Vegetable-wash-with-Clorox-confused!

[Anam Cara]

Hi! I'm verry interested in eating organic food, but unfortunately you don't find that kind of food everywhere and when you do It's usually too expensive. Especially here in Norway. I've been looking for something to solve my problem for very long now, and some days ago I read in a book that if you didn't find organic food you could bathe non-organic vegetables in a clorox bath and then it would be restored to it's natural state, without all the chemicas. But there's a little problem, because I don't know which clorox to use! The book just said CLOROX. I've been checking it out and there's so many types of it! So I hoped someone here in the community could help me. Is the book refering to the regular clorox bleach or some other kind?

Light and love,
Dorian

[Eva]

Oh dear, I wouldn't want to put that on my food! Organic is pretty hard to get where I am too, so I get it when I can and enjoy whatever food I eat, regardless of whether it's organic.

[sport]

There is more to organic food than just pesticides. You must also remember that they are generally produced in better soil and have higher levels of nutrients.
This is a list of average pesticide levels in fruit and veg. Try to at least get the ones higher on the list organic.

The Full List: 43 Fruits & Veggies
RANK FRUIT OR VEGGIE SCORE

1 (worst) Peaches 100 (highest pesticide load)
2 Apples 96
3 Sweet Bell Peppers 86
4 Celery 85
5 Nectarines 84
6 Strawberries 83
7 Cherries 75
8 Lettuce 69
9 Grapes - Imported 68
10 Pears 65
11 Spinach 60
12 Potatoes 58
13 Carrots 57
14 Green Beans 55
15 Hot Peppers 53
16 Cucumbers 52
17 Raspberries 47
18 Plums 46
19 Oranges 46
20 Grapes-Domestic 46
21 Cauliflower 39
22 Tangerine 38
23 Mushrooms 37
24 Cantaloupe 34
25 Lemon 31
26 Honeydew Melon 31
27 Grapefruit 31
28 Winter Squash 31
29 Tomatoes 30
30 Sweet Potatoes 30
31 Watermelon 25
32 Blueberries 24
33 Papaya 21
34 Eggplant 19
35 Broccoli 18
36 Cabbage 17
37 Bananas 16
38 Kiwi 14
39 Asparagus 11
40 Sweet Peas-Frozen 11
41 Mango 9
42 Pineapples 7
43 Sweet Corn-Frozen 2
44 Avocado 1
45 (best) Onions 1 (lowest pesticide load)


Note: We ranked a total of 44 different fruits and vegetables but grapes are listed twice because we looked at both domestic and imported samples.

View Full Data Set

[Ilse W.]

I think most people now use Clorox when they mean chlorine bleach. It's sort of like calling any disposable tissue a Kleenex. Sport is right in that there is more to conventionally grown food than just the pesticides on the outside, but at least you can try to wash those off as well as possible when you know you can't find any organic produce or cannot afford it. On the bright side, feeding your body raw fruits and vegetables makes it better able to flush out the toxins you ingest with your food.:D

[SuzyQ]

It is the Clorox brand that you would use if you were to do this. Ann Louise Gettleman (The Fat Flush) tells how to do this in Beyond Pritikin. It is used primarily to kill critters and bacteria. I don't think it will restore produce (it will however, kill any bugs hiding in your broccoli). Supposedly, the Clorox breaks down into salts and you don't use very much, but I don't think most people here would do this. Most people don't want Clorox in their veggies.

[Raene]

Clorox -- strong poisonous toxic housecleaner! My mom used to bathe me in it to get rid of chigger bites and I'm surprised I'm still in the world today. That stuff gives most people bad headaches and dizziness just like other toxic housecleaners.

[raven]

You have to use the Clorox brand and the bath would be very diluted. It's been used to detoxify vegetables for years. Even organic food can be contaminated. I'd do more research before trying it but this is supposedly a tried and true formula.

Suzy

[raweater]

I think it's rather absurd to think that dipping veggies in one of the most powerful cancer causing chemicals would *remove* cancer causing chemicals.

You can buy natural products that remove pesticides.

[Raene]

I think it's rather absurd to think that dipping veggies in one of the most powerful cancer causing chemicals would *remove* cancer causing chemicals.

You can buy natural products that remove pesticides.

Ditto...I'm blown away by people...you buy organics and then you put chemicals on them?!!!

[Coolcatch]

I think that it is really Important that you not be so judgmental when you hear the Word 'Clorox' Yes of course it is a powerful chemical.
But the reason you are using it is because the vegetables and fruit that you purchase everyday is laden with toxic chemicals that you cannot see.

When they Say Clorox they mean the Brand of Clorox. Clorox is the Brand name for a product that contains Bleach. Clorox brand regular bleach.
http://www.clorox.com/products/ ONLY!

The reason why you are using a Clorox bath is to 'clean' your food. It is not possible to do so with water alone. In the Clorox bath you are using a small amount of clorox bleach with alot of water. the bleach will be diluted. Then after soaking for an appropriate time you then again soak your food in water for another ten minutes. so there is no risk of you consuming bleach.

Yes of course there are other vegetable washes, right now on the market. I have not seen any research to support them. ( my assumption is that they may be too gentile)


Happy Healthy Life!

[Colorawdo girl]

Use just a little bit,diluted?


Dioxins are so hazardous that they affect human health at levels measured in parts per trillion, an amount equivalent to a single drop in a train of tank cars 10 miles long.


The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has found dioxin (a toxic byproduct of chlorine) to be 300,000 times more potent as a carcinogen than DDT

What can happen if these chemicals get into our bodies?

Our bodies are very good at metabolizing many things. Through special enzymes, our bodies are able to rid themselves of many environmental toxic substances that we come into contact with daily. However, dioxins (and other organochlorine compounds) aren't included. Even if we are exposed to very low levels, dioxins remain in the body and accumulate.

The EPA is now saying that this is soon to become a major health risk problem. The cumulative effects of dioxin in humans have been linked to birth defects, cancer, reproductive disorders and immune system breakdown.

some little things I found. I would be mortified to wash my food with chlorine.
There has been recommendations to use hydrogen peroxide rinse.

[bootzey]

Bleach is a tissue solvent. My suggestion is to pass on that product and clean your food with vinager.

[Amberly]

Raweater said what I was going to say. Adding toxins to toxins to get rid of toxins?????

[Everchanging]

as someone mentioned, this is used to clear out parasites from raw produce. You can also use apple cider vinegar, 1/4 cup per sink of water. Hydrogen peroxide can also be used, I don't know how much. See Paul pitchfords book healing with whole foods for more info. There are other ways to remove pesticides, usually some mix of baking soda, grapefruit seed extract, and other safe ingredients. I'm sure you can google it and find something.

[ckhealthcoach]

Hi!
I have a book by Dr. Mark A. Breiner, called Whole Body Dentistry. He is a holistic dentist who works with people with allergy issues, all kinds of issues with harmful practices done by unaware dentists. He recommends using a few drops of Clorox (ONLY CLOROX BRAND) in a gallon of water, to remove pesticides, allergens, bacteria, molds, etc., and has found it very effective for his patients. For this reason, we do use only a few drops of Clorox in purified water, then rinse it off. There are other products out there, this is just the one we have chosen to use, because it was recommended by a knowledgeable alternative health-care provider.

[MysticTree]

Hi!
a few drops of Clorox (ONLY CLOROX BRAND) in a gallon of water, to remove pesticides, allergens, bacteria, molds, etc.

You won't catch me adding bleach to my food, however small the quanity.

[adobegirl]

Better to use a food grade hydrogen peroxide.