How to check products for nitrates?

In the spring we really want to try the first strawberry or make a salad of early vegetables. When choosing such products, you should not be guided only by personal desire, but you should pay attention primarily to their safety. On the shelves of shops and markets, unfortunately, there are less and less environmentally friendly vegetables and fruits. That is why it is very important to check the proposed product for the content of harmful chemicals that have a detrimental effect on human health. Think about it, because not only you can suffer, but also your children, eating such early products. Today we will share with you information not only about how to check the products for nitrates, but also how not to get on such vegetables and fruits.

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What are nitrates and what is their danger?

Let's understand what nitrates are, where they come from in products, how the harm from them manifests itself. So, nitrates are salts of ammonium, nitric acid and some metals. They are used as fertilizers in agriculture to accelerate the ripening and growth of vegetables and fruits.

What is the harm of nitrates in products? If a person eats a product with a high level of nitrates, then in this case, malaise will be inevitable. And if nitrites have already formed from nitrates, then you can get to the hospital with serious intoxication of the whole organism.

Chemical fertilizer hazard

Before you check vegetables and fruits for the content of nitrates, it does not hurt to familiarize yourself with the signs of poisoning with this substance. For you, we have prepared a list of what indicates poisoning of the body with nitric acid salts:

• Severe nausea, possibly vomiting.
• Headache.
• Increased weakness and sleepy state.
• Pain in the stomach.
• The lips and face are very pale.
• Heart palpitations.
• Dyspnea.

What is the danger of nitrates:

1. Cells receive less oxygen, as a result of which the body slows down its work several times.
2. The volume of substances between the cells fails.
3. Immunity is greatly weakened.
4. The nervous system fails, its destabilization occurs.
5. There are problems in the gastrointestinal tract, cardiovascular and respiratory systems.
6. Strong carcinogens are formed in the body.

Important! With a single use of a large number of early vegetables and fruits with a high nitrate content, the body can be very oversaturated with toxins, which can lead to poisoning and even death.

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Nitrate Content

In order to check vegetables and fruits for nitrates, you need to know their permissible content, but it is different everywhere:

• Greens - 2000 mg / kg.
• Watermelons, apricots, grapes, pears - 60 mg / kg.
• Mango, nectarine, peaches - 60 mg / kg.
• Bananas - 200 mg / kg.
• Melons - 90 mg / kg.
• Eggplant - 300 mg / kg.
• Late cabbage - 500 mg / kg, early - 900 mg / kg.
• Zucchini - 400 mg / kg.
• Potatoes - 250 mg / kg.
• Onions - 80 mg / kg, green - 600 mg / kg.
• Strawberries - 100 mg / kg.
• Early carrots - 400 mg / kg, late - 250 mg / kg.
• Ground cucumbers - 300 mg / kg.
• Sweet pepper - 200 mg / kg.
• Tomatoes - 250 mg / kg.
• Radish - 1500 mg / kg.
• Persimmon - 60 mg / kg.
• Beets - 1400 mg / kg.
• Green salad - 1200 mg / kg.
• Radish - 1000 mg / kg.

Important! When thinking about the need for proper and truly wholesome nutrition, also read the information from our next reviews:

• What foods have the most vitamins?
• What foods are good for your health?

Do not forget that the amount of nitrates will depend on the type of product, on the time of its maturation and on the soil used (open type or greenhouse).

Important! Vegetables with an unacceptable nitrate rate have a highly watery structure.Such a picture can often be seen with radishes, cucumbers and tomatoes. Also, you should not buy vegetables and fruits that are not recommended for the season (watermelons and melons in the month of May).

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Methods of checking products for nitrates

How to check products for nitrates? The following is a list of proven methods that can be used to test products for nitrates:

• Tester. Such a special device will cost a lot, but with it you can determine the harm of the product directly on the market. It is very convenient and fast. To determine the content of harmful substances, you should stick the device in a vegetable or fruit and see the nitrate indicator on an electronic display. You do not have to memorize the norms of nitric acid, as they will already be in the device program.

