Nutrition & Your Skin

After yesterday’s post on oils and how they can be used internally or externally for your health, I got some good questions:

What oils should I be using if I have oily, not dry, skin?

And,

I always get zits 10 days before my period – would changing my diet help?

Nutrition and your skin are very closely tied. To simplify it, anything that goes into your body must also come out in some way, shape or form. That could be through urine or bowels, through your mouth, or through your skin. Acne is often indicative of a body that is rejecting a certain type of food, whether it be something you’re allergic to or something that is foreign to the body such as hydrogenated fats or high fructose corn syrup. Acne in teenagers is usually due to a combination of things: hormone stimulation, bacteria production, stress and poor diet. In adults, it is more likely to be a result of mainly stress and poor diet.

For someone with oily skin, taking a fish oil supplement can still help. Skin problems often are a result of inflammation, and the omega-3s in fish oil help to fight this inflammation. There are many studies showing that fish oil has significantly improved acne symptoms in people, including symptoms like oily and splotchy skin. The omega-3 fats have a balancing effect that can help those with oily or dry skin. And as a bonus, it reduces wrinkle formation and helps create shiny hair and healthy nails! Flaxseed oil has also been shown to help reduce oily skin.

Some other skin-supporting nutrients to try, whether you have oily skin, dry skin, or are getting blemishes before your period, include B-vitamins, beta-carotene, essential fatty acids, fiber, selenium, vitamins A, C and E, zinc and water. Eliminating common allergens such as gluten and dairy for the week you are experiencing inflammation on your face can greatly reduce acne occurrence as well. Even if you are not allergic to gluten or dairy, you could still have a mild intolerance. Other things to eliminate if you want to clear up your skin include alcohol, excessive caffeine, and any processed foods – especially those that contain sugars, high fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated oils and trans fats. Any fried foods will definitely increase the likelihood of blemishes or skin issues as well. I recommend doing an experiment. Try eliminating all of these foods for one week or 10 days, and see what happens. Then, as your reintroduce them, observe the changes in your skin and the rest of your body. This is the best way to find out which foods are affecting you, and how.

Water is particularly important, because it helps rid our body of unwanted toxins through our urine, bowels, or sweat. Without enough water, these toxins will stay inside of our bodies and find another way to come out – often times through our skin in the form of acne. So, stay hydrated!

Oil Supplements for Health

Fish Oil

When most people think of oil supplements, they think of fish oil. It has become very popular, and is recommended for many different people due to its wide array of health benefits. Fish oils contain EPA and DHA, which are omega-3 long-chain unsaturated fatty acids. They have anti-inflammatory benefits, have been shown to reduce LDL cholesterol and raise HDL cholesterol levels, and even can help reduce triglyceride levels and blood-clotting potential. For all of these reasons, fish oil is an important supplement for those who are more prone to cardiovascular disease or who currently suffer from things like high cholesterol or high triglycerides. But the benefits of fish oil go beyond cardiovascular disease prevention and support. Fish oil can also help with joint pain, dry eyes, dry or blemished skin, flexibility, asthma, and more. Although these same health benefits are found in many types of cold-water fish, most of us don’t eat enough cold-water fish so the supplements help. I recommend fish oil for most people, in addition to including high-quality cold-water fish in the diet.

Flaxseed Oil

Flaxseed oil is another popular supplement. We frequently use ground flaxseed in our smoothies or yogurt. It can be beneficial for those suffering from obesity, because it helps increase arterial blood flow. Flaxseed oil contains the building blocks for omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, but our bodies must do the conversion themselves to obtain full benefits. Some research suggests our bodies do not efficiently make this conversion, and therefore we should consume other types of oils where the conversion is already made (such as fish oil). I think flaxseed oil is still a great part of a well-rounded diet. It helps with dry skin and is easy to use in smoothies, salad dressings, or on top of cooked veggies.

Wheat Germ Oil

Wheat germ oil can be beneficial for internal use or external application to burns, sores, scars, and other skin problems. Its high vitamin E content helps to protect the health of the skin. I’ve had many knee surgery patients in my family, and vitamin E is always a main component of post-surgery care. Since vitamin E is a strong antioxidant, wheat germ oil is more stable than other oils. However, I’d still recommend keeping it in the fridge, just to be safe.

