We all know that food pesticides are no good, despite the fact that they wind up on a lot of the things we eat. Not all fruits and veggies are created equal, and in fact, some of them have a lot more pesticides in them than others do.

Apples

Thought all those apples were going to keep the doctor away, didn’t you? Well, you might want to think again. Every year, a list called the “Dirty Dozen” is released. In case you were curious, the Dirty Dozen is essentially exactly what it sounds like it is. It’s a list that names off the twelve fruits and veggies that have the most chemicals or pesticides. Since apples are typically grown in states where they’re not native, a bunch of pesticides are needed to keep the bugs at bay. Normally, apples have natural defenses for this sort of thing, but not when growing them out of their “comfort zone,” so to speak.

Peaches

Despite their delicious quality, peaches are pretty bad when it comes to pesticides. They’re pretty easy to get to when it comes to bugs and other creatures that like to snack on peaches, so they require a lot of extra chemicals and pesticides to make sure that they’re not something’s snack before they even make it to the grocery store. Not only is all that true, but since peaches have super thin skin, a lot of those chemicals get absorbed right into the fruit. Delicious.

Strawberries

Strawberries are subject to something of a chemicals double-whammy. Not only do they need a fair amount of pesticides just to grow, but because they grow so very close to the ground, they’re exposed to any and all of the chemicals that might be in the soil, as well. Since they’re so small, we also don’t usually wash them quite as well as we should be washing them. Which is very, very well, apparently.

Bell Peppers

When it comes to bell peppers, it’s not like you just have to worry about a chemical or two. Bell peppers are actually the most likely to have more than one type of pesticide going on. They can have as many as 60 different types of bug poison applied to them, so it’s smart to be extra careful when you’re getting ready to chop up some bell peppers for your favorite recipe next weekend.

Celery

The only real option for celery is to buy it completely organic. Any food pesticides used on celery will just go straight into the vegetable itself, since it doesn’t actually have a skin for protection. It doesn’t even matter what kind of soap you use or how much time you spend scrubbing away. If any chemicals get into celery, it’s there for good, which is one of the reasons that it’s smart to get your celery organic whenever possible. Food pesticides aren’t exactly healthy for human consumption, which is why it’s good to limit the amount of them that you ingest. Taking extra caution with these five foods, and ensuring you eat organically will help you out in a big way. Image Source: Flickr/CreativeCommons/Alessio Maffeis