Hi everybody this is Monica Reinagle the nutrition diva here with your quick and dirty

tips for eating well and feeling fabulous and today I'm going to talk about which foods account for most of your exposure to pesticides.

When we talk about pesticides and foods, we often focus on fresh produce.

For example, I've talked in the past

about the so-called Dirty Dozen,

which are the fruits and vegetables that tend to be highest

in pesticide residues.

And you'll find a link to that episode in today's show notes at nutritioniva.

Quick and Dirty Tips.com.

Recently, though, Nancy wrote me to ask how much we need to be concerned about pesticides and food other

than fruits and vegetables such as grain-based foods or dairy products.

Of course, one way to avoid exposure to pesticides in foods is simply to choose organic foods.

But for most of us, a 100% organic diet isn't realistic or affordable.

If you know which foods are most likely to contain harmful pesticides, you can prioritize

your organic purchases or even avoid those foods altogether.

According to the FDA's most recent pesticide monitoring report, your biggest dietary

exposure to pesticides is from non-organic produce, especially those fruits and

vegetables that are higher in pesticide residues such as apples, strawberries,

celery, peaches, and spinach. You know not long ago a reader wrote to ask why the

FDA allows these fruits and vegetables to be sold if they're so high in pesticides.

And the answer is that even though these foods may have a higher pesticide residue than others,

the amount still does not exceed what the FDA considers to be safe.

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