Evening Primrose Oil

Evening primrose oil comes from the seeds of a primrose plant and contains high amounts of GLA, which is similar to omega-6 fatty acids. This plant has been used medicinally for hundreds of years, both externally for skin problems and internally to treat things like asthma, digestive issues, gynecological problems, and to help with wound healing. Some even consider it a “cure-all”. More recent research has revealed even more benefits of evening primrose oil, such as arthritis pain relief, PMS relief, help with eczema, anti-inflammatory effects, and help with cardiovascular disease and allergies. I haven’t tried evening primrose oil personally, but a few of my teachers have brought it up in class as being an amazing oil and recommend keeping it in the house.

These are just four oils that can be used therapeutically as well as for every day nutrition. I love foods like this, because it’s almost as if your refrigerator is also your medicine cabinet – a very appealing thought, at least for me. I recommend just giving one or two of these a try if you believe you could benefit from them. The great thing about using nutrition as medicine is there are rarely any side affects!

Storing Your Oils

Yesterday’s post about water was spurred by the sudden onset of summer and heat in Denver. I immediately began to feel more dehydrated, and wanted to remind you guys to drink lots of water this summer! Another reminder: don’t forget to store your oils properly, especially in the warm weather.

I’ve mentioned that certain things such as heat, air, mechanical refinement, and light can destroy the original nutrients and properties of many oils. Oils are expensive, and people tend to have a few different types on had at any given time. So, it’s important to keep them fresh. When oils go rancid, they form free radicals and oxidize. At some point in the process they are doing more harm than good inside our bodies. Often we cannot taste or smell the rancidity of our oils because many oils are so highly refined and deodorized that everything is masked.

Saturated fats are the most stable fats and are not as susceptible to oxidation as monounsaturated or polyunsaturated fats. Oils higher in saturated fats include coconut oil, butter and lard. These types of oils should be solid at room temperature, but liquefy when exposed to heat. As many of you may remember, I am a huge fan of coconut oil and recommend using it for higher heat cooking or baking (and for weight loss, gut health, and many other things!). I used to keep my coconut oil in the cabinets, because our house stayed cool enough to keep it solid. However, when we were out of town for a week and Denver temperatures got really high, it started to liquefy. When I got home, I had liquid coconut oil. I put it in the fridge just to be safe, but generally it’s okay to leave coconut oil in the cupboard. You can read about the full benefits of coconut oil here.

Butter is another stable oil with a smoke point of about 350 degrees F. It is not as sensitive to heat and light as other oils. However, butter should still be kept in the fridge to prevent it from going rancid. If you keep your butter in a fancy butter dish, get one that will block the light. Many people don’t like to keep their butter in the fridge because they want it nice and soft when the time comes to spread it on their fresh bread or warm toast. But keeping it out of the fridge for extended periods of time can make it spoil. So, what is the solution? Well, when doing research on butter, I came across something that intrigued me: the French butter keeper.

Apparently this kitchen gadget keeps butter in a small pot immersed in cold water. It can be safely left on the counter because the cold water keeps it fresh, yet still soft enough to be spreadable. Cool! I may be adding this to my wish list.

Extra virgin olive oil is destroyed by both heat and light, and is better used for salad dressings or adding flavor after cooking than for the actual cooking. Appropriate cooking temperatures depend on how much the olive oil has been processed. Oils that are more highly processed can be used at higher temperatures, but that’s just because their nutrients have already been destroyed in the refining process and so there is less for the heat to destroy. Good quality olive oil should not be used at temperatures above 200-250 degrees F. If you are cooking vegetables or pasta sauce or something else that absolutely must have that olive oil flavor, just add some after the cooking is finished – I do it all the time and it tastes great and you still benefit from the healthy fats. Olive oil should definitely be stored in the fridge. It is cool and dark, so it’s an ideal home. Depending on the temperature of your fridge, the olive oil may harden in there. This is fine and will not ruin the oil. Just run it under a little water to bring it back to its liquid form.

Other oils that I keep in the fridge include walnut oil, sesame oil and grapeseed oil. The fridge typically cannot hurt your oils, and it’s better to be safe. The more we can protect our high-quality, expensive oils, the more nutrient benefits we will receive from them. Another tip: buy your oils in smaller quantities (sorry, Costco) because they should be consumed rather quickly. Opinions differ, but I’d try to consume your oil within a few months of opening it. If oils are unopened, they can probably sit for 6 months in the fridge without losing many nutrients.

Now that we know the basics of storing oils, we are ready to introduce new oils into our diets! Tomorrow I will talk about some oil supplements that are used therapeutically for different reasons, and how they can benefit and support health.

