Dr Oz: Pesticides Warning
Dr Oz talked about the risk of consuming pesticides that are found on produce and what fruits and vegetables are lower risks. (lavandarfields / flickr)
Dr Oz shared that Consumer Reports revealed the highest and lowest risks of pesticides found in produce. Dr Oz was joined by Dr Urvashi Rangan from Consumer Reports, who explained that the data is released every year. They took that data and did some analysis of the amount of pesticides they found, what kinds they found, and more, to find out how toxic it could be in order to reveal the risk.
Dr Oz shared that the CDC stated, “The average American has traces of 29 different pesticides in their body.” Dr Urvashi said what surprised her the most was that a third of the produce they looked at had two or more pesticide residues on it, and some of them had 50 residues.
Dr Oz: Higher-Risk Fruit
Consumer Reports broke things down into fruits and vegetables that have high and low risks of pesticide residue. Dr Urvashi said organic is always the better option, but not everyone can afford organic. Higher-risk fruit includes peaches, tangerines, cranberries, nectarines, and strawberries. She recommends you always buy organic of those fruits when you can.
Dr Oz said he always thought that if you peeled the fruit, there was no problem. Dr Urvashi said the chemicals can permeate the peel or even be taken up on the inside. She said when studies are done, they actually take off the inedible peels.
Dr Oz: Higher-Risk Vegetables
Higher-risk vegetables include sweet bell peppers, hot peppers, carrots, potatoes, and green beans. She said half a dozen pesticides are contributing to the most risk. She said green beans topped their list and their risk level hasn’t really changed in the last 20 years. She also added that two servings of green beans is 200 times riskier than one serving of broccoli. She again said you want to choose organic of those products.
Dr Oz: Low-Risk Product
Low-risk produce includes grapes, bananas, onion, corn, pineapple, cabbage, mushroom, avocado, papaya, and raspberries. Dr Urvashi made a point to say that just because they’re low-risk doesn’t mean there’s no pesticides. Dr Urvashi said washing the produce with water and a good brush is a way to remove some of the pesticides. Always wash citrus before you peel it, and if you’re using zest, buy organic.
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