Sunday, February 3, 2008

Organic Fuel: Bicycling Magazine

The March Issue of Bicycling Magazine (page 101) included an article about Organic foods.

They included a list of fruits and vegetables that are more or less important to be purchased organic (from foodnews.org by Environmental Working Group).

Organic please
Bell and hot peppers
Carrots
Celery
Cucumbers
Green Beans
Lettuce
Potatoes
Spinach
Apples
Cherries
Imported Grapes
Nectarines
Peaches
Pears
Raspberries
Strawberries

Conventional Okay
Asparagus
Avocados
Broccoli
Brussels Sprouts
Cabbage
Cauliflower
Eggplant
Onions
Okra
Peas
Mushrooms
Radishes
Sweet Corn
Tomatoes
Bananas
Blueberries
Cantaloupe
Grapefruit
US grown grapes
Honeydew
Kiwi
Papaya
Pineapples
Plums
Lemons
Limes
Mangoes
Oranges

First an admission. I am not a whole foods or organic food shopper. I am committed to eating healthy, but in my lifetime this has been to the extent of dieting and losing weight. It is time for me to investigate this matter, so I plan to do a series of posts on this topic.

This article got me thinking.

In the article mentioned above, the author states that pesticides contain organochlorines (from fertilizer) that collects in our fat cells. Release of these chemicals during exercise affect mitochondrial function [their source Intern J Obesity 2004, will review article]. They explain that by eating organic, "help keep your body and the earth clean and healthy". The list above represents items with more v. less residual pesticides.

My immediate questions are:
What is the evidence of pesticide contamination in conventionally grown foods?
What is the effect of pesticide consumption?
How is organic food regulated?

I am excited to learn more about this.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

You ask great questions and ones I seek answers to as well. Currently, the regulations on organic foods are abysmal since Congress let a bill slip through letting all kinds of foods be labeled organic. I'll post some info. on this as soon as I track it down again.

Anonymous said...

Also, thanks for highlighting this article and this list! Good find!!