Dehydration & ADH

It’s officially summer, which means more time spent working in the garden, more activity for kids who are out of school, and lots of sunshine and vitamin D.

It’s a good time to revisit dehydration, because with the increased heat and activity in summer, we all should be drinking a little bit extra water. You can read all about the importance of staying hydrated here. Today, I want to talk about antidiuretic hormone (ADH) and what it does to our bodies.

ADH, also known as vasopressin, is produced in the hypothalamus (brain) and stored in the pituitary gland (which is connected to the brain). When it starts to sense dehydration inside our body, ADH is released and tells our kidneys to conserve water. Our urine production slows, allowing our body to retain water so we don’t become too dehydrated. Urine will be more highly concentrated in salts and other waste, making it a darker yellow or orange color. This is one of the many amazing ways our bodies are able to protect themselves in times of need. Without ADH, our bodies would shut down sooner due to dehydration.

However, chronic dehydration can lead to too much ADH being released, which leads to excess water retention. With high levels of ADH, constriction on our blood vessels is also increased. The constriction of blood vessels is another way for our body to prevent water loss, through sweating and respiration. However, this leads to more pressure on our arteries, which causes higher blood pressure readings. Sometimes when someone begins drinking more water, they are able to lower their blood pressure readings.

So, consider this your reminder to stay hydrated all summer long. This applies to kids, adults and elderly people. Let your kids go pick out cool new water bottles to carry around with them. Keep a couple bottles of water in your car in case you get thirsty while running errands. Staying hydrated will help keep you energized and healthy so you can fully enjoy your summer!

Nutrition for Healthy Ears

Right now we are learning about the special sense organs: sight, hearing, balance, taste and smell. These are all senses that tend to weaken as we age, so it is important to do whatever we can to keep them healthy. And as you probably can guess, nutrition is one of the best ways to do this. I’m going to talk about ears, because I found the nutrition information particularly interesting.

Our ears have two main purposes: hearing and equilibrium. Both the external ear and the middle ear are involved purely in hearing; the inner ear, however, includes sense organs for both hearing and balance. The tiny bones of the middle ear absorb sound vibrations and send them to our inner ear, which then connects the sounds with our brain to receive a message. There are receptors in the inner ear that send information to our brain about the position of our head at certain times. Our brain then uses this information to keep us balanced.

These equilibrium receptors of the inner ear are called the vestibular apparatus. Vestibular training, then, means “exercising” or strengthening your vestibular apparatus so it is more effective in keeping you balanced. Kids tend to do much more vestibular training than adults – cartwheels, somersaults, headstands, and just general play. This helps them to develop their sense of balance and equilibrium, and gives them strong balance as they reach teenage years. Since most adults do very littler vestibular training, balance is more difficult for them. This is why things like yoga, pilates and other forms of balance training are so important. These activities are especially beneficial to elderly people, because falling is riskier for them. Their bones are more frail and they are more likely to break something if they fall.

Some people get wax buildup in their ears. Some amount of wax is normal and healthy – it protects your ear canal and ear drum from foreign substances that may enter the ear. Too much earwax, however, can cause hearing loss, pain, or other sickness such as a bad cough. Healthy earwax is fluid and soft, and should be easy to remove if it starts to build up. When earwax is thick or crusty and hard to remove, it may be sign that someone’s omega-3 to omega-6 balance is off because they have consumed too many omega-6s and not enough omega-3 fatty acids. Food sources of omega-6s include vegetable oil, other plant-based oils, and lean meats. Since so many of our processed foods are cooked in vegetable oil, Americans tend to get more omega-6s than omega-3s in their diets. Food sources of omega-3 fatty acids include flaxseeds, walnuts, salmon, soybeans, halibut, shrimp, tofu and scallops.

Many small children are prone to ear infections. Chronic ear infections are often a result of a diet high in foods that create mucus buildup, such as sugar, caffeine, dairy products, eggs, wheat, refined carbs, beer, and anything that contains food additives. Often times the child may be allergic or have an intolerance to one of these foods, and the earache is just a side effect of this. When parents remove wheat, dairy and processed foods from the child’s diet, ear infections often improve significantly.

Have you ever experienced a temporary ringing in the ears? This is often a sign of a B-vitamin deficiency. It can also be caused by a very low-fat diet. Since the nerves in our ears (and throughout the rest of our body!) must be wrapped in fat for protection, a low-fat diet can sometimes lead to hearing loss or ringing in the ears.

