There is an opinion that watermelons may contain harmful nitrates, so you need to choose these fruits with great caution. We decided to check how reasonable such a fear is.
Annually, at the beginning of the season of watermelons, the Internet flashes on the Internet Disputes About how safe this berry is. The greatest fears cause accumulating There are nitrates in watermelons, the poisoning of which, as claims, can bring to oxygen starvation and even death. According to Internet users, berries with a high content of these substances are especially Dangerous For nursing mothers and children up to a year. On the network you can meet recommendationsHow to independently check watermelons for the maintenance of nitrates using a special tester.
Nitrates - These are chemical compounds containing single -charged ion No3. They are found in the environment - soil, water, air. This is the main source of nitrogen necessary for plants for growth and ripening, so nitrates are used in agriculture as fertilizerswhich allows to significantly increase productivity. At the same time in leaders The content of nitrates is not watermelons at all, but spinach, broccoli, brass and carrots. Also, these compounds often Add As preservatives in sausage, sausages and other meat products.
Rospotrebnadzor claimsthat the use of 300-320 mg of nitrates per day is absolutely safe. By standards The Eurasian Customs Union is the permissible norm for the content of nitrates in watermelons - up to 60 mg/kg of product weight. Based on these data, you can eat up to 5 kg of watermelon without harm to health, if you exclude all other sources of nitrates and if the specific fruit meets sanitary requirements. A little more stringent recommendations Gives The European Food Safety Agency (EFSA) - according to its experts, no significant health consequences will occur with a daily use of 3.7 mg of nitrates per 1 kg of weight (about 220 mg for a person weighing 60 kg).
Nitrates themselves are not as dangerous as formed from them after entering the human body nitrites. These substances can turn hemoglobin, connecting oxygen and carrying it through the circulatory system to tissue, to metghemoglobin, which is not capable of this. That is why an excess of nitrites in the body can lead to oxygen starvation. In addition, they can be transformed into a carcinogenic substance nitrosamine. True, in watermelons (as in many other plant sources of nitrates) Contained Vitamin C, which Stops Or slows down the reactions of the formation of nitrosamines. However, another derivative of nitrites - nitrogen oxide -It is just useful to maintain the health of the cardiovascular system. Therefore, striving to completely avoid nitrates in food, apparently, is not worth it.
Plants not only suck nitrates from soil and fertilizers, but also Use They are at about the same speed with which the root system of plants absorbs these substances, they are converted into plant protein. Therefore, by the time maturity There is no excess nitrates in watermelons - they are “digested” by the plant. But if the crop was harvested until fully ripening, the fruits can really contain nitrates - however, mainly in a crust that is usually not consumed. Experts argue that the chance to detect excessive content of nitrates in the pulp low. The probability of accumulation of nitrates in fruits increases if plants grew in adverse conditions - for example, with drought or a lack of sunlight. However, this danger is noticeably lower, if we are talking about large agricultural enterprises, because the manufacturer is interested in creating the most comfortable conditions for obtaining a plentiful harvest.
The ripeness of the watermelon, whose season comes in Europe closer to the end of summer, can be determined by external signs. The crust should be solid and brilliant, bright with contrasting stripes and yellow or even light orange spot on the side on which the fetus lay on the ground. The antennae and stalk of mature watermelon should be dry. When hitting a palm with a palm, such a fruit vibrates, when clicking a bent finger, a moderately sonorous sound makes. The pulp of the watermelon should be red, and the seeds should be black or brown. But to independently check that the watermelon grew up in favorable conditions. How claims Rospotrebnadzor, you can get reliable information about the level of nitrates in the fetus only in a specialized laboratory, and you should not believe the “amateur” nitratometers. At the same time, “verified” could not be found in the world medical practice of proven cases of regular and/or mass poisoning of people with nitrates contained in watermelons.
However, to acquire health problems (for example, intestinal disorder) due to watermelon is really easy, but not in connection with the presence of nitrates, but due to pathogens that came to the crust of the fetus during its cultivation, transportation or storage. For this reason, it is necessary to thoroughly wash the watermelon before cutting, as well as avoid the purchase of already cut fruits.
Not worth it To purchase watermelons in the collapse along busy tracks. Firstly, they most likely do not go through any quality control, which means that you can encounter something more terrible nitrates-for example, with high levels of radiation or traces of fertilizers unsafe for humans. And secondly, watermelons can absorb heavy metals from exhaust gases of passing cars, which is also not very good for health.
Thus, the probability of nitrates contained in watermelons (provided that the fruits were purchased in season in large stores or at certified points of sale) is quite low. Firstly, by the time of the ripening of fruits, plants manage to process the most part of the nitrates, and secondly, the regulatory authorities check watermelons for dangerous substances. It was not possible to find confirmations that a significant number of people have ever been poisoned due to nitrates in watermelons, therefore, probably this danger is noticeably exaggerated.
Photo on the cover: pexels.com
Read on the topic:
- Webmd. Foods High in Nitrates
- Rospotrebnadzor. Choosing watermelons and melons
- Is it true that products marked “organic” are more useful than ordinary?
- Is it true that fruits and vegetables are safer if they are peeled?
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