Top twelve fruits and veggies with pesticides: Yikes!

There has been yet another conversation brought into the mix about the benefits of buying

organic fruits and vegetables. I'll admit, as much as I would like to say that I buy strictly organic foods, the truth is, they are often more costly than I can afford.

Studies show children with ADD and ADHD have much higher levels of pesticides than children who do not. And though my children do not have this condition, the information I've learned has got me wanting to find ways to pay the extra charge to keep my family as pesticide free as I can.

I was under the impression that as long as I washed fruits and vegetables well, the pesticides would be gone. Not so.

There are a couple of lists on the web and elsewhere that itemize the most contaminated fruits and vegetables when it comes to pesticides. The pesticide levels were taken after washing and peeling. The recommendation is to stay away from the top twelve, and you'll limit your pesticide intake by 80%. Well, the top twelve are all of the typical, kid friendly fruits and veggies that my kids love. My youngest will sometimes eat two apples a day, at the very least he eats one per day.

I'm sure there are many parents who already have this information. I am hoping, however, that if there are more out there like myself, who really believe they are doing the best for their children by washing and/or peeling their fruits and veggies, that this will be informative and useful information.