If you or someone you know has hearing loss, ear infections, or other ear issues, a mucus cleansing diet can be very helpful. This includes a large amount of fresh fruits and vegetables, and little or no processed foods, refined carbs, sugar, alcohol or caffeine. A lemon and ginger tea can also be helpful in clearing up mucus. Ginkgo biloba has also been used for hearing loss with some success.

The 6 Weight Loss Myths, Part 2 of 2

A continuation of yesterday’s post…

#4 The Carb Myth: Eating low carb or no carb will make us thin

This is not true! In fact, carbs could even be considered the most important foods in our diet for long-term health. Our body burns glucose for energy (see information on metabolism here), and this glucose comes from carbohydrates. The key is to eat the right kinds of carbs. Refined or processed carbs slow down our metabolism, but complex carbs eaten in their natural state actually speed up our metabolism. Some great sources of complex carbs include fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts, seeds, legumes and whole grains. These carbohydrates contain phytonutrients, which are plant chemicals that are essential for optimal health. Phytonutrients turn on certain genes that help us burn fat and also slow the aging process inside our bodies. Eating unprocessed carbs is also important because they contain more fiber and will not turn into sugar as rapidly inside the body. This will help keep blood sugar levels balanced.

#5 The Avoidance Myth: Skipping meals helps us lose weight

When we eat is just as important as what we eat. When we skip meals, our bodies start to feel starved. This eventually leads to overeating, which can start a viscous cycle of starving and then overeating. This rule applies to the very first meal of your day: breakfast. Don’t skip it! When people skip breakfast or don’t eat a breakfast with some protein, complex carbohydrates and fat, they tend to have slower metabolisms. A balanced breakfast jump starts our metabolism for the day, allowing us to have more energy and burn more fat throughout the day.

Food and calorie intake ideally should be spread out throughout the day. Our last meal of the day should be eaten at least two hours before we go to sleep. This is because our bodies need to put their energy toward digestion. If we try to eat and then go right to sleep, our sleep will be restless and digestion will be incomplete.

#6 The Protector Myth: Government policies and food industry regulations always have our best health interests in mind

Unfortunately, the government does not have the resources to create a food pyramid for each of us as individuals. Every person is different and has different health and nutrition needs. We need to educate ourselves and take control of our own health and that of our family. We are all capable of doing this, as long as we are willing to put some effort into it.

Large amounts of research and money are put into creating foods that are processed and unhealthy. The government is faced with the daunting task of managing our food supply, and inevitably the solutions are not always perfect. But if we can gain a better understanding of what processed foods are and what they do to our bodies, we will be able to make better decisions about what we choose to eat. I strongly encourage each of you to do your own research and make your own decisions – take responsibility for your health. Poor diet is the #2 cause of death in America, behind only smoking.

I hope these myths have helped clear some things up for those of you looking to lose weight. My best advice is to forget about dieting altogether. Instead, try to gradually move to eating 100% whole foods. You can eat as much or as often as you want – just eat whole foods. This is a great first step and I promise you will notice incredible changes in your body. Plus, grocery shopping gets so much easier! Grains, fruits, vegetables, meat, fish, nuts, seeds, beans, legumes, oils… all delicious and the possibilities are endless if you are willing to get creative in the kitchen!

The 6 Weight Loss Myths, Part 1 of 2

My Weight Management class is wrapping up and we’re beginning sports nutrition, but I wanted to share some good information I found in one of the books we read. The book is called UltraMetabolism and is written by Mark Hyman, MD. He talks about ways we can work with our bodies through food, supplements and exercise to actually burn more fat. He also talks about the concept of nutrigenomics, which is how food “talks” to or interacts with our genes, and how this affects our weight. According to Dr. Hyman, the best way to lose weight and keep it off is to rebalance and stabilize metabolism.

He came up with 7 weight loss myths, and I used his information to come up with 6. These are adapted from the book and are slightly different, based on what I believe will be effective for clients to read and relate to. Of course, this is just one book – one doctor’s theory on how people can lose weight. As we all know, there are thousands of weight loss books out there and some people can get caught up in the latest weight loss fad diet and lose sight of their own individual health and needs. So, I’m not saying you should go out and buy UltraMetabolism and use it to lose weight. If I thought one book could solve everyone’s nutrition problems, I wouldn’t be studying to become a nutrition therapist who focuses on the individuality of each person! But, I did like Dr. Hyman’s weight loss myths, because I think they are a good foundation for those wishing to lose weight.

