When it comes to wellness, one of the things that “Wellnessman” endorses is to eat many vegetables along with lesser amounts of fruit. The problem with conventional veggies and fruit has to do with the fact that many of them are heavily sprayed with pesticides. That is why he prefers you to go the organic route instead. The media recently played up the results of a study talking about the NEGLIGIBLE nutritional differences between conventional and organic veggies and fruit. What they failed to point out was the very CONSIDERABLE differences in pesticide content between the two categories. The bottom line is that conventional veggies and fruit contain pesticides that lead to two big problems: inflammation and cancer. Obviously the goal is to keep both of those to a minimum. Inflammation leads to pain and disease while cancer leads to much suffering and shorter life spans.
“Wellnessman” recommends that you try to buy your veggies and fruits from a local grower, to ensure freshness. This also gives you the ability to ask questions that can be answered about the growing process. You don’t need to get everything organic but the “Dirty Dozen” list from “Organic.org” gives you a list of veggies and fruits that they recommend eating organic. They are listed below.
Buy the following organic:
Apples, Strawberries, Grapes, Celery, Peaches, Spinach, Sweet Bell Peppers, Nectarines, Cucumbers, Cherry tomatoes, Snap Peas, Potatoes.
“Wellnessman” would also like to include Kale, Lettuce and Corn (non-organic corn is “GMO-city”) on the “Dirty Dozen” list and rename it the “Dirty Quince” list (Spanish for “15”).
The following can be purchased conventionally due to lower pesticide risk:
Avocados, Pineapple, Cabbage, Sweet Peas (frozen), Onions, Asparagus, Mangoes, Papayas, Kiwi, Eggplant, Grapefruit, Cantaloupe, Cauliflower, Broccoli, Sweet Potatoes.
In summary, “Wellnessman” wants everyone to be as healthy as possible, so that is why he endorses eating large amounts of organic vegetables with a sprinkling of organic fruits as well. We want to favor the veggies over the fruits due to the lower sugar content of veggies and its minimal effect on raising blood sugar. A vegetarian diet is also a very good approach to reducing your chances of heart disease.
Climb aboard the “Wellness Wagon” with “Wellnessman” by remembering to eat organic vegetables and fruits. Walk Strong…with orthotics.
Sources:
1- Shade, Jessica. “The Nutritional Benefits of Organic Fruits and Vegetables.” Whole Foods Market . N.p., 11 Sept. 2014. Web. 18 Jan. 2015.
2- Chen, M. C. (2005). Organic fruits and vegetables: Potential health benefits and risks. Nutrition Noteworthy 7(1): Article 2. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/0c6386bt
3- “Organic Fruits and Vegetables: Potential Health Benefits and Risks.” Organic Fruits and Vegetables: Potential Health Benefits and Risks . N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Jan. 2015.
