Dirty Dozen and Clean 15

Wow! For the first 2 weeks of May we ran a marathon. But we didn’t really run! It just seemed like that much effort and was as exhilarating as running a marathon.

This marathon-like event was actually a 3-unit college course on nutrition taught in only 2 weeks by yours truly at Shasta Bible College in Redding, CA. College age students, staff and faculty and a few other older adults enlivened the class. Many made changes in their eating habits early on in the course and already had some great results like:
“My mind clears up off of sweets.”
“I feel so much better eating this healthy way.”
“I eliminated sugar 2 weeks ago, now am getting rid of other junk food and I’ve already lost 4 pounds.”

Needless to say teaching this class was extremely rewarding to me. I love it when people “get it”, when they become convicted about taking charge of their own health and start doing just that right away.

Teaching college age students is especially rewarding to me since they usually have not had children yet. Once they understand the importance of nutrition even 6 months before conceiving a child, they can not only turn around their own health pitfalls but also ensure a great start for their children.

Every time I teach it I’m reminded of so many things that I want to share with you too.

But where do we start? There’s a lot of info in 10 days of teaching for 3.5 hours each day.

Let’s start with some simple reminders about shopping for healthy fruits and vegetables.

Wouldn’t you love to eat only organic fruits and vegetables? That’s the ideal way to avoid pesticides and other chemicals. However, let’s face it most of us have a budget and organic food is a bit more expensive.

The folks at Environmental Working Group share their research on the cleanest and dirtiest veggies and fruit. They advise eating only organic produce if that item is listed in the “Dirty Dozen” list because it’s been heavily sprayed with weed and bug killer.

However they also remind us that:
“The health benefits of a diet rich in fruits and vegetables outweigh risks of pesticide exposure.”

This is their shopping guide. They revise the list periodically so it’s a good idea to visit their web site for updates.

Shopper’s Guide to Dirty Dozen Plus
These foods are heavily sprayed with pesticides and chemicals unless they are grown organically. So it’s highly recommended to only buy organic vegetables and fruits from this list.
http://www.foodnews.org/sneak/EWG-shoppers-guide.pdf
 Celery
 Peaches
 Strawberries
 Apples
 Cucumbers
 Nectarines
 Bell Peppers
 Spinach
 Kale
 Cherry tomatoes
 Potatoes
 Grapes (imported)
 Hot peppers
 Snap Peas (imported)

Clean 15 Lowest in Pesticides
Ok to buy non-organic, but still better to buy organic
 Onions
 Avocado
 Sweet corn
 Pineapple
 Mangos
 Sweet Peas (frozen)
 Asparagus
 Kiwi
 Cabbage
 Eggplant
 Cantaloupe
 Grapefruit
 Sweet Potato
 Papaya
 Cauliflower

Blessings,
Dr. Jo