Produce, Pesticides & You

November 7, 2019 Ellie Voci

Pesticides were designed to be toxic to pests and unwanted plants. Mission accomplished!

Unfortunately, many of these chemicals are also toxic to humans and wildlife. Ooops…..

Risks from pesticide exposure include respiratory problems, cancer, hormone/endocrine disorders, skin rashes, eye irritation, and even brain and nervous system toxicity.

If buying organic all the time isn’t financially realistic; or if you aren’t able to find the organic produce you are looking for, don’t panic! Experts all agree that the benefits of eating a fiber rich diet filled with whole, colorful fruits and veggies far outweighs the risks of consuming conventionally grown produce with a little pesticide residue.

Takeaway: Load up on veggies, leafy greens and fruit, no matter how they are grown.

That said, some crops are so heavily sprayed that going organic, when possible, makes good sense. A sensible general guideline when deciding whether to go organic is the thicker the outer skin or peel, the less pesticide contamination.

Produce with thick, inedible outer rinds, such as cantaloupe and butternut squash, may have lower levels of pesticide residue than those with edible, soft skin, such as berries and tomatoes. Unfortunately, pesticides are made to penetrate the outer peel and skin in order to protect the produce from the inside out, but it still makes sense that the thicker the barrier between the inner and outer layer of the fruit or vegetable, the better the protection it confers against pesticides.

Each year the Environmental Working Group (EWG), a non-profit, non-partisan organization committed to protecting human health and the environment, publishes a list of conventionally grown fruits and vegetables that have the highest and lowest pesticide residue levels remaining on fruits and vegetables after they’ve been washed. These lists are known as the “Dirty Dozen” and “Clean 15” and are valuable guides in helping you to decide when it makes sense to prioritize organic.

DIRTY DOZEN™

Strawberries
Spinach
Kale
Nectarines
Apples
Grapes
Peaches
Cherries
Pears
Tomatoes
Celery
Potatoes

Note:

Strawberries have topped the DIRTY DOZEN™ list for the past four years.
After many years off the DIRTY DOZEN™ list, Kale made a in 2019, ranking number 3 for the highest pesticide residue levels.

CLEAN 15™

Avocados
Sweet corn
Pineapples
Frozen sweet peas
Onions
Papayas
Eggplants
Asparagus
Kiwis
Cabbages
Cauliflower
Cantaloupes
Broccoli
Mushrooms
Honeydew melon

*”a small amount of sweet corn, papaya and summer squash sold in the United States is produced from Genetically Engineered (GE) seed stock. Buy organic varieties of these crops if you want to avoid Genetically Engineered produce”.(*Environmental Working Group)

Referring to these lists when grocery shopping can help you determine where it makes sense to go organic, and where it’s perfectly fine to choose conventional produce. The list changes annually, so you should check it from year to year to stay current.

To shop cleaner, download EWG’s handy Healthy Living App for more than 120,000 ratings on food and personal care products! It’s an indispensable resource, helping you to decode labels and make informed decisions about what you put in and on your body.

Fruit Phobia: When Did Fruit Get So Controversial?

August 2, 2019 Ellie Voci

In the age of Keto and Low Carb, fruit is under fire for its high sugar content relative to other whole foods. With all the bad press, you may be wondering if fruit still has a place in a healthy diet, or whether it should be kicked to the curb alongside processed, sugary foods and beverages.

Lightening Round with Susan Blum

July 28, 2019 Lisa Malin

My name is:

Susan Blum

I’m a:

Mindful mother, wife, and doctor, who still practices medicine while also doing service work in communities and offering health and wellness education through various platforms.

My morning routine goes something like this:

Wake up, make my green tea, take it to my dedicated meditation space. Sit and drink quietly for 5-10 minutes, then meditate for 20 minutes. Next I have my shot of espresso, and on most days (5 days/week) go for a power walk up and down our hilly neighborhood for 45 minutes, with my dog Trixie.

