Plant Based Diet- "The Dirty Dozen" part III

Two silly sweethearts sitting on Daddy's car.

A messy faced little tot.

Mommy loves her baby boy!

Isn't my hubs handsome? Wish my eye was open all the way:-(

She was reading this book at prechool & didn't know I was there.

Sweet girl with her Valentine goodies.

Nurse Matt preparing my B12

He is really skilled at giving injections. They don't hurt.

     Probably most of us have heard the saying, "you can't avoid everything" in reference to the pesticides & chemicals in food. Yes, that's most certainly a logical statement (unless you live on a remote island somewhere, that has never been touched by human hands but even then, who knows). Our bodies were equipped with tremendous filtering devices but in today's toxic environment, those filters can get overloaded & plugged. I like to liken our body's filtering system to a pool filter. The filter is designed to clean the gunk out of the water before returning it back to the pool. Every once in awhile, the pool maintenance guy comes by & "helps" the filter do it's job so it doesn't have so much work to do. He uses his net to scoop out the big objects, that could damage & clog the filter. The pool filter has the luxury of being replaced periodically. Our filters are permanent so all the more reason to "help them do their job!". One large source of filter clogging toxins in our environment is in or on the foods we eat. Learning which foods are the highest in pesticides & which are naturally low is a great idea for anyone concerned with keeping their filtering system healthy. I have scoured the Internet for the most up-to-date information available regarding produce that make up "the dirty dozen". These are foods you should prioritize buying USDA organic due to their excessive pesticide & chemical content. Buying organic has an altruistic side that you may appreciate. Farm workers that work on organic farms aren't subjected to the concentrated chemicals, that the workers on the conventional farms are. Many of these workers are migrant workers & have few options of where to work in order to support their families. The Department of Agriculture says that individuals can reduce their internal chemical exposure 80% by switching to organic in these foods: APPLES, CELERY, STRAWBERRIES, PEACHES, SPINACH, NECTARINES, GRAPES, SWEET BELL PEPPERS, POTATOES, BLUEBERRIES, LETTUCE/KALE. Some non-produce items that also made the extreme caution extension list are meats, milk & dairy, coffee, wine, chocolate. Please check out TheDailyGreen.com for more helpful information. In closing, my educated opinion is that it's prudent to buy USDA organic foods regardless if they make the list or not as most all conventional food items will have filter clogging toxins contained within.