I am going to go out on a limb here and assume everyone agrees that pesticides are not something we really want in our food. After all, you don't see fruit snacks with a label that says – "Now Made With More Yummy Pesticides". We can debate just how dangerous pesticides are to people and the planet – but clearly we would all prefer to have fruits, food and supplements that were free of any harmful pesticides. Many people who eat Organic foods and supplements will say they do so to avoid harmful pesticides. This is absolutely valid, but really only tells half of the story. Let's say you tested an apple that had been treated with pesticides, but then cleaned to such a degree that no pesticides could be detected in the apple. Would this mean that conventional foods that have been tested to be pesticide free are as healthy as organic foods? No!

Whatever Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger

Living life as a fruit or vegetable can be hard. You need to survive the changing weather and those pesty insects that try to eat you. The truth is many fruits and vegetables do not survive, but the ones that do survive have evolved to be stronger and packed with phytochemicals and nutrients. The old adage, "whatever doesn't kill you, makes you stronger" definitely applies to fruits and veggies. The reason fruits like the Acai berry and Muscadine Grape are so packed with nutrients is that they have developed antioxidants and phytonutrients that help protect them from the harsh environment that they grow in. The muscadine grape even went as far as growing an extra set of chromosomes to help it survive the harsh winters. It is these same antioxidants and phytonutrients that give us health benefits when we eat these fruits.

Pesticides Fundamentally Change How Fruits and Veggies Grow

Think about the purpose of pesticides – to protect fruits and veggies from the harsh environment and allow them to survive. In other words, the pesticides end up doing the job that the antioxidants and phytonutrients normally have to do. The plants do not need to develop nutrients to survive, the pesticides do it for them. In the end, a fruit or veggie that has been treated with pesticides does NOT have the same nutrients as an organically grown fruit or veggie. Even with all the pesticides washed away, the damage has been done internally. Fruits that are grown with pesticides simply have an easier life andtherefore have less healthy phytonutrients and antioxidants. The end result, fruits and veggies treated with pesticides have less health benefits for humans.