by Pat Veretto

Created on: October 06, 2008   Last Updated: October 14, 2008

Let's face it: Even though we know that organic food is healthier, it's expensive. For the average consumer, it's hard to see the benefits of paying up to a third more for a head of lettuce when it isn't even any prettier as the cheap kind. Do you have to, to be healthy? Which food is it more important to buy organic versions? Are there foods that are safe, even grown "traditionally'?

There is a way to get the best of both worlds - you can eat healthy, organic food and stay within your budget, too.

The secret is which organic foods you purchase and which "regular" foods you purchase.

It's important which country the food comes from. Mamy countries do not have the same standards as the USA, so food can be more contaminated and even have been treated with pesticides that have been banned in the United States and other nations for health reasons.

Fruits and vegetables have labels that tell you where they were grown. Get in the habit of checking them to be the safest when you're not buying organic.

Not all traditionally grown food is highly contaminated with pesticides. Farmers use pesticides on just about everything, but some crops are more susceptible to pests and need more or heavier applications, while the shape and type of food dictates how much pesticide stays on (or in) it.

In 2003, the Environmental Working Group, a not-for-profit environmental research organization, published a list of which vegetables and fruits were the most contaminated and which were the least contaminated.

In a list of 45 fresh foods, peaches came in number one as the most heavily contaminated product, followed by sweet bell peppers, celery, nectarines, strawberries, cherries, lettuce and imported grapes.

Of the 45 tested foods (note that not all foods were tested), the safest food was onions, followed very closely by avocadoes and frozen sweet corn.

You can find the entire list here: Food News (Scroll down to see it.)

Other than fresh vegetables and fruit, levels of contamination in dairy and meat products should be taken into consideration. Milk is contaminated when the cows are sprayed or dusted to keep biting insects off of them, when they eat pesticide laden food and when they inhale toxic vapors when their quarters or milking facilities are fumigated.

Pesticides are passed on through the milk to the consumer. Butter and cheese concentrate these pesticides, so it's very important to limit their use if you can't buy organic.

One last category remains elusive to many because of the cost: Organic meat is very probably the most expensive of all, but it may be more important than you think.

Because animals fed for meat eat a diet of grains sprayed with pesticides both in the field and in storage, these chemicals are concentrated in the meat. Fat contains even larger amounts of pesticides. Again, imported meat may be more heavily contaminated, so watch the labels.

Grass fed beef or specialty meats like bison are lower in pesticide residue, while pesticide free poultry is almost impossible to find unless you buy organic.

Knowing what foods have the most pesticides and substituting organic for them while continuing to eat low contamination food from the grocery store will help save your budget and your health.

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