Dr. Sanjay Gupta CNN Special report: Toxic America The Dirty Dozen
The CNN “Toxic America” broadcast running tonight which mentions the Environmental Working Group’s “Dirty Dozen” list of fruits and vegetables. The 12 foods on the “Dirty Dozen List” and Which foods you should be buying organic says Sanjay Gupta, and Dr Oz had a segment on his show on “The Clean 15 Fruits And Veggies.”
We all need to ask ourselves is enough being done to protect us from chemicals that could harm us? Watch “Toxic America,” a special two-night investigative report with Sanjay Gupta, M.D., June 2 and 3 at 8 p.m. ET on CNN.
Environmental group says “Dirty Dozen” of produce contains 47 to 67 pesticides per serving. Here is just a glimpse of what CNN what will talked about on CNN’s 2 night special Toxic America And Pesticides| The Dirty Dozen Produce.
Toxic Towns USA Debuts On Wednesday, June 2 at 8pm, ET/PT on CNN
The Toxic Town in the investigation in Mossvilel, Louisiana, where 8 out of 10 residents report serious health problems. Wilma Subra and Dorothy Felix are the environmental activists — one town’s fight for survival amidst 14 chemical plants.
Babies Born Pre-Polluted Toxic Childhood
Toxic Childhood Debuts On Thursday at 8pm, ET/PT on CNN
Thursday, June 3, Toxic Childhood — Discussing PBDE, BPA, PFCs and Phthalates in toys and cosmetics. Dr. Gupta’s search for answers with an all-star experts who say widespread exposure to toxic chemicals begins even before birth. The risks to pregnant women and children from potentially harmful chemicals found in the air, in homes, and in common household products. 80,000 chemicals and only 200 are tested, chemicals are entering the womb before the baby is even born. Ed Clark says something is changing the health of our children, and Richard Denison says that child cancers are rising.
Dr Fredrica Perera says babies are being born with 100′s of toxic substances. One of Dr. Perera’s long-term studies, in conjunction with the Columbia Center for Children’s Environmental Health, examined the health effects of exposure of pregnant women and babies to indoor and outdoor air pollutants, pesticides, and allergens. This multi-year research project begun in 1998, “The Mothers and Children Study in New York City,” has found in utero exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) as a result of mothers breathing polluted air during pregnancy was associated with lower birth weight, reduced birth head circumference, preterm birth, small size for gestational age, and developmental delay in childhood, as well as a contributor to respiratory problems.
Studies have found association between pesticides and health problems — Government says consuming pesticides in low amounts is not harmful — The government says that consuming pesticides in low amounts doesn’t harm you, but some studies show an association between pesticides and health problems such as cancer, attention-deficit (hyperactivity) disorder and nervous system disorders and say exposure could weaken immune systems.
Dr Sanjay Gupta How To Keep Our Homes Safe From Dangerous Chemicals
Dr Gupta says way to reduce our exposure is the first stop is when you walk in the house, take off your shoes at the front door. Your going to reduce tracking potentially harmful chemicals all throughout your home. It can be workplace chemicals, garden pesticides, lawn fertilizers and herbicides. Keeping these toxic chemicals outside of the house is especially important for families with babies and toddlers, they spend a lot of time on the floor.
The kitchen and water specifically, Dr Gupta says you can add a level of protection using something as simple as a carbon filter pitcher, it can help remove lead, chlorine and bacteria as well. Or you can go with the reverse osmosis system although it is not as cheap. Dr Gupta went on to talk about meat and dairy and recommended to look for products without antibiotics and without growth hormones. Another big concern is pesticides in our produce, although buying organic can be expensive, a simple solution is to wash and peel fruits and vegetables. Dr Gupta says you can choose certain organic fruits and vegetables that have the highest levels of pesticides as you will see in the list below called the dirty dozen, also called Gupta’s handy guide listed on CNN Toxic America. Just print of the list and keep it handy and tack it onto the fridge.
Non stick cookware has a chemical PFOA, and that’s listed as a chemical of concern because it’s beginning to show up in our blood. Simple solutions you can use a cast iron pan, you can also use a stainless steel pan.
When storing food one usually uses plastic containers, check the recycling label at the bottom, if there is a number 7 you should assume it has BPA, unless it specifically says BPA free. Use stainless steel water bottles and store your leftovers in glass containers.
