If you have been following the news over the past week you have likely heard that organic foods are no more nutritious than conventional foods. This is according to a recent review published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. I thought I would weigh in on this topic since nutritional superiority of organic vs conventional foods has been questioned for a long time and it appears there is still no overwhelming evidence one way or another.

Does this new review mean we say “no” to organic? I DON’T think so! Regardless of nutritional superiority, I think one of the main reasons to try to buy organic is to decrease the pesticide exposure to your family as much as possible. I must also mention that just because a food says it is organic, it does not mean it is healthy. There are lots of unhealthy organic foods on the market. Organic foods certainly have fewer pesticides than conventional foods. However, with the economy today not everyone has the luxury of a food budget which allows you to always choose organic. My husband was laid off from work in April and I’ve had to prioritize the foods that I continue to buy organic while trying to make our food dollars work smarter. I also work with multi-million dollar athletes and was recently asked by a player’s wife if it made sense for her to buy organic for her family or if it was a waste of money. I explained that if money is not a consideration (as it is for most of us) then I would encourage her to choose organic or foods grown locally using organic standards.

To help you prioritize here are some of top pesticide offenders according to the Environmental Working Group. In other words, these “Dirty Dozen” are the top 12 foods to buy organic. Click here for your own downloadable pocket guide of the “Dirty Dozen” and “Clean 15″.