An Apple A Day...

....may give you your daily dose of pesticides.

I was bummed out hearing this story, because one of my favorite snacks is an apple with peanut butter on it. Apples are at the top of the list of produce most contaminated with pesticides, says a new study.

Apples moved up three spots from last year, replacing celery at the top of the most-contaminated list; 92% of apples contained two or more pesticides.

The Dirty Dozen List - The suggestion is to buy these organic. 1. Apples 2. Celery 3. Strawberries 4. Peaches 5. Spinach 6. Nectarines 7. Grapes 8. Sweet Bell Peppers 9. Potatoes 10.Blueberries 11. Lettuce 12. Kale/Collard Greens

The Clean 15 1. Onions 2. Corn 3. Pineapples 4. Avocado 5. Asparagus 6. Sweet Peas 7. Mangoes 8. Eggplant 9. Cantaloupe 10. Kiwi 11. Cabbage 12. Watermelon 13. Sweet Potatoes 14. Grapefruit 15. Mushrooms.

Onions top the "clean" list, found to be lowest in pesticides. By choosing five servings of fruit and vegetables a day from the clean list, most people can lower the volume of pesticides they consume daily by 92%, the report says. Rankings reflect the amounts of chemicals present on food when it is eaten. Most samples were washed and peeled before testing.

Washing with a "produce wash" is unlikely to help remove pesticides because they're taken up by the entire plant and reside on more than just the skin, the report says. Happy Eating!