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Natural Solutions for Cleaning Your Produce

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Whether you buy organic or not, taking some time to properly clean your produce is an important part of any wellness plan that shouldn’t be overlooked.

Eating a rainbow of colors is one of the best ways to ensure you’re getting the necessary vitamins and nutrients to nurture your immune system. But remember, you’re not the first person to handle that apple you’re about to take a bite out of! Because it travels through many hands and has passed through many environments, all produce is a host for bacteria, and unless you’re buying organic, pesticides too.

Take for example the E.coli outbreaks in the United States over the last several years. These outbreaks are caused by infected romaine lettuce and responsible for causing illnesses across multiple states. This may be an extreme, but it illustrates the point — just because you don’t see it, doesn’t mean it’s not there.

Additionally, tomatoes, cucumbers, apples, bell peppers, and many other fruits and vegetables are covered with wax to protect from spoilage and to maintain hydration. But given a choice, is it something you want to eat? Likely not…

Our healthcare providers want to work with you to help you make positive lifestyle modifications that will benefit of your mind, body, and soul. Wellness is about making good choices and establishing good habits. If you are looking to improve your overall wellness, please give us a call today, 703-532-4892, to schedule an appointment with one of our experts.

The good news is that you DO have a choice! Bypassing a good wash leaves you susceptible to a wide range of bacteria and unwanted substances. Removing pesticides and de-waxing your fruits and vegetables is a fairly simple process and always recommended. It’s particularly important for berries and lettuces, even if they are organic, as they are a good host for powerful super bacteria.

We recommend the following two methods that use natural solutions to properly remove wax, pesticides, and harmful microbes before use (best to do this as soon as you unpack your groceries).

  • To de-wax & clean most fruits and vegetables:

    Place the produce in a container filled with baking soda and water, approx. 1 tsp per 2 cups of water, covering them completely and letting it soak for at least 20 minutes. The baking soda will remove the wax on the outer skin and, more importantly, has been shown to be effective in removing pesticides. You can follow this up with a solution of ¼ cup of 3% hydrogen peroxide and water (again, just covering the produce) to remove bacteria. The hydrogen peroxide is a powerful anti-microbial that will help remove bacteria from the surface of the produce and also helps in removing pesticides.

  • For produce such as leafy greens and berries*:

    Cover the produce in a solution of  ½ cup of 3% hydrogen peroxide and water for 20 minutes & rinse with filtered or spring water.

*Berries typically spoil faster after washing, so this process is best done right before eating.

Although this may seem like a time-consuming process the benefits are far-reaching. Once the habit is created it will become second nature and you’ll feel great about being proactive in your health.

We are here for you, and we want to help.

Our goal is to return you to optimal health as soon as possible. To schedule an appointment please call: 703-532-4892 x2

Minimizing Exposure to Pesticides on Produce

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Several of our favorite fruits and vegetables made an unwanted appearance on Environmental Working Group’s (EWG) Dirty Dozen™ list yet again this year. Strawberries, spinach, apples, kale, and nectarines top the list, but you’ll find many more summertime favorites and lunchbox staples on it as well. If you’ve been trying to eat a rainbow of colors to improve your nutrition these fruits and veggies should be a welcome addition but finding them on EWG’s Dirty Dozen™ may have some of you saying, “no thanks”.

EWG’s Dirty Dozen™ is a shopper’s guide that ranks pesticide contamination of some of the most popular fruits and vegetables sold in the United States. According to EWG’s website, “the guide is based on test results by the Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration of around 45,000 samples of produce.” Their analysis finds that approximately 70% of non-organic produce carry pesticide residue even after they have been prepared to eat (i.e., peeling, scrubbing, rinsing).

Much like a produce PSA, the intent behind EWG’s list is simple: to provide you, the consumer, an educational tool that empowers you to make the most informed decisions for your health. EWG recommends that consumers choose to buy the organic versions of the Dirty Dozen™ whenever possible to the conventionally grown counterparts with the goal of lowering exposure to pesticides – and we agree.

Pesticides are toxins that over time can accumulate and have a poisonous effect on our physical and mental health. As toxins penetrate the blood-brain barrier they are free to circulate throughout the body, including the brain and other organs. Health risks from an accumulation of toxins are wide-ranging but can lead to very serious health issues, including brain fog, cognitive decline, cardiovascular disease, hormone disruption, and some forms of cancer.

We understand that for a variety of reasons, especially now as food prices are rising, buying organic is not always possible, but there are ways to limit your exposure. When weighing options, a diet of plentiful fruits and vegetables outweigh the risk of pesticide exposure.

Tips to limit pesticide exposure in produce:

  1. Buy organic products that do not use harmful pesticides whenever possible. Local farmers’ markets and CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture) are also a great source of organic produce. To lower the cost of a CSA consider splitting the membership with a friend. When fresh produce is not necessary (i.e., for cooking) frozen organic produce is a great and more affordable alternative
  2. Refer to EWG’s Clean Fifteen™ for an alternative selection of fruits and vegetables with the lowest concentration of pesticides (even when they are grown conventionally).
  3. Before eating, wash your produce with this two-step method that uses natural solutions to properly remove pesticides as well as wax and harmful microbes.
  4. Grow your own! If you have the time and space, pick a few of your favorites and start a container garden or raised bed. Not only will you reap the benefits of harvesting your own organic produce, but you may find it helps with managing stress and overall mental health.

 

Looking for a new recipe? Download and browse some of our staff’s favorites in our Recipe eBook: https://kaplanclinic.com/resources/recipe-ebook/