#1 The Starvation Myth: Eat less, exercise more, and then we will lose weight

Many people see someone who is overweight and they think, “that person is lazy” or “that person has no discipline and indulges too often”. However, weight loss is not all about calories in minus calories out. There are so many components to how our metabolism functions, including where our calories are coming from, what nutritional deficiencies or excesses we may have, any hormonal imbalances we are experiencing, and much more. Calorie restriction actually causes the body to think it is starving, which sets of chemical processes in the brain that tell us to eat more food. We have a part of our brain that is wired for survival, and this part of the brain will respond to starvation without any of our control. A person absolutely must eat more calories than their resting metabolic rate, or the body will perceive starvation and immediately slow the metabolism down.

#2 The Calorie Myth: All calories are created equal

For some, this is a hard one to grasp, but it’s the truth. It’s the type, not the amount, of calories you consume that is important. Starving yourself all day so you can enjoy three pieces of chocolate cake at your friend’s birthday party isn’t helping your body at all, and can actually lead to weight gain. Your typical three square meals may be equal in calories to that chocolate cake, but the cake will only contain a tiny fraction of the nutrients you’d get from eating real food. And those nutrients are what we need to burn fat. On the other hand, if you had eaten three balanced, whole-food meals and then enjoyed a piece of cake, your body would have the nutrients it needs to metabolize the cake and burn the fat.

Another thing to know about certain types of calories: food (or, calories) that enters our bloodstream quickly will promote weight gain, no matter what else we’ve eaten that day. This includes foods like white bread, white pasta, cookies, cakes, sugary juices or any sodas, etc. However, food (calories) that enters our bloodstream slowly promotes weight loss. Foods speak to our genes and have control over how our metabolism will work.

#3 The Fat Myth: Eating fat makes us fat

In his book, Dr. Hyman talks about the American Paradox: over the last 40 years, national fat consumption has dropped from 42% to 34% of total calories, but obesity and high BMIs have risen significantly. Translation? Fat does not make us fat, it helps us burn fat! We just have to make sure we’re eating the proper fats. There are different types of fat, and they each interact with our genes in a different way. Some turn on our genes for weight gain, and others for weight loss. For example, essential omega-3 fats enhance metabolism and promote weight loss, whereas trans fats found in processed foods cause weight gain, impair metabolism and lead to inflammation.

Don’t be afraid to consume more healthy fats!

Tomorrow I’ll wrap up with the last three weight loss myths.

Sprouted Grains

I’m back! My vacation was perfect and now I’m ready to start blogging again. No specific focus for this week… just answering some questions I’ve gotten recently.

One reader asked me about the advantages of eating sprouted grain bread products versus other bread products. I touched on this briefly in February when I talked about English muffins, but it’s a great question and I’m happy to revisit the topic.

Let’s start with white Wonder bread – something we’ve probably all eaten at some point in our lives. Wonder bread is made from wheat that has been bleached, a process that strips the wheat of all of its original nutrients. White flour used in refined grain products such as Wonder bread has lost over half of vitamins B1, B2 and B3, vitamin E, folic acid, calcium, phosphorous, zinc, copper, iron and fiber. In the 1940s, the government began sponsoring the enrichment of bleached wheat products. The makers of Wonder bread began adding vitamins and minerals to their bread, and started an advertising campaign that boasted of the many nutrients found in Wonder bread. When foods are enriched, the nutrients added are not as bioavailable to us as nutrients found in whole foods. I will talk about bioavailability later this week, because it is an interesting and important concept to understand.

Many people have moved on from Wonder bread and are now consuming whole grain bread products: bread, bagels, English muffins, tortillas, and even chips and crackers. Remember this picture from the blog post I wrote about bagels?

I think it’s helpful to actually see what a “whole grain” looks like. Refined grain producs have the bran and germ removed from the wheat kernel. Whole grains are significantly more nutrient-dense than refined grains, which is evident in the grain’s taste and texture. They contain fiber, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, lignans, phenolic acids, phytoestrogens, and other important phytochemicals. The breads that are usually made from whole grains are the ones labeled as “whole wheat,” however multi-grain, rye and pumpernickel can be made from whole grains as well.

Some companies have now taken bread one step further, with sprouted grain products. When grains are sprouted, their nutritional content changes. Sprouting allows the germ of the wheat to release enzymes. These enzymes help us digest the grains more easily. Sprouted grains are also higher in protein, vitamins, and antioxidants, and help promote healthy bacteria in our digestive tract. Many people find that sprouted grains are much gentler on the stomach and easier to digest than regular whole grain breads. They are digested very slowly, which helps us stay full longer and helps stabilize blood sugar.

