‘As far back as 1990, in my book Conscious Eating, I cite research suggesting that animal flesh (being at the top of the food chain) contained approximately 15 times more toxins than vegetables. Root vegetables had four times more than leafy vegetables. Cow’s milk had about 5–6 times more toxins than leafy vegetables. Depleted uranium is somewhere in estimate of 15–30 times greater in milk and in water than in plants. Eating higher on the food chain (milk, meat, chicken, and fish) is definitely exposing people to a higher level of toxins, which of course is worse if cooked’
Dr Gabriel Cousens, MD, MD (H), Diplomat Ayurveda, Diplomat Board of American Holistic Health, Holistic Physician and Scientist with papers published in Biochemical and Biophysics Journal, as edited from an open published letter, USA, January 2011.

Sprayed vegetables and fruits are better than sprayed ‘anything else’

The super antioxidant disease-preventing secondary metabolites, the unique fibres, carotenoids, polyphenols, flavonoids, alkaloids and terpenoids are all only available in vegetables. Eating more fruits and vegetables is the best way to counteract any damage from pesticides. Vegetables are packed with the most powerful protection you can get so it is always better to be eating more of them — organic or not. You can always back up your vitamin C and antioxidant requirements with a daily intake of home-grown sprouts. A $70 initial investment in your garden will yield $600 in food for a year. Growing your own sprouts triples that return.

Five key points regarding produce

Almost all foods tested have chemical residues so continue to eat lots of all kinds of vegetables. They are the best foods available and the most protective against all cancers.

The positive health-giving benefits that vegetables and plant-based wholefoods have, is much stronger than small amounts of chemical residues. Nearly 95% of the pesticide residue in the typical modern diet comes from meat, fish and dairy products. Try to get as many fresh fruits and vegetables from your grandma’s backyard. If you can’t do this, grow your own. Or grow a small crop and swap your parsley for your neighbour’s apples. Or carefully choose your own at farmers’ markets or wholefood health stores. You can remove the pesticide and herbicide residue on your fruit and vegetables by using the cleaning solution below.

Remove the chemical residues yourself

Fruits and vegetables are the cornerstones of a good healthy diet. Washing fresh produce in water can reduce levels of some pesticides but it does not eliminate them. The best options are to grow the food you can (depending on the circumstances in your life), buy organic food when you can, eat a varied, local, plant-based wholefood diet, and lastly, wash all sprayed produce with a natural fruit and vegetable wash to remove the residue.

Fruit and vegetable wash to remove chemical spray residues

1 cup water

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon white vinegar

Written by Jason Shon Bennett from jasonshonbennett.com