Fresh Fruit Hold The Pesticides Please

In the heat of the summer eating fresh fruit is the next best thing to drinking lots of water. However, if the fruit is not organic, you are likely adding pesticide residue to the healthy nutrients and thirst quenching fruit you choose.
Many fruits with thin skin (see list below) can contain very high levels of pesticides.
Berries (all types)
Grapes
Cherries
Peaches
Nectarines
Generally, pesticides damage the natural environment and have been shown to be toxic for those who work with these substances and in lab animals. Pesticide ingestion has been linked to health problems, specifically, birth defects, asthma, attention deficit disorder, hormone and nerve disorders and cancer, www.epa.gov/pesticides/food/risks.htm.
Typically fruits with thick skins that are not as affected by pesticides:
Grapefruit
Cantaloupe
Pineapple
Watermelon
Mango
Papaya
Kiwi
Banana  
Here’s a wallet guide you can use while you shop, www.foodnews.org/walletguide.php.
Awhile back I blogged about the soil and how agri-farming and pesticides negatively affect the food we eat and our health. Here’s the link, http://valeriegoldstein.wordpress.com/2009/08/17/appearances-can-be-deceiving-its-whats-on-the-inside-that-counts/. I think it is worth a read, or a re-read, to put things into perspective. You cannot wash pesticides from your produce as it is absorbed through the plant and skin of the fruit and lurks in the part of the fruit you eat.
 My two cents: If you can afford it, buy organic. If not, eat more produce that have the least amounts of pesticides and limit the food containing higher amounts of pesticides.