Come home and make my green smoothie:

½ apple
½ lemon (peeled, but including the flesh)
2 tbs. hemp seeds
1 tbs. sunflower seeds
Sprig of fresh rosemary
Handful of baby kale
Handful of baby spinach and water.

Then off to work!

Coffee or tea?

Both!

My diet is primarily:

Gluten and dairy free vegetarian. On occasion, I have a little fish if I am traveling and stuck for what to eat.

In my fridge, I always have:

Fermented beets, tahini, olives, lemons, mineral water, salad fixings (mixed greens, radicchio, cucumber, celery, peppers, scallions, radishes, fennel) avocado.

Pantry staples are:

Pumpkin and sunflower seeds - I sprinkle them on everything, especially my salad!
EVOO, coconut oil, coconut milk for cooking, iodized salt
Organic millet, quinoa (red and white, brown rice, ramen noodles from Lotus foods, lentils, mung beans, chickpeas, adzuki beans, cannellini beans.
Mary’s Gone Crackers

Go-to breakfast:

Green smoothie (*recipe above)

Lunch is normally:

A big salad: mixed greens, radicchio, cucumber, celery, peppers, scallions, radishes, fennel, avocado, olives, sunflower and pumpkin seeds; chickpeas or other legume that I made for dinner the night before. I just throw a few tbs. on top. Olive oil and lemon salad dressing. I eat this pretty much every day!!

Snacks: take em or leave em?

I don’t generally snack, but in the office we sometimes pass around the dark chocolate at 4:00! If I’m home, I might have a few Mary’s Gone Crackers with fresh avocado, or some veggies with tahini dip.

I’ve been practicing Time Restricted eating for the past year and don’t eat after dinner any more. This has made a huge difference in my ability to keep my weight stable and have lots of energy! I don’t eat from 7 pm until 11 am every day unless I am traveling or eating out.

Dinner is often:

I’m very boring, in that we have a schedule that we follow at home to make it easy to shop and plan and not stress about meals.

I always have stir-fry veggies every night. I love leeks, onions, mushrooms as a base and then rotate different nights, might be bok-choy, one night or broccoli and chard another, or asparagus and peppers. I am very adventurous!

On tofu nights, it’s a spicy asian cabbage stir fry!

For carbs: Sometimes a ½ purple potato (they are awesome!) or quinoa, or the millet and rice ramen noodles. Sometimes no carbs.

For protein: 3 nights/week I have ½ cup legumes: rotate different beans. 2 nights/week I have a sunny side up egg for dinner, and 1 night/week we have Tofu. And then, we eat out 1 night/week and I try to stay vegan in the restaurant, but about once/month I will have seafood if there is nothing else to eat on the menu!

My favorite way to get my sweat on is:

Going for a power walk/jog with my dog Trixie, up and down the hills in my area, sometimes to the neighboring nature preserve. I love heading outside. During the winter, I use our Peloton and take classes because it’s too cold to go outside!

Favorite way to downshift:

I meditate every morning for 20 minutes. I have been an avid meditation practitioner for 25 years and it is an important part of my life and keeps me grounded and mindful.

Supplements I can’t live without:

B complex
Vitamin D
Magnesium
Cod Liver oil
CoQ10

On a Friday night, you can find me:

Having Shabbat dinner at home with my husband and sometimes with family and/or friends, drinking a glass of wine and unwinding from the week.

Words to live by/life philosophy:

A few favorite quotes:

“Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.” Viktor E Frankl.

“If you don’t change direction, you will end up where you are heading” Lao Tsu.

Susan Blum, MD, MPH is an Assistant Clinical Professor in the Department of Preventive Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Founder and Director of Blum Center for Health in Rye Brook, New York, where she leads a team of physicians, nurse practitioners, nutritionists and health coaches to provide cutting edge Functional and Integrative Medicine services. She’s also the author of two books, The Immune System Recovery Plan (Scribner; 2013), and Healing Arthritis (Scribner; 2017).