How to get rid of chemicals in vegetables and fruits. Spring protection of garden plants from pests and diseases

We know from childhood that vegetables and fruits are of great benefit to our health. Moms and grandmothers were forced to eat carrots for "eyes" and fruits, as a source of all vitamins.

All this is certainly true, but there is one condition if these miraculous vegetables and fruits do not do more harm than good.

We are talking about pesticides and nitrates that come to our table through the gifts of nature, which we buy in the market or in the store. Every year, the amount of plant food without harmful chemical trace elements decreases.

Even if you grow cucumbers and potatoes in your garden, there is a high chance of encountering nitrates and pesticides.

Today we will talk about the dangers of nitrates in vegetables and fruits and how to get rid of them in order to avoid harm to health.

Nitrates are nothing more than salts of nitric acid. For growth and development, plants take a large amount of nitrates from the soil fertilized with chemistry. Nitrates artificially added to the ground are also absorbed by plants, but are not used in the metabolic process, but remain unchanged.

In part, the human body is able to remove nitrates naturally, but some of the harmful substances still remain and interact with our cells and with other chemical compounds that enter from the external environment. By other chemical compounds, we mean: pesticides, medicinal substances, chemical compounds coming from water and air into our body.

Nitrates turn into nitrites, and they just have a detrimental effect on human health. The fact is that nitrates under the action of an enzyme called nitrate reductase are converted into nitrites.

Nitrite is a toxic substance for hemoglobin, which in turn carries oxygen to the cells of the body. Nitrites act on hemoglobin to convert it to methemoglobin. As a result, oxygen does not enter each cell at the proper level, and carbon dioxide is not removed from it.

If the allowable amount of nitrites within 0.2 mg/kg of body weight arrives, approximately 2% of methemoglobin is formed, and another reductase enzyme is able to convert it back to normal hemoglobin. The only exception is babies. For young children, the intake of nitrites is much less.

With such imperceptible poisoning in the human body, metabolic processes fail:

1. The development of anemia of varying severity.
2. Memory impairment and intellectual decline.
3. Reducing the body's resistance to microorganisms and viruses.
4. Damage to the mucous membrane of the stomach and intestines, which leads to inflammatory processes and exacerbations.
5. Violation of the balance of microflora in the small and large intestines with the subsequent development of dysbacteriosis.
6. Settling in the body of harmful fungi and the development of candidiasis.
7. Damage to the liver parenchyma with the possible development of liver failure.
8. Violation of the vasomotor center with a tendency to lower blood pressure.
9. Decreased humoral immunity and increased likelihood of developing malignant neoplasms.

Of course, all these conditions can appear for other reasons, and are not isolated, but nitrates can accelerate their manifestation.

• spinach;
• parsley;
• radish;
• dill;
• Chinese cabbage;
• green onions;
• beet;
• celery.

These products contain about 4000 microns/kg of nitrates. As a rule, they are the first to appear in early spring on store shelves and on the market. In order to please buyers with bright greenery on March 8, manufacturers do not spare fertilizers and chemicals, thinking about their own benefit and not thinking about our health, because early greenery is expensive and promises good earnings.

In second place with a content of up to 1500 mg / kg are such plants:

• early white cabbage;
• radish;
• swede;
• root celery;
• rhubarb;
• cauliflower;
• broccoli;
• horseradish.

In third place and the average amount of nitrates are the following products with an average content of up to 700 mg / kg of nitrates:

• zucchini;
• pumpkin;
• cucumbers;
• sorrel;
• early carrots;
• late autumn cabbage;
• leek;
• squash.

The smallest amount of the nitro group from the soil is obtained by such products:

• tomatoes;
• Bell pepper;
• potato;
• late carrot;
• peas;
• garlic;
• onion.

But how can we, ordinary buyers, determine whether there is an excess of nitrates in the purchased product or not?

There are several valid methods.

Portable nitrate testers. It should be noted that such a device is not cheap, but it is possible to determine the content of harmful substances without leaving the counter.

Test strips. It acts like a litmus test that changes color depending on the content of nitrates in the product. You can arrange a test at home, just by attaching a tester to a cut vegetable or fruit.

And finally, there is another way based on the observation of experienced chefs and vegetable growers:

1. Perfect appearance in color and shape. If all the apples on the counter look like the picture without a flaw and with a uniform color, there is a high probability that such miracle apples are saturated with nitrates.
2. Unripe seeds and lack of rich sweet taste, such as in watermelons and melons, with an ideal bright color and aroma.
3. Yellowing of the outer surface on cucumbers and their rapid withering.
4. Hard whitish-gray streaks in the tomato flesh and a relatively light middle in relation to the peel.
5. Unnaturally long stems and the same unnatural green color. Fast rotting greens at room temperature.
6. Oversized carrots. Light stem and pale color of the vegetable itself.
7. Fragile lettuce leaves with brownish tips.
8. Lack of sweet taste in fruits and grapes. Too big.
9. Friability of potatoes. In the absence of nitrates, the potato is elastic and makes a crunch when pressed with a fingernail.

What are pesticides and their effect on the body

Pesticides are chemical compounds that have been used in agriculture since the early twentieth century. Growers of vegetables and fruits fight pests and diseases, weeds and other plant scourges in order to increase yields and productivity.

Pesticides are a generic name for a group of substances:

• herbicides - substances that destroy weeds in the fields;