More Than Meets The Eye

Spring is here and soon it will be that glorious time of year when so many delicious fruits and berries are in season. I don’t know about you, but I love berries. They’re sweet, delicious, and full of vitamin c! Just make sure the berries you eat are not also full of a dangerous pesticide called methyl iodide. Methyl iodide is a highly toxic chemical that has been shown to cause numerous issues including birth defects, thyroid disease and brain damage. What does this stuff have to do with berries? Well, in the great state of California (where most of our strawberries and a good number of other berries are grown) this chemical is used as a pesticide to keep the bugs from snacking on those tasty little fruits. California is not the only state that has legalized this pesticide, but it is the largest producer of most berries in the US. So, what do you do about getting your berry fix? Buy organic!

On average organic berries in season are maybe a dollar or two more per pound, but I’d say that knowing your strawberries are hazardous chemical free is wort the extra bit of money. The one problem that many run into with organic berries more often than with “conventional” berries is that because they are chemical free they tend to mold faster than those with chemicals on them. It’s not surprise to me that even mold doesn’t want to live on those filthy methyl iodide slathered berries. It is very frustrating to have the more expensive fruit last half as long, but my friends, there is a simple way around this. As soon as you bring your berries home rinse them with water and apple cider vinegar. The vinegar will help keep mold from growing and kill any mold spores already there. Be sure, though, to rinse them again before eating to take away any smell of vinegar that may be lingering. You can also freeze berries extremely well. This is best if you are planning to cook with them or use them for smoothies. So, when the organic berries go on sale, stock up and fill your freezer. It’s great to have berries on hand to toss in your oatmeal in the morning or the banana-yogurt shake that powers you through your day.

I can’t wait for berry season, and I hope you are excited as well. Just keep in mind that when you’re buying berries (like so many foods these days) you might be getting more than meets the eye.

Back to basics… A poison free world.

As I ponder the way that things were growing up as opposed to the way that things are today I am hit with the irony of how as our dietary “conveniences” increase we become more physically inconvenienced in regards to allergies, obesity and illness. We are truly a fatter and sicker nation than we were 40 years ago and I can only speculate as to the culprit.

I believe that the main offenders are the foods that we eat. They have been so badly tainted that without true awareness you maybe accidentally “poisoning” yourself and those that you love.

Here are some basic rules that will hopefully help you live a longer healthier life:

Buy Fresh Food – you’ve all heard me say it. “If it doesn’t come from the ground or have a mother don’t eat it!”

The box you hold in your hand never had a larger box that birthed and nurtured it so pitch it. Of course if you choose to start slowly and not discard your entire pantry, toss out anything that has sugar, salt, high fructose corn syrup or crystalline fructose listed in the first 5 ingredients. Throw away anything with hydrogenated oil, BHT, added colors or unpronounceable words listed as an ingredient.

Move Towards Organics – nothing upset me more than to find out that all the beautiful fruits and vegetables I ate and had fed to those I love were ridden with pesticides and obesogens.

The items that are deemed the most chemically dangerous are apples, pears, peaches, nectarines, grapes, strawberries, peppers, celery, cherries, kale, lettuce and carrots.

The 15 fruits and vegetables that have a low pesticide count are onions, avocados, pineapple, asparagus, mango, peas, kiwi, cabbage, eggplant, papaya,  watermelon and sweet potato.

If you’re having problem losing weight, try to eat organic fruits and vegetables; studies show that after just 5 days of eating the right foods, pesticide consumption can be reduced to undetectable levels.

Shop the perimeter of the Store – all the fresh foods are located on the outside aisles while all the boxes of preservatives live in the central aisles. I recommend you work the perimeter of the store and just dart through the center aisles for the staples you know that you need like cleaning supplies and paper goods. Try to buy very little edible items from the central aisles.

Some Vicky Secrets –

• Haagen Daz and Dove have no preservatives! Treat yourself to the real stuff – just have a little less.
• Go Natural and Skip the Nitrates – roast a turkey or roast beef for lunchtime sandwiches.
• Use Raw Sugar instead of Refined.
• The Best of the Worst in regards to Granola Bars are Cliff bars.
• Be aware that Washing Fruits & Veggies does NOT Eliminate all of the Pesticides. Peeling helps but then you are also peeling away valuable nutrients.
• Eat Wild not Farmed Fish. The farmed fish are fatter with bad fat but lower in the beneficial Omega 3 fat. Farmed fish are filled with dye, pesticides and antibiotics.
• Snack on Whole Grain vs. Multigrain. Multigrain often means refined white flour is mixed in with just small amounts of whole grains. Don’t be fooled by 100% wheat, stone ground or multigrain.
• Buy Organic Chicken – they have no chemical, pesticides, hormones, drugs or antibiotics in them,
• Purchase Grass Fed Meat – the rest have been fed obesogens and steroids. The obesogens create 7x as much fat as the grass fed meat which becomes your fat if you eat it. Purchasing leaner cuts of meat helps as well.

Food allergies were unheard of 30+ years ago –I believe that if we went back to the basics and stopped eating all the chemicals they would again be silenced.

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels… I Mean Fruit.

When should you buy organic?  What are some of the dirtiest foods?  When bags of salad say “washed”, are they really washed?  See where I am going?

Some of the foods that we consume are so ridden with pesticides that we would be better off washing it with soap or not eating it at all.  For instance, did you know that some of the dirtiest foods are strawberries, blueberries, in fact, all the berries, eggs, melons, peaches, nectarines, prepackaged salads, and green onions (scallions) are the biggest culprit.

Let me point out that you can save your money on many foods such as bananas, mangos, and watermelon.  There are many foods that are, quite frankly, just a waste of money to purchase organic.  However, you are taking a real chance when – and please don’t be surprised, there are many people who do this – that come home from the supermarket and do not thoroughly wash your food.  Do you think green peppers or zucchini, for instance, are supposed to feel slimy?  What do you suppose that means?  While most eggs won’t make you sick, experts estimate that more than 2 million eggs  that are Salmonella infected get into circulation each year, which sickens 660,000 people each year and kills as many as 300.  According to one article, “when the FDA sampled domestically grown cantaloupe, it found that 3.5 percent of the melons carried Salmonella and Shigella, the latter a bacteria normally passed person-to-person.  Among imported cantaloupe, 7 percent tested positive for both bugs.”

So what is the answer, you ask?  Well, that’s simple!  Scrub, scrub, scrub!  If you wash your fruits and vegetables extremely well, that is the best precaution you could take.  Of course, even better, is to buy organic.  But, as I said, spend the extra money on organic strawberries and don’t bother with the organic bananas, for instance.  Be smart with your fruits and vegetables and your money!

Next time you use green onions, consider the fact that they come from underground.  Think about what they must be laden with and you might just give them an extra wash.  You can’t help what goes on in restaurants, but you can certainly help what goes on in your own home.  Why not do what I do?  With fruits and vegetables that I am concerned about, I fill the sink with water, soak them, let them sit, rinse, fill with water again.  I eat berries every day and I simply can’t be too careful.   By the way, speaking of berries did you try the strawberry trick I told you about last week?