Safer and More Nutritious: Choosing the Best Organic Produce

If given a choice, I bet most people would choose organic products when food shopping. But with organics costing sometimes up to double the price of its conventional counterpart, most people can’t afford to buy all organics.

Check the list below to see which produce is best to buy organic and which produce you can probably buy conventional. By just looking at the rind or skin you can usually tell how much pesticide load they might carry. Anything with a thin or no skin you should try to buy organic. Anything with a rind or tough covering, conventional is fine. While I only list fruits and vegetables here, I have to point out that purchasing organic milk, meat (for the husband), and coffee should also be top-of-mind when shopping.

My list is based on rankings of fruits and vegetables by pesticide level. It’s scary to see some of the rankings and it unfortunately made me cut down on the amount of strawberries and blueberries I gobbled up this summer.

Organic is best:

· Peaches

· Apples

· bell peppers

· celery

· nectarines

· strawberries

· raspberries

· cherries

· lettuces

· spinach

· grapes (imported)

· pears

· potatoes

· carrots

· green beans

Go for conventional:

· Broccoli

· Cauliflower

· Bananas

· Onion

· Kiwi

· Peas

· Pineapples

· Eggplant

· Asparagus

· Avocado

· Corn

· Mangos s

· Papaya

Organic may be the preferred choice for certain vegetables, as organically grown produce has been shown to have more nutrients than conventionally grown. After a growing number of studies try to confirm this claim, a two-year study of the existing published studies does just that, finding that organically grown fruits and vegetables are nutritionally superior.

The study evaluated nutrient groups: antioxidants, key vitamins (A, C, and E), potassium, phosphorus, nitrates and protein and found that on average organics are more nutritious.

Another reason organic vegetables are ideal is that usually the highest concentrations of antioxidants and vitamins are found in the skins and peals of fruits and vegetables. When using conventional vegetables, I try to reduce the amount of pesticides I consume by peeling them. But if I buy organic I feel safe in eating the entire thing.

With food prices continuing to rise, I don’t see the availability of organics increasing nor do I see the price dropping. These lists are great in helping me decide where the greatest buying power is when it comes to food shopping.