Hello and welcome to the Nutrition Diva Podcast, a show where we take a closer look at headlines,

trends and research so that you can make more informed choices about what you eat.

I'm your host, Monica Reinagle, and I recently received this question from a nutrition diva

listener.

Good morning, my name is Marnie.

I am trying to eat healthier,

including more healthy fruits and vegetables into my diet.

My question has to do with organic... fruits and vegetables into my diet?

My question has to do with organic fruits and vegetables

versus non-organic.

I would prefer to buy organic, but as a family of four I'm just finding it way too expensive.

I'm familiar with the dirty dozen lifts and I do consider that when purchasing my food and vegetables, but I'm wondering can non-organic be safe for consumption.

And if so, do you have any recommendations for proper washing and care of those non-organic

groups and vegetables so that we're getting the maximum nutrition value of them without compromising our bodies because of the pesticide.

Now according to a recent survey conducted by consumer reports 85% of shoppers are worried about pesticides

in the food supply and this concern no doubt sells a lot of organic food.

However, as Marnie points out, organic produce can be up to 50% more expensive than conventional.

And although annual inflation has slowed way down,

we're still paying a lot more for food than we were a few years ago.

So what's a health conscious but budget conscious eater to do?

I agree that it's a good idea to minimize your exposure to pesticides, but I think many of us are focusing our pesticide avoidance efforts in the wrong place.

There's no question that pesticides can be harmful to humans and other life forms.

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