4 days ago by Dr Min Yeo

At least TRY to buy Organic Fruit and Veggies that are on the Dirty Dozen list. Especially if you are currently following the Celery Juice Fad 😉The Environmental Working Group (EWG) has just launched its annual lists of fruits and veggies that either the most tainted with pesticides the "dirty dozen"), or those with none or very minimal amounts, the "clean fifteen". The Dirty Dozen has residues for 2 or more pesticides, while KALE (OMG!!!) had over 18 pesticide residues. Did you know that 70% of produce sold in the USA has pesticide residues? OK, here's a strategy. Go organic. 7% of fruit and 11% of veggies sold in USA were organic, including 15% of frozen fruit and 5% of veggies. If you look at their Clean Fifteen you'll note avocados are there and guess what? Less than 1% of avocados, as well as sweet corn, had any detectable pesticides. More than 70% of the Clean Fifteen had none. EWG researchers point to the value of a diet low in pesticide residues, citing research such as a recent report finding that people with the highest frequency of organic food consumption had a 25% lower risk of cancers of various types than those who had the lowest intake. Another study found a link between eating foods high in pesticide residues and fertility issues. This gets complicated. The USA Centers for Disease Control notes that only One in Ten people eat enough fruit or vegetables. Are we helping or hindering people from getting their needed fruits and veggies by demonizing certain produce items? Do lists like this confuse and complicate nutrition choices? So many people cannot access organic produce due to lack of finances and/or available local grocer. The conventional produce associations get irritated by these lists as they believe by calling certain produce items "dirty" doesn't help people to buy produce in general. They see it as inducing too much fear and they argue that the USA produce is safest in the world. Meanwhile, WEBMD (see below) asked a food toxicologist his opinion: "When considering the risk of pesticides in food the actual amount of pesticide detected, the amount of that food eaten by a person, and the toxicity of the pesticide must all be evaluated". And he doesn't think that EWG takes all of this into consideration. WEBMD's expert recommended organic when possible. EWG weighed in noting that "While the levels on individual produce may seem low, the overall burden is high and that people are also eating other foods with chemicals and pesticides." Finally, "We are talking about a synergistic effect." I look at these lists and the related science and use them as informative data to help me with my own grocery purchases. A colleague in agriculture once told me that there was almost no arable land left in the USA that wasn't tainted to one degree. It's a sad fact that stays in my memory. So, frankly, it's all relative. I go for organic produce and choose organic farm to table food providers (like Sweetgreen, and True Food Kitchen). However, my nutritional and cooking blueprint still includes apples and celery. I'm not guzzling these foods, and they're outweighed by the avocados, sweet peas, onions, asparagus and cantaloupe I enjoy. I save any demonizing for train wreck science fair projects like processed, refined fake "food". Avoid that processed junk and instead bake a delicious whole food cookie or muffin, topped with blueberries. So, what do YOU think when you see lists like this? ... See MoreSee Less

1 week ago by Dr Min Yeo

Lack of microbial diversity after 250 courses (!yes!) of antibiotics.🙈🙊
Lunch needs to look like this . Roast Purple Cabbages with seeded mustard dressing, Roast Pumpkin with Cumin and Sumac, Tumeric Roasted Cauliflower, Beluga Lentils. Eat Your Greens( swipe left )#purplecabbage#tumeric#cauliflower#seededmustarddressing#roasted#lentils#belugalentils#oliveoil#sumac#cumin#yum#polyphenols#microba #functionalmedicine#functionalmedicinedoctor ... See MoreSee Less