Organic food??

[appletree100]

A worried today as I have a new book and says I should be eating only organic food due to pesticides!!! I was ofcourse aware of pesticides and have been washing all of my fruit and veg well (as the NHS suggest). Now I am super worrying because I am 23 weeks pregnant and wish I had been doing the just organic thing? Has EVERYONE been only eating organic? please tell me I am not the only one who hasn't ahhhh x x x

Hell

Hell no! We'd need a second mortgage for that!

Phew :) I dont think I am going to read anymore... we wouldnt eat anything!! xx

No, that would be a bit exteme and besides, there are far more serious pollutants to worry about than those on non-organic food, air pollution and car exhaust fumes for example!

If you are worried, certain fruits and vegetables hold on to pesticide residues far more than other, things like berries, carrots, celery, potatoes, peppers, spinach, grapes, peaches/apples/necterines all retain pesticides more than other fruits/veggies, so it might be worth buying these organic if you feel strongly about it. Other fruits and veggies, such as sweetcorn, peas, plums, tomatoes, cruciferous vegetables etc don't retain pesticides well at all, so I personally woudn't bother buying organic.

Another thing to remember is that organic food has much higher levels of bacteria (due to the no pesticides) and some bacteria should also be avoided in pregnancy. If you are buying organic,make sure you wash very thoroughly, but then the same goes for non-organic. Swings and roundbouts really .

Personally I'm not at all strict about buying much organic food, sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. The levels of pesticides which are retained are so minute that I don't feel they're worth worrying about, and they have all been safety tested for many years.

By the way, I'm a crop scientist so I'd like to think that I have a pretty good knowledge of pesticides and residues

I should add that I work for the EU, I'm not a Monsanto-esque troll trying to lure people into buying non-organic

hahaha xx thank you StarsInTheNightSky ... Great response x I think the usual 'everything in moderation' is a good plan for me from now on... so some organic and some not... washing everything. I am still going to eat loads of fruit and veggies and not going to worry about it too much... I stopped eating so much after reading about pesticides - crazy really!!

love

You're welcome, glad I could help! It is so difficult to know what to do for the best sometimes, there is so much conflicting advice about all aspects of pregnancy, as you say, everything in moderation seems to be the best way to go x.

Great post Stars.. my general rule of thumb has always been that anything with a skin on it (oranges, pineapples, avocados, bananas etc) are fine as non organic- i assume this is the case? i know there's slightly more to it, but from a pesticide POV i mean?

appletree- i most definitely have not been 100% organic, dont be worrying! It's the bloody sugar i've consumed int eh first 2 trimesters i'm more worried about.. next week will be better!!

Chica thank you! Yep absolutely, that's pretty much the case as the vast majority of the residues sit in the uppermost few millimetres (ie. the ones closest to the surface) of the vegetable or fruit.
As you say, as a general rule, anything you can peel that has a thick, waxy(ish) skin (oranges/bananas etc) is fine for non-organic as it's not going to make much difference. Onions, which have thinner papery skins I do usually buy organic, as I do with lemons, oranges or apples if I'm going to be using the rind in cooking.

Any vegetables that I eat raw I often buy organic too, so carrots for carrot batons, red peppers, celery etc, fruit I don't worry about so much.
Pre-washed bagged salads are also usually a good thing to buy organic if you're so inclined, not just for the pesticides but as they don't have the chemical rinses either.

To be honest, all residues are so, so tiny that it isn't worth losing sleep over, by all means pick and choose what you buy organic, but it's not serious enough to worry over if the supermarket is out of stock.

Hope that helps!

It certainly does help, a lot! it's a confusing area in general so it's good to have a resident expert :)

I get a small organic fruit and veg box every week but top up from the supermarket - mostly non organic. I feel like I'm reducing the amount of chemicals that way.
I actually worry more about dairy (and meat if I wasn't veggie) as the toxins retained in fat are much more difficult for us to get rid of and tend to build up.
Having said that, it is still a very small risk so is not worth too much fuss.