Dust in the living room is indoor air pollution. Indoor air is two to five times more polluted than the air outside. Furniture, carpets, drapes gives off smells and that is called off gassing. What your smelling could be formaldehyde, or other volatile organic compounds and those are linked to asthma, kidney and central nerve damage and sometimes cancer. Open the windows and allow for plenty of ventilation. Dr Gupta went on to say get a house plant, a house plant alone can eliminate 90% of the toxic chemicals in our air.
The group suggests limiting consumption of pesticides by purchasing organic for the 12 fruits and vegetables.
“You can reduce your exposure to pesticides by up to 80 percent by buying the organic version of the Dirty Dozen,” Rosenthal said.
Environmental Working Group Report:
The group, a nonprofit focused on public health, scoured nearly 100,000 produce pesticide reports from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to determine what fruits and vegetables we eat have the highest, and lowest, amounts of chemical residue.
These fruits and vegetables dubbed the “Dirty Dozen,” which contain 47 to 67 pesticides per serving. These foods are believed to be most susceptible because they have soft skin that tends to absorb more pesticides.
The Dirty Dozen List
Remember this Dirty Dozen List Of Fruits And Vegetables for the next time you go to your supermarket!
Sanjay Gupta’s list of foods
Not all non-organic fruits and vegetables have a high pesticide level. Some produce has a strong outer layer that provides a defense against pesticide contamination. The group found a number of non-organic fruits and vegetables dubbed the “Clean 15″ that contained little to no pesticides.
The Clean 15 Fruits And Veggies
- Onions
- Avocados
- Sweet corn
- Pineapples
- Mango
- Sweet peas
- Asparagus
- Kiwi fruit
- Cabbage
- Eggplant
- Cantaloupe
- Watermelon
- Grapefruit
- Sweet potatoes
- Sweet onions
Can pesticides be washed away?
Not necessarily. The pesticide tests mentioned above were conducted after the food had been power-washed by the USDA. Also, although some pesticides are found on the surface of foods, other pesticides may be taken up through the roots and into the plant and cannot be removed.
“We’ve found that washing doesn’t do much,” Rosenthal said. “Peeling can help, although you have to take into account that the pesticides are in the water, so they can be inside the fruit because of the soil.”
All fresh produce, whether it’s grown with or without pesticides, should be washed with water to remove dirt and potentially harmful bacteria. And health experts agree that when it comes to the Dirty Dozen list, choose organic if it’s available.
“To the extent you can afford to do so, [parents] should simply buy organic, because there have been some very good studies that shows people who eat mostly organic food reduce 95 percent of pesticides [in their body] in two weeks,” Landrigan said.
Dr Oz Organic Foods To Buy
Dr Oz Explains “Why Go Organic” — People always ask whether buying organic is healthier, and the answer is yes. Eating organic protects you from potentially harmful chemicals such as pesticides. But going green is rarely cheap, and it’s not always essential, which is why we’ve created 3 simple rules for when you should spend your green to go green and when to save your cash with conventional foods.
1. When the skin is thin. Fruits and vegetables with a thin skin that is difficult to remove or that you typically eat should definitely be organic. They have high levels of pesticides even after washing. Produce with thicker skins has a better barrier to pesticides and when you throw the peel in the trash, the chemicals go with it. But be sure to give all fruits and veggies a good scrub down before eating or peeling them, because cutting them can bring any chemicals on the skin into the flesh.
Go organic: apples, peaches, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, cherries, grapes, pears, nectarines, peppers, celery, potatoes, and carrots
Save your cash: avocados, eggplants, pineapples, bananas, corn, kiwi, mangoes, papaya, sweet peas, oranges, grapefruit, and squash
2. Go green with leafy greens Can you imagine scrubbing every leaf of a head of romaine lettuce? It’s too difficult with leafy greens to make sure you remove all of the chemicals, and greens are particularly susceptible to pests, so they are often grown with high levels of pesticides. Fortunately, other vegetables, such as broccoli, either don’t retain pesticides very well or don’t need a lot to begin with, so it’s OK to go conventional.
Go organic: all lettuces and greens such as kale, collards, mustard, swiss chard, and spinach
Save your cash: broccoli, cabbage, asparagus, cauliflower, eggplant, melons, and sweet potatoes
3. Milk it! Although much of the hormones and antibiotics used in conventional milk production are washed out before we drink it, the process isn’t perfect and some make it through. Plus, there is evidence that organic milk has higher levels of Omega-3 fatty acids, which help keep our hearts healthy.
But be wary when you see fish touted as organic. Fish grow in the ocean, where it’s impossible to know what (if any) pesticides they’ve encountered, so the USDA has no guidelines for certifying organic seafood.
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