Pesticides: Should You Be Wor... Video Transcript

Webcast Transcript

For instance, root vegetables. They grow under the ground. So it's not a matter of it just being sprayed on their leaves. It's more of a systemic problem because the pesticides get into the root structure of the vegetable. So maybe they are vegetables that you might want to consider going more with organic, whereas other ones might be less of a concern because you can rinse off some of the pesticide residues.

HEIDI SKOLNIK, RD: If it's something you're truly concerned about, then also be careful of taking a knife and cutting all the way through a melon. Whatever is on the surface goes all the way through. It depends on what degree that you feel comfortable with.

The pros and cons is that organic is more expensive. For some people, that's prohibitive. So going back to what we started with, it's more important that you eat fruits and vegetables. The benefits in terms of your immune system and your health, your heart health, you know, there are so many reasons to eat fruits and vegetables. We don't want to scare people from that.

DAVID FOLK THOMAS: So you want to eat your fruits and vegetables, but just to make it even that much better, what are some of the products that are out there to help get rid of the pesticides.

LAURA PENSIERO, RD: There are a variety of products, and nobody can really say whether they work better than using just a little bit of basic detergent and some water and rinsing vegetables well. But there is also all different products that have come out that have mild, natural acidic compounds like grapefruit oils that help reduce some of the residues.

DAVID FOLK THOMAS: Do you buy this at a grocery store?

LAURA PENSIERO, RD: Usually in the produce section. But really the main point is to eat the fruits and vegetables. There are over 200 studies that support fruits and vegetables in preventing all types of cancers, whereas the risk of the pesticides is still very inconclusive.

DAVID FOLK THOMAS: It's just a necessary evil, if you will, but a minimal one to make sure the vegetables are healthy to begin with, so you can eat your fruits and vegetables.

Well that's all the time we have right now. Again, you should now not be afraid for any reason to go eat your fruits and vegetables.

I want to thank Heidi Skolnik and Laura Pensiero for joining me. My name is David Folk Thomas. We'll see you next time.

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