The 12 Most Contaminated Foods We Eat! Why You Need to Buy Them Organic!

More and more Americans are paying closer attention to the foods they eat these days. Because of so many carcinogens, pesticides and fertilizers, we are looking to add more organic foods to our shopping lists. Much of the information from the FDA and USDA suggest many everyday foods we eat are known to cause cancer, damage to the nervous system, birth defects and even brain damage. Serving more organic foods on our tables can keep our families much healthier, and lead to much longer and productive lives. The downside to organic food is the cost. Most organic foods cost a lot more than their processed counterparts. So how do we decide which products to buy organic, and which ones can we live without? The best way to determine the answer is to know the 12 most contaminated foods we eat. If you are having to budget your food dollars as most of us are, than these 12 foods are the ones you need to replace with organic products.

According to the FDA, after running tests on over 100,000 samples , the following foods were found to contain the most contaminants.

Meat.... Beef, Chicken and Pork were found to contain higher levels of pesticides than even plant foods. Pesticides are stored in the fatty tissues of these animals. So what ends up in them, ends up on your dinner table! When these animals are fed with pesticide laden feed, it carries over to the finished product.

Milk, Butter, and Cheese.... Milk was found to have high concentrations of pesticides in it. Non-Organic Milk also contains antibiotics and growth hormones as well. Thus butter and cheese are affected too! Whatever the cow eats ends up in the product that cow produces.

Strawberries, Cherries, and Raspberries.... It turns out Strawberries contain more pesticides than any other crop grown in our country. 90% of the berries tested were found to contain higher pesticide levels than what are generally considered safe. There are more than 35 pesticides applied to strawberries alone! Although raspberries and cherries were not as bad, they too contained levels above what is known to be acceptable. If you can't afford to buy organic berries, at least be sure to wash them off before serving them. Some pesticides on the surface can be washed off.

Apples and Pears.... Apples tested were found to contain 36 various chemicals in them. Many of these chemicals were neurotoxins, which are known to cause brain damage in humans. Unfortunately you can't just wash off many of these chemicals.

Tomatoes.... The problem with Tomatoes is, they have thin skin. Pesticides easily seep through their skin and are absorbed into the tomato. There are at least 30 known pesticides used on conventionally grown tomatoes.

Potatoes.... Over 75% of the potatoes tested contained unsafe levels of pesticides, according to the FDA. Potatoes also were found to have many fungicides as well.

Spinach.... Spinach is more contaminated than any other vegetable. The most powerful pesticides used on our food supply are found on spinach. Most all other green vegetables contain high levels of pesticides too. At least 83% of the spinach rested had unacceptable levels of pesticides. You may remember recently, spinach was pulled from the shelves due to e-coli contamination. When you really think about it, it's amazing more people don't get ill and die from the food they eat!

Coffee.... Yes even the coffee we drink! Some of the most dangerous pesticides known to man, so dangerous they are outlawed in the USA. These pesticides are shipped out of the country to be used by other countries where they are allowed. There they are used on crops that end up being shipped back to us! Coffee is one of the worst examples of this.

Celery.... More than 90% of the celery tested contained high levels of pesticides. Is there anything grown without them?

Peaches and Nectarines.... According to the FDA, 95% of Peaches were contaminated with 45 different pesticides used in most orchards. 97% of Nectarines had these chemicals on them. Oh by the way, don't think you can just peel the skin off to be safe. Peaches and Nectarines also have thin skin, which allows the pesticides to be absorbed through their skin. You will need to buy these organic to completely avoid exposure to these chemicals.

Grapes.... During the growing cycle of grapes, some 35 chemicals are sprayed on them. Tests showed 86% of grapes contained pesticides. Imported grapes were even worse! The grapes grown in Chile were the worst ones.

Red and Green Bell Peppers.... Besides being covered with up to 39 different chemicals, bell peppers are often times covered with a wax coating. As if the chemicals aren't bad enough, the wax isn't healthy either!

After reading this you may wonder if eating is healthy at all! Well I'm sure you won't keel over and die from eating any of these items produced conventionally, at least not right away. But these are facts proven by tests conducted by the FDA and the USDA. Some might argue the results would be worse if the tests were conducted by an independent source. The government has been known to adopt nutrition levels that are the bare minimum needed to maintain optimal health. Either way, these results are astounding. Most of us being on a food budget, are not able to afford the bill to purchase all of our families foods grown organic. So with that in mind, these are the 12 most contaminated foods we eat. If you are worried about eating healthy in your family, these items should be purchased in organic form first. By replacing the 12 most contaminated foods we eat with their organic versions, will greatly minimize your families exposure to pesticides and other harsh chemicals.