Important! Many users who bought such testers for personal use were extremely surprised. Even when checking ordinary carrots, the device showed a high level of toxins.

• Test strips. With this affordable device, you can check spring vegetables and fruits at home. To do this, cut the product, attach a special strip to it and wait for the result, which will show the presence of nitrates. So, for example, when their content is high, you will find an intense color indicator.
• Folk methods. Applied to individual products, referring to the appearance, taste and storage period of early products.

Important! Any vegetables and fruits of an unnaturally large or small size should cause you concern. In most cases, they contain a large number of chemicals.

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How to determine the content of nitrates in appearance?

By this criterion, you can easily find out the security level of a product:

• Perfectly even sizes of fruits and vegetables. For example, apples "as a match" with a clear content of toxins have a flat surface and shape, a bright red color and all the same size.
• There is no sweet taste (weakly expressed) in melon and watermelon, and inside there are still unripened seeds.
• White and hard veins throughout the pulp of tomatoes. In this case, the pulp should be much lighter than the peel of the tomatoes.
• Loose cucumbers, which quickly turn yellow during storage, have yellow spots on the skin.
• The carrots are too large, the flesh and core at the same time the vegetable has a light color.
• Very dark or bright color of greenery, its quick damage during storage and too long stems.
• Salad leaves are very fragile (they break very much in the hands), the presence of brown tips on the product.
• On top of the cabbage there are dark leaves, it is unnaturally large, and the heads of cabbage quickly crack when they come in contact with a knife. Black spots and dots on the cabbage leaves indicate a fungus.
• Fresh apples and pears.
• Grape berries are too large.
• Potato has a loose structure. In tubers with no toxins, you will hear a crunch when pressed.
• Beets will be curled up.

Important! Smell vegetables and fruits directly in the market or in the store - safe products will have a strong aroma.

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How to neutralize nitrates?

If it so happened that you purchased a product with obvious unnatural signs, then you need to get rid of the harmful effects of nitrates as soon as possible, using the following methods:

• We clean fruits and vegetables: we cut off the skin, “assholes” and ponytails from them. Then we rinse everything thoroughly under hot water.
• Soak the spring products in running water for 20 minutes. In this way we process only greens, leafy vegetables and young potatoes. After this procedure, the amount of nitrates will decrease to 15%.

Important! A large percentage of harmful compounds can also be removed by adding ascorbic acid powder or lemon juice to the water.

• We use cooking, which helps to get rid of 80% of toxins in potatoes, 40% - in beets, 70% - in cabbage. The method has one big minus - all chemicals will remain in the broth.It is for this reason that the first fat should be immediately drained while still hot.
• Salt, kvassim, canned vegetables. With this method, all the harmful chemicals migrate directly to the brine, which is then drained.
• Fry, stew and steam. So we will reduce toxins by 10%, but agree that this is better than nothing.
• We take ascorbic acid inside before consuming early fruits and vegetables. Vitamin C will delay the formation of nitrites in the body.
• Add pomegranate juice or citric acid to the products during cooking. Using these components, we neutralize nitrate compounds. It is also effective to use apples, cranberries and apple cider vinegar.
• We eat fruits immediately, but do not store them in the refrigerator, and even more so in the warmth until the next time. We drink freshly squeezed juices immediately after their preparation.
• Cook and stew vegetables without a lid so that harmful fumes of toxins do not get into the dish.
• We do not use parsley and dill stalks for food - we add only leaves.

Important! Perhaps, for cooking different products, you will need household appliances that you do not have yet, but you plan to purchase. And we will help you in choosing, because on our site of useful tips various reviews are already ready:

• How to choose a double boiler?
• Which juicer is better?
• DIY fruit and vegetable dryer.
• Rating of the best producers of pots.

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We recommend ruthlessly getting rid of dubious fruits and vegetables, regardless of the season. Rotten, damaged, unpleasant odor or its complete absence products should not be eaten. Do not rush to buy early fruits, but rather wait a bit, because health is above all!