First we are told that fats are unhealthy and then carbohydrates and sugar and salt. Now there is mercury in fish to worry about, hormones in dairy, additives in children’s snacks and even spinach has been linked to bacterial outbreaks. But not to worry you can take the stress out of healthy eating by making a few changes to the way you shop and cook.

Fish: Mercury is deposited into the oceans and streams by coal burning plants where it can convert to a more toxic form, methylmercury which makes its way into the food chain and is most prevalent in large, predatory fish that live a long time because the metal accumulates over time and the fish also feed on other mercury-contaminated fish.

To avoid the risk of mercury overload avoid fish like shark, swordfish, and marlin. Buy canned light tuna, wild or canned salmon (not farmed), halibut and catfish. Pollutants in fish are most likely to accumulate below the skin and in fat deposits so remove skin before cooking. Unfortunately, mercury concentrates in the muscle tissue so if you are pregnant or hoping to be, the recommendation is to have no more than two portions of oily fish a week. Also limit tuna to either two fresh tuna steaks a week or four medium cans of tuna (canned tuna does not count as an ‘oily’ fish because the oils are lost in the canning process). Fish oil supplements are fine as long as you know they are from a reputable source.

Fruits and vegetables: Conventionally grown fruits and vegetables are sprayed with dozens of chemicals and pesticides. Pesticide residues have been linked to hormonal imbalances and cancer.

To avoid the risk choose organic when you buy the most heavily sprayed fruit and vegetables e.g. peaches, apples, nectarines, strawberries, pears, celery, cherries, imported grapes, lettuce, bell peppers and potatoes. You should also thoroughly wash your fruit and vegetables under cold running water. For foods with firm surfaces such as apples use a vegetable brush.

Dairy: Dairy cattle are routinely kept pregnant now while they are being milked so the hormone levels such as oestrogen can be high.

Choose organic dairy produce where possible. You could also choose non-dairy substitutes such as rice, oat or soya milk.

Meat: Antibiotics are routinely fed to life stock to prevent infections from unsanitary conditions. Experts believe that the overuse of antibiotics in live stock allows harmful bacteria to develop resistance. About 70 percent of bacteria that cause hospital infections have become resistant to at least one antibiotic; some of which may be related to those used in live stock.

My advice is to avoid meat completely and to substitute with protein rich fish, nuts, seeds, legumes and grains but if you must eat meat, buy organic chicken or turkey. Remove skin and fatty tissue to reduce the amount of pollutants and pesticides; don’t let anything raw come into contact with fresh food and cook meat thoroughly.

Ingredients: Many additives, preservatives and colourings have a negative effect on your health ranging from allergic reactions, headaches and nausea to hyperactivity in children. The best advice is to avoid food that is processed and refined, such as white bread and ready meals and use your common sense when shopping. If a food looks unnatural it probably is and if the list of ingredients on the back reads like a chemistry experiment put it back on the shelf. Seven dangerous ingredients to be wary off, especially if you are shopping for your children, are:

• E211- sodium benzoate: This preservative can trigger allergic reactions and is used in salad dressings, barbecue sauce, soy sauce, fruit drinks and sweets.
• E110- sunset yellow: This dye can cause nausea and hyperactivity and is found in orange squash, jam, lemon curd, packet soups, cheeses sauces and sweets.
• E129- allura red: This dye is found in sweets, soft drinks and biscuits. It can cause mild allergic reactions and is banned in nine European countries.
• E124- ponceau 4R: This red dye can cause allergic reactions and is found in dessert toppings, salami, salad dressings, cheesecakes and fruit drinks.
• E104- quinoline yellow: This dye is found in scotch eggs, chewing gum and cough sweets and can cause hyperactive behaviour. It has been banned in Australia, Japan, Norway and the US.
• E102- tartrazine: This dye is found in fruit squashes, cake mixes, soups, ice creams, jellies, mustards, yogurts and tinned food. It can cause allergic reactions, headaches and blurred vision.
• E122-camoisine: This dye is found in marzipan, swiss roll, jam, brown sauce, flavoured yogurts and fruit drinks. It can cause mild rashes and hyperactive behaviour.

A recent report released by the Pesticide Residues committee suggests that up to a third of our food may be tainted by pesticides. Traces of chemicals were even found on fruit destined for children under the Government’s free fruit for schools scheme.

