EPA sets limits it still acknowledges there are pesticides that remain on the food we buy. It is clear that the government is aware that over our lifetimes, pesticides will accumulate in our bodies and potentially cause harm to our health.

Pesticides Contain Neurotoxins

Some pesticides contain neurotoxins act on the nervous system of insects. Basically, it’s chemical warfare against the bugs. These neurotoxins remain as residue on the foods that are sold in the U.S. and they accumulate in the body and cause nerve damage to people over time.

Pesticides Cause Obesity

Recent studies have revealed that chemicals in the environment cause obesity. Among these are chemical pesticides and chemicals in food containers. The chemical Bisphenol A (BPA), used in plastic food containers and in the linings of canned foods, has been linked to obesity. These findings were discussed in 2007 at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. You can have a hard time losing weight when pesticides are consumed.

Foods With The Most Pesticides

Some foods contain more pesticides than others. The Environmental Working Group (EWG) publishes an annual “dirty dozen” list of the most contaminated foods. They estimate that consumers can reduce their exposure to pesticides by as much as 80% simply by consuming only the most healthy foods. One of the worst foods for pesticide contamination is coffee. This is because many of the coffee beans used to make conventionally grown coffee comes from countries that do not regulate the use of pesticides. This is a big reason to buy organic coffee. Two more are strawberries and peaches. Strawberries and peaches were also mentioned on a Dr Oz Show segment in 2010 among the worst foods contaminated with pesticides. You can view the current “dirty dozen” list of foods here at this web page.

Healthy Food Spray For Washing Produce

The Dr. Oz show aired a segment on pesticides where he showed a simple formula for a healthy food spray that you can make yourself from common household items that you can use to clean your fresh fruits and vegetables. Visit this web page for the formula.

Give Your Body a Fighting Chance

The body should be able to detoxify naturally and get rid of accumulated toxins by itself. As long as it is strong and healthy and not overwhelmed, it should be able handle some measure of toxicity. Toxins can accumulate in the body in many ways – not just from pesticides. One should always endeavor to follow a healthy eating plan. But when you take into account lifestyle factors like stress, smoking, lack of sleep, lack of exercise, junk food in addition to food additives and nutritionally empty or harmful substances like trans fats, refined sugar, high fructose corn syrup, harmful chemicals like BPA plus pesticides and genetically modified organisms (GMOs), milk laced with rbST (rGBH – genetically-engineered bovine growth hormone), antibiotics and hormones in chicken and beef then one can understand that the body can soon face a losing battle. The point is to do whatever is in your power to give your body the best possible chance of being strong and healthy by making the most intelligent and most healthy choices.

Sources:
¹http://www.epa.gov/opp00001/food/risks.htm
²http://www.epa.gov/opp00001/food/govt.htm