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Smart Picks Among Conventionally-grown Fruit
An Excerpt from Fresh Choices: More Than 100 Easy Recipes for Pure Food When You Can't Buy 100% Organic
By Rochelle David and David Joachim
Most melons are low in pesticide residues and high in important nutrients. Both honeydew melons and cantaloupe provide high amounts of potassium and vitamin C and a fair amount of fiber. Cantaloupe also contains beta-carotene, which can help protect against cancer.
Some imported cantaloupe has been linked to outbreaks of salmonella poisoning, but it's such a healthy fruit, there's no reason to avoid it. To help reduce any salmonella risk, scrub the rind of cantaloupe under running water like you would a potato. A quick scrub before cutting into cantaloupe helps to eliminate any bacteria on the rind that could be carried to the fruit via the knife.
For the lowest pesticide residue among melons, sink your teeth into a stab of juicy watermelon. One of summer's supreme eating pleasures, watermelon also makes terrific soup.
While these may sound like age-related diseases, new research shows that health-boosting fruits such as grapefruit may help kids, too, by warding off cancer and heart disease in the long run. Give your kids a healthy head start by getting them in the habit of eating low-pesticide citrus like grapefruit, tangerines and mandarin oranges.
Among citrus fruits, navel oranges are slightly higher in residues, but most of the pesticides are concentrated in the peel. If you're eating the fruit only, conventionally-grown versions are reasonably safe. But if you plan to use the peel of oranges (or lemons or limes), the best bet for reducing pesticide exposure is to buy organic. As for orange juice, tests by the Consumers Union show that pesticide risks in conventional orange juice are fairly low.
