Eat your veggies — not the chemicals on them. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, just one in 10 Americans is meeting our daily allowance of fruits and vegetables. While the detoxifying qualities of fruits and veggies have been well-established, one nutritionist says produce can benefit from a detox bath of its own.
Experts suggest that rinsing produce under tap water doesn’t do enough to purge it of pesticides and other potentially dangerous chemicals it’s exposed to during growth and harvest. Nutritionist Jessica Shand explained to British Vogue last week, “The ones most commonly used on fruits and vegetables are herbicides, fungicides, insecticides and bactericides.” A recent analysis by Environmental Working Group, an organization advocating for a cleaner food supply , found a whopping 75% of conventional fresh fruit and vegetables it sampled contained residue of potentially harmful chemicals.
Shand imparts that while removing the skin from fruits and vegetables can help rid them of toxins, it also strips them of fiber and other valuable nutrients. To mitigate these risks, Shand has incorporated a produce “detox” into her wellness routine. She explains that properly washing fruits and vegetables can minimize exposure to contaminants, specifically endocrine-disrupting chemicals.
Shand shares that these chemicals are “endocrine mimickers,” meaning they are similar in structure to hormones in the body, specifically estrogen. “They.
