Pesticides and Foods You Never Realized Weren't Vegan

So here's a post without a recipe.  Already in withdrawal?  Fear not, the next post will definitely go back to having something yummy for you to create.  But I wanted to share some other information with you because you don't already have enough decisions to make when you eat out or shop for food as a vegan!  LOL

The first thing I wanted to share was something about pesticides and Conventionally Grown vs. Organically Grown produce.  The following list ranks forty nine common Conventionally Grown  produce items from worst to least, meaning celery is likely to have the highest levels of pesticides and onions the least amount of pesticides.

1. (worst) Celery
2. Peaches
3. Strawberries
4. Apples
5. Blueberries - U.S. Grown
6. Nectarines
7. Sweet Bell Peppers
8. Spinach
9. Kale and Collard Greens
10. Cherries
11. Potatoes
12. Grapes – Imported from outside U.S.
13. Lettuce
14. Blueberries - Imported
15. Carrots
16. Green Beans – U.S. grown
17. Pears
18. Plums - Imported
19. Summer Squash
20. Cucumbers - Imported
21. Green Beans - Imported
22. Hot Peppers
23. Red Raspberries
24. Oranges
25. Grapes – U.S. grown
26. Cantaloupe
27. Cucumbers - U.S. Grown
28. Cauliflower
29. Tomatoes
30. Bananas
31. Broccoli
32. Winter Squash
33. Cranberries
34. Plums - U.S. Grown
35. Honeydew Melon
36. Sweet Potato
37. Grapefruit
38. Watermelon
39. Cantaloupe - U.S. Grown
40. Cabbage
41. Eggplant
42. Kiwi
43. Asparagus
44. Sweet Peas (frozen)
45. Mango
46. Pineapple
47. Sweet Corn (frozen)
48. Avocado
49. Onions (least)

For produce higher up on the list, say the first 12-15 items, you would probably want to opt for Organically Grown instead of Conventionally Grown items.  For the last 15 items you can more safely opt for Conventionally Grown.  For the items in between, well, I personally try to buy organic whenever possible.  The fewer pesticides, hormones, antibiotics and non food chemical food additives you consume, the healthier you will be.

Your liver not only assists in the digestion of fats (emulsification of lipids), but it also functions to detoxify your blood.  So, if you have a high fat diet, and eat a lot of conventionally grown produce as well as a lot of processed foods with long lists of non food chemical additives, and drink tons of diet soda on top of that, then you are being particularly unkind to your liver.  It truly becomes overworked, and if you consume alcohol as well, I think your liver just might want to put in for a vacation or disability leave!  Keep chemicals out of your body as much as possible, keep fat close to only what your body truly needs, and eliminate any drinks with added sugar, Aspartame, Sucralose, etc.  Keep alcohol consumption to a minimum or eliminate it altogether as well.  Drink lots of water--before meals to curb your appetite, but also so your liver and kidneys can more efficiently filter your blood.

Non Vegan Foods--Who Knew?!!

• White Sugar is sometimes not vegan.  Why?  If cane sugar is processed into white sugar, bone char (yes from burned animal bones) is usually used in the processing.  Processed beet sugar is fine for vegans.  Organic cane sugar is fine for vegans.  If you use powdered sugar or brown sugar, use organic.  So eliminate the processed stuff and stick to less processed organic options, then reduce your overall consumption of any added sugar.
• Bread and Baked Items often have dairy and eggs in them if not whey or whey protein.  But even if you find something that has no dairy or eggs, if it has dough conditioners, it may very well have L-cysteine which is an amino acid.  Our bodies synthesize this amino acid when needed from proteins (plant or animal) that we eat.  The source of L-cysteine in dough conditioners, however, is usually dissolved human hair.  Did I just hear you choke a little while you were eating that Wonder Bread or Twinkie?  I thought so.
• Wines and Beers are often clarified with animal products such as milk, blood, albumen (egg whites) and gelatin among others.  Isinglass is a gelatin made specifically from the swim bladders of sturgeon and other fish.  So, that white wine you love so much may have been combined with fish guts to pull out sediments.  Use this helpful website to discover if your libations are truly vegan or vegan friendly!  Barnivore
• Fortified Milks, Yogurts, Orange Juice and Breakfast Cereals are often fortified from animal sources such as sheep wool lanolin, pig skin, or cow skin.  YUK!  I prefer my vitamin D3 from vegan sources, thank you very much.  So make sure that soy milk you drink is labeled vegan so that it has no vitamin fortification from poor dead animals!

Are you on information overload yet?  I know, it's a lot to pay attention to, but just think of all the disease you will be preventing in yourself and your loved ones.  Totally worth the up front time to prevent the worry and sadness if you or a relative were to get chronically or seriously ill!