Small Change #7: Going Organic
The more you can avoid environmental toxins the greater your chance of conceiving naturally.
But why?
Well, these toxins that we breathe in and ingest can basically clog our systems. Our livers get overworked trying to flush them out. And it’s the liver that also needs to flush out old hormones. So if it’s busy with man made chemicals, it doesn’t quite have the time to get to the natural stuff our bodies produce on a regular basis. And if your old hormones aren’t getting flushed out, your body doesn’t quite know how many it needs to make so it either over or under produces them. This causes irregular ovulation, no ovulation, low sperm counts, etc.
One way to avoid potential toxins is to buy organic foods. Especially organic produce! Our conventional produce nowadays is sprayed with multiple pesticides, fungicides, and herbicides. If you really think about it, pesticides work by either attacking the nervous system of the bug or by rendering it infertile by means of attacking the reproductive system. While one little dose may not have a dramatic effect on us, since we are much larger, what is the cumulative effect? How much of these toxins build up in our bodies? What true effect are they having on us after a lifetime of ingesting them?
Once I realized that not only the type of foods I ate could effect my fertility, but also they way in which those foods where grown, I decided to start buying organic foods.
Now, organic foods can be a bit more expensive than conventionally grown foods. Now, personally I find the cost is outweighed by the health benefits, but sometimes even my checkbook tells me no! So in order to find a balance, a middle ground if you will, I try and buy certain foods organically and buy the rest conventionally. The following list is from the Environmental Working Group who tested and ranked different types of produce.
The “Dirty Dozen”, or most contaminated:
(listed from most contaminated to least)
- Peaches
- Apples
- Sweet bell peppers
- Celery
- Nectarines
- Strawberries
- Cherries
- Lettuce
- Imported grapes
- Pears
- Spinach
- Potatoes
Those 12 produce items have been found to have the most pesticide residue on them. Even washing can’t get it all out! If you notice, these all have very thin skins or no skin at all to protect it from chemicals. One more that I would add to this list is corn. Not only is it sprayed, but it’s one of the biggest genetically modified (GMO’s) crops out there. Personally I would rather eat my food as God made it, not how man tried to recreate it!
The 12 least contaminated:
- onions
- avocados
- frozen sweet corn (personally I still buy organic because of the GMO issue!)
- pineapples
- mangoes
- asparagus
- frozen peas
- kiwi
- bananas
- cabbage
- broccoli
- papayas
These foods either have a thicker skin or are naturally not as attractive to insects so they aren’t sprayed as much. The EWG also found that avoiding the most contaminated foods, and replacing them with organic versions or substituting for the least contaminated, could actually cut out exposure to pesticides by 90%!
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Asparagus, cabbage, & broccoli in the least contaminated list surprised me!
We don't buy very many organic items at this point for financial reasons. I hope we eventually get in a house where I can grow lots of organic produce. But for now, we just thank God that we have access to fresh produce and trust Him to take care of us, pesticides and all.
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Thanks for the reminder Donielle…I started trying harder to buy organic after I found out I was pregnant…wish I had known to think of it sooner!! What do you do for corn then, since there’s the issue of genetic modification? Is buying organic corn sufficient?
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Lizzy- You are most definitely right. God does govern all, even our bodies, and it’s best to eat any produce than none at all. Plus, the healthier we eat, the better our bodies can take care of toxins.
Sabrina – As far as I’ve heard, to be certified organic there can be no GMO’S, so for be buying organic is sufficient. Basically I buy organic frozen corn and try to find it fresh in the summer. But if all I can find is conventional, so be it. But it’s normally at the farmers market where I can talk to the farmers myself.
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Donielle, I wrote a post on healthy eating today and linked to you a bazillion times…well, maybe that’s an exaggeration – but I wanted you to know ‘cuz I luv your blog.
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excellent list! Thank you! Right now I am living overseas but when I get home I will especially pay attention. I know that I struggle with deciding between regular/organic with the price difference and all- but this is a great guideline.
As of now, I don’t think anything I get at market is sprayed… I have to pick through things to find ones that aren’t bug infested. Grapefruit and oranges are the easiest!
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