The Food for Life products are usually cooked slowly at low temperatures (250 degrees), so they are not considered a raw food. However, this type of cooking allows for most of the nutrients and enzymes to remain in tact for easier digestion.

If you are someone who feels slight discomfort when digesting whole grain products, you may want to try sprouted grains. They taste great, and the Food for Life brand has many options – tortillas, breads, pasta, English muffins and more. We buy the tortillas and English muffins all the time and love them! I still buy whole grain freshly (and locally) baked bread rather than using the sprouted grain bread, because I love the bread we buy and I save a lot of money by slicing it myself very thinly and making the loaf last twice as long. But the sprouted grain English muffins are great for breakfasts, and the tortillas make it into our lunch rotation frequently. Today for lunch: tortillas with turkey, Colorado-made raw milk cheese (from Twin Mountain Milkhouse, sold at In Season Local Market in Denver), bok choy, and stone ground mustard made with Guinness, straight from the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin!

Blogging Break

I am taking a blogging break, beginning on Monday, May 24th. I will resume the day after Memorial Day. And as much as I love my daily nutrition research and writing and tweeting and facebooking, I am really looking forward to a week off! I am taking a week to spend some time with two of my best friends and favorite people in the whole world, my sisters Alice and Madeline. Alice gets a (well-deserved) break from work, and Madeline is a recent college grad (yay Mads!) and has a week off before she starts her new job. So, this was the perfect time for the three of us to get away. I hope I come back inspired by the nutrition in a different part of the world!

But don't worry, I have one little tidbit of wisdom to leave you with. The Denver Post has a pretty decent food column, and there was a recent article on vegetables and how much they can add to our plates and to our health. The article was written by Tucker Shaw and I really liked his opening words, so I want to share them with you. About two months ago, Ed and I started having a vegetable with every breakfast, every day, no exceptions. Some days they go into a smoothie; other days into our eggs; and sometimes we just have cut up celery or carrots with our hot cereal. But, there is always a veggie and this helps us pack more vegetables into our day, which makes us feel better and more balanced. Anyway, I really couldn't agree more with these guy's words:

You already know you should eat more vegetables. You even know the reasons why. Because they'll help you lose weight. They'll help protect you from heart disease. Stroke. High blood pressure. Cancer. Because they'll help maintain good vision and a healthy digestive system. Because when you eat more vegetables, you feel better. Your energy level goes up. Your skin glows.

But, you protest. Your family won't eat them. My kid/wife/husband doesn't like them, you say.

That's no excuse not to serve them. Vegetables are easy to prepare, much less expensive than meat, and healthy besides. They belong at every meal, on every table, in every home.

And when vegetables are in season, like now, they are utterly beautiful.

(Tucker Shaw, The Denver Post)

Sláinte!

Pesticides Linked to ADD

I am sure many of you read the article released this week about research linking exposure to pesticides found in fruits and vegetables to ADD and ADHD in children.

Experts say the research is “persuasive” that pesticides are contributing to common learning problems in children. Was anyone surprised to hear this? I certainly wasn’t! I don't think it's the only thing that can lead to ADD, but I definitely believe it's one part of the picture. I am happy that this information is being released all over the internet and newspapers, because I think more people will finally start to believe what many have been suspecting for so many years.

One reason children are more affected by the chemicals is because they consume more food relative to their body weight than adults do, so they tend to have higher concentrations. The pesticide compounds showed up in urine of 94% of the children involved in the study. A separate study done in 2008 actually showed that when children switched to organic produce, pesticide compound levels in their urine was undetectable or nearly undetectable.

Some of the foods that tested highest in pesticides included celery, strawberries and frozen blueberries. This is a good reminder that we should keep the lists of the most heavily sprayed fruits and vegetables available when we are grocery shopping. The Environmental Working Group is a great resource for this (print the list out HERE).

The convincing research from this article is also a reminder that pesticides and other chemicals used in and on our food does affect our health, and it is not something to be taken lightly. Organic food is expensive, of course, but I truly think that it’s worth it to splurge on organic produce if it’s something that tends to be heavily sprayed. This is especially important for healthy, growing children. Remember that frozen organic fruit has many nutrients – you don’t have to spend extra on the fresh just to get the health benefits. The key is that it’s organic.