6 Tips to Minimize Pesticide Exposure

Greetings!

Here are 6 easy tips to reduce your exposure to pesticides. Pesticide exposure is linked to cancer, birth defects, still birth, infertility, and damage to the brain and nervous system including Parkinson's disease. It may be impossible to escape all pesticides. Some commercial farms drop pesticides by air methods to crops which can travel by wind movements. However these steps should assist in minimizing your exposure: 

1. Buy local and organically grown fruits and vegetables.

2. Wash fruit and vegetables before eating. You can wash produce in clean water with a small amount of distilled white vinegar or use the recipe listed below as a homemade fruit/veggie wash)

3. Grow your own produce. Even if you are in an apartment research urban gardening classes in your area.

4. Use non toxic methods for controlling pest in your home and garden.

5. Consider buying an air purifier. Research is being done on the usefulness of genetically modified bacteria in filters to remove pesticides. See (http://nanopatentsandinnovations.blogspot.com/2011/04/filtering-out-pesticides-with-e-coli.html)

6. Have a no shoes policy in your home. Chemical fertilizers and herbicides can be tracked into your home with shoes. Have guest remove shoes at door. Offer a basket of socks or shoe covers at the entrance way.

Vegetable/Fruit wash Recipe :

-1 cup water

-1 cup distilled white vinegar 

-1 tablespoon baking soda

-20 drops grapefruit seed extract (Can substitute a tsp lemon juice)

Happy Living!