More than 3,500 food samples were tested, of which 34.8 per cent contained residues of pesticides. The committee did stress that the vast majority of the traces were at levels too low to cause health problems.

However, 60 of the samples – 1.7 per cent – did contain levels higher than the maximum safe legal limit. Imported food was most likely to be in breach, said the committee. Exotic fruit and vegetables such as yams, pomegranates and passion fruit were responsible for almost all the higher than acceptable levels. Scientists also found worrying levels of chemical fungicides on Spanish lettuce, with one containing twice the permitted maximum.

From the point of view of a nutritionist I can understand why people may be worried about the amount of pesticides and residues in their food. A build up of pesticides in the body has been linked to a range of illnesses and conditions including cancer, damage to the immune system and hormone disruption in children, which causes girls to hit puberty earlier and boys to have lower sperm counts. But it is important for everyone to make sure they eat at least five portions of fruit and vegetables a day. Study after study shows that the health benefits of eating good amount of fruit and vegetables.

To minimise your risk of pesticide residue, however, follow my advice in my ‘So what can I eat?’ feature and then make sure you:

• Wash all fresh vegetables and fruit, thoroughly with lots of running water.
• Use a small vegetable brush to clean the outer skin of vegetables and fruit, if appropriate – for example, before eating apples, potatoes, cucumbers or other produce in which you eat the outer skin.
• Peel vegetables and fruit and trim the outer leaves of leafy vegetables, along with washing them thoroughly. (Unfortunately, peeling vegetables and fruit may also reduce the amount of nutrients and fibre.)
• Buy organic where possible because you are not only reducing your exposure to pesticides but you can also eat the peel where most of the nutrients are contained under the skin.

Most traditional perfumes are created in a lab, using synthetic oils that replicate natural, botanical scents. A fragrance may be made up of dozens, sometimes over a hundred different chemicals – and according to a National Academy of Sciences study from a couple of decades ago; up to 95% of these fragrance chemicals are petrochemicals – derived from crude oil. Do you really want to apply that to your skin to be absorbed into your body?

In addition, unlike many synthetic scents, natural perfumes have no phthalates, compounds derived from alcohol that makes scents last longer but have also been linked to hormonal imbalance and reproductive disorders. In fact the Environmental Working Group in the USA and many natural health experts, me included, suggest limiting exposure to phthalates when possible.

This doesn’t mean you should stop wearing perfume. Quite the contrary; you should treat yourself to the essential oils of natural perfumes. Natural perfumes are made with essential oils extracted from flowers and fruit produced by small high quality growers.

Nature has provided us with an abundance of beautiful scents – jasmine, ylang ylang, rose, geranium, tea rose to name a few and all available as essential oils. Another option if you have the time and feel creative is to make your own natural perfume.

You’ll need a small dark glass bottle for storing your fragrance creation as sunlight will quickly kill the scent if you store it in clear glass.

Ingredients:

• Your favourite essential oil/s
• 2 1/2 oz of Vodka
• 2 tablespoons of Distilled Water

It will take a little experimentation to achieve the right potency to suit your tastes; so start out with a single essential oil for practice – perhaps 4-8 drops. The general process is:

Add the essential oil to the vodka, stirring slowly until the oil is fully mixed in; then let sit for 2 days. After this time, add the distilled water, slowly stirring it through; then let it sit another couple of days; longer for a more potent mix. Done!

Don’t forget to write down the essential oils and numbers of drops you use in each batch while refining your own natural perfume blend! Although our sense of smell is not as keen as other mammals, a delicious aroma wafting from our skins not only makes us feel more upbeat it is also a form of communication.

We can wear perfumes that convey our mood or our personality. Fragrances can enhance or even change our mindset so if you’re feeling powerful or want to feel powerful choose a bold, clean scent with a strong fruity note. If you want to feel romantic look for floral fragrances; if you’re feeling sexy look for woodsy flavours.

Whatever you are trying to communicate, you should sample several scents. Smell it, apply it and live with it for a while to see it it’s you. And because natural perfumes don’t last as long, reapply whenever the scent fades. As the fragrance interacts with your body, a new aroma emerges- one that is naturally your own.