Organic produce is good, but how do you get the most from it?

Dr Alan Greene, a clinical professor of paediatrics at the Stanford University School of Medicine, senior fellow at the University of California San Francisco Center for the Health Professions and author of Raising Baby Green: The Earth-Friendly Guide To Pregnancy, Childbirth, And Baby Care, has some tips for women.

Writing for health website, WebMD, he gave a summary of what he considers the most important switches every woman should make should she want to start eating organic food.

Dairy: While many women do not drink much milk, he said, they often choose yogurt snacks.

'Organic yogurts don't contain added hormones and antibiotics and can have higher levels of omega-3s,' Dr Greene wrote.

Salads: Conventional lettuce has some of the highest levels of pesticides of any food, he noted. Organic greens have as much as 25per cent more antioxidants.

Apples: They can contain toxic pesticides even when they are peeled. So choose organic apples - as well as nectarines, peaches, pears, strawberries, cherries and grapes, as all these fruits are more vulnerable to pesticides, he advised.

Tomatoes: Organic tomatoes have significantly more lycopene, an antioxidant that may lower cancer and heart disease risks.

Grass-fed beef: It is usually leaner than conventional beef and can contain about five times the good omega-3 fats.

This article was first published in Mind Your Body, The Straits Times.