If there’s one point of consensus among doctors and health care practitioners, it’s that we should all eat lots of fruits and vegetables.
However, those beautiful shiny apples and luscious peaches can have pools of pesticides so you need to take steps to protect yourself and your family.
The pesticides sprayed on fruits and vegetables in the Unites States are regulated by the FDA to levels that have been deemed safe. However these pesticides still end up in our bodies and this is especially concerning for children.
A study done at Emory University in Georgia, followed a group of preschool and middle school children for a year. When the children ate non-organic produce, researchers found traces of organophosphate pesticides in their urine.
Organophosphates are a type of neurotoxin that kills insects by interfering with their nervous system and we know that overdoses can kill people and pet animals.
There are around 40 different organophosphate pesticides used in the United States, and they account for about half the insecticides used in this country.
According to the National Institute of Environmental health science, exposure at the wrong time can impair brain development.
“Studies in animals show that even a single, low-level exposure to certain organophosphates, during particular times of early brain development, can cause permanent changes in brain chemistry as well as changes in behavior, like hyperactivity.”
Research also suggests that when children are exposed early to these pesticides, there can be lasting effects on learning, attention, and behavior, similar to those seen with lead.
So these pesticides are is not something you want your children to be in contact with.
The good news is that when the researchers at Emory fed the children in their study an all-organic diet for five days, all traces of these pesticides disappeared.
Not all pesticides will disappear this fast, but this study does show that eating organic, reduces the presence of toxins in your bodies.
Watch to video for tips on how to avoid pesticides in your food.
Reporting by June Fakkert.
