Читать книгу Informed Choices in Motherhood - Fiona Lee - Страница 14

This is one of the simplest and most effective ways to limit your exposure to pesticides. Studies demonstrate that organic foods provide significantly higher levels of vitamin C, iron, magnesium and phosphorus relative to their non-organic foods. They also contain higher levels of antioxidants such as flavonoids.

If you can, try to eat organic as much as possible, especially when it comes to the *dirty dozen, which according to the Environmental Working Group are the top 12 foods most heavily contaminated with pesticides.¹⁷

The Dirty Dozen food list (for 2019):

1 Strawberries

2 Spinach

3 Kale

4 Nectarines

5 Apples

6 Grapes

7 Peaches

8 Cherries

9 Pears

10 Tomatoes

11 Celery

12 Potatoes

(This list is from a USA study, and will therefore vary from country to country.)

One study found that women who consumed two or more servings of pesticide-laden food were 26% less likely to have a successful pregnancy than those who ingested fewer servings of these foods:

“Higher consumption of high-pesticide residue FVs was associated with lower probabilities of pregnancy and live birth following infertility treatment with ART. These data suggest that dietary pesticide exposure within the range of typical human exposure may be associated with adverse reproductive consequences” (Chiu et al. 2018).¹⁸

Glyphosate sold under the brand-name ‘Round-up’ is one of the most commonly used weed killers in Australia and many other countries. It is known to strip nutrients from plants and soil whilst embedding itself in food crops. In plants it binds to trace minerals and nutrients like manganese, magnesium, zinc and iron. A serious issue resulting from the use of glyphosate is its presence inside the food we are eating. Even the company who developed roundup admit that some glyphosate remains on and in food crops such as canola and corn (both of which are heavily sprayed).