The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
Aren't you tired of listening and hearing about the good, the bad, and the ugly that is sitting on the grocery store shelves, imploring you to buy them? The “goods” are the items with little or no processing, the most natural forms of foods. The "bads" and the "uglies" are the things that have been produced and marketed to be loved by our children. We love them too because they are easy to eat, easy to pack, and easy to like.
Deciding which is which is hard! There are so many different theories and opinions about which bads are truly bad, which uglies are truly ugly, and which goods are truly good. Seems like you can find an article out there to support whatever idea you want. It is very hard to know whom to trust and which guidelines to follow.
We all seem to agree that eating more fruits and vegetables is really good for all of us. We know these fabulous carbs are loaded with natural nutrients, vitamins and minerals that we all need. And what is best, if bought in their raw original form, they are not modified or changed. That’s what we need to be looking for. We want food that has not been processed – that is, turned into bads and uglies.
But even the basic understanding – that eating fruits and veggies is good for all – offers conflicting opinions as to which fruits and vegetables are good and which ones are bad or ugly. The Environmental Working Group (EWG) has a great website - http://www.ewg.org/ - with current information for those who want to know what to avoid (and even what it’s being sprayed with). I found this resource to be helpful in trying to keep my balance of good eats and avoid the uglies when possible.
The EWG has created some easy to follow lists. One of these is The Clean Fifteen, a list of produce you can easily purchase with no fear of genetic modification or pesticides. If you focus on just these to have available for your family’s consumption, you can have all the benefits of eating more produce while reducing your exposure to modified food or pesticides. Here’s the list of The Clean Fifteen: https://www.ewg.org/foodnews/clean_fifteen_list.php.
If you are interested in more guides and keeping up to date, I would encourage you to visit the site and learn as much as you want. It’s pretty interesting and helpful. And remember…baby steps in reducing the bads and the uglies will go a long, healthy way!