Very few known secrets of growing products without nitrates. The rest rely only on luck, or are forced to trust farmers who grow products for sale. But nevertheless, there is an opportunity to independently reduce the level of nitrates in products growing on beds.
How dangerous are nitrates in products?
By saying nitrates, we mean the salt of nitric acid, it gets into fresh vegetables and fruits directly from the garden, penetrating them through the ground. Almost every fruit or vegetable has its own share of nitrate. Without them, the plant simply can not develop normally, the presence of nitrate in it is provided by nature itself. They appear in it necessarily, even if fertilizers containing nitrogen were not used during cultivation. In any case, the products will contain it.
Nitrates are safe for health only if they enter the body in limited quantities. If the use of nitrates is greatly exceeded, there is a risk of weakening the immune system, and also begins provocation of a malignant tumor, including in the gastrointestinal tract.
Which products contain the largest amount of nitrates?
As a rule, fruits and vegetables grown in greenhouses or greenhouses contain the greatest amount of nitrates. Leading in this list are root crops and salads from leaves. For example, cabbage, eggplant, watermelon, cucumber, carrot, beet, radish. It is in these plants that the greatest amount of nitrates is contained, especially in cuttings and at the base of the fetus.
Some unscrupulous producers consciously repeatedly exceed all permissible fertilizer application rates during cultivation. For example, when growing watermelons to accelerate their maturation, they inject the fruit directly into the fetus, injecting into it a prohibitive amount of a solution of all kinds of chemistry. That's why you should not buy very ripe watermelons, which appeared on sale suspiciously early( early-mid-August).
To determine the exact amount of nitrate in the product, you will need a special device - a nitrate meter.
How to get rid of nitrates in vegetables and other foods?
To begin with, you will not be able to completely rid the food of nitrates. You can only reduce their number to a minimum. To do this, you need to thoroughly wash the products before use, and also peel off the fruit and vegetables. It is also necessary to remove the bases, since this is the place of the greatest accumulation of nitrates. As for cabbage, it is necessary to completely remove her stump. Greens should be separated from the stems, since only leaves are suitable and useful for food.
Also, the amount of nitrates decreases when cooking products, but this reduces a significant proportion of vitamins and nutrients. It is worth buying products only where you are used to and are confident in their quality and freshness. Do not hesitate to ask for a quality certificate for the product if it arouses suspicion. In them you will find the amount of nitrates present in this product.
What to do if you poison with nitrates
If you still have a lot of nitrates by the will of the case, then you can minimize the risk of their impact on the body with products containing vitamins A, E and C. They are found in products such as sauerkraut, bananas, apples and all citrus fruits. Therefore, in the summer, in the period of fruits and vegetables, use as much as possible products containing these vitamins.
When consuming substandard products that have not been properly controlled( for example, watermelons sold on collapsed roads) nitrates can get into your stomach so much that obvious signs of poisoning( nausea, diarrhea, weakness) will appear. In this case, it is necessary to immediately call an ambulance, and before its arrival take measures to remove the poison from the body: try to induce vomiting, then take adsorptive drugs( for example, activated charcoal at the rate of 1 tablet per 10 kilograms of body weight, washed down with a largethe amount of water, or polysorb: 1 teaspoon of powder stir in a glass of water and drink).