A recent study reported an association between pesticides in fruits and the ability of women to become pregnant, raising fresh concerns about the use of pesticides.

The study involved 325 women between 18 and 45 who were undergoing infertility treatment with assisted reproductive technology at the Massachusetts General Hospital, the researchers said.

The researchers analyzed each woman’s pesticide exposure by determining whether the fruits and vegetables she consumed had high or low levels of pesticide residues, based on reports from the US Department of Agriculture’s

Some fruits and vegetables with a low amount of pesticide residue include avocados, onions, dried plums or prunes, corn and orange juice. Those with a high amount include fresh plums, peaches, strawberries, spinach and peppers.

The researchers found that, compared with women who ate less than one daily serving of high-pesticide-residue fruits and vegetables, those who ate 2.3 servings or more had 18% lower probability of getting pregnant and 26% lower probability of giving birth to a live baby.

Consuming fruits and vegetables with a high amount of pesticide residue was positively associated with the probability of losing a pregnancy, the researchers found.

“Although we did find that intake of high-pesticide-residue fruits and vegetables were associated to lower reproductive success, intake of low-pesticide-residue fruits and vegetables had the opposite association,” Chiu said.

“A reasonable choice based on these findings is to consume low-pesticide-residue fruits and vegetables instead of high-pesticide-residue ones. Another option is to go organic for the fruits and vegetables known to contain high pesticide residues,” she said. “It is very important to keep in mind that, as far as we are aware, this is the first time that this association is reported, so it is extremely important that our findings are replicated in other studies.”



Source:http://www.healthx24.com/can-pesticides-in-fruits-and-vegetables-make-women-less-likely-to-get-pregnant/

Washing your fruits and veggies may reduce pesticides
The study found only associations between pesticide residue and pregnancy outcomes — not a causal relationship.

The study also has some limitations. For instance, the women’s diets were assessed using self-reports, which leaves room for error, and the women were trying to become pregnant through infertility treatments. More research is needed to determine whether similar findings would emerge among women trying to conceive naturally. Also, more research is needed to connect specific pesticides with the infertility treatment outcomes seen in the study.

In general, the Food and Drug Administration recommends consuming fruits and vegetables for good nutrition but following safe handling tips, including thoroughly washing fresh produce under running water before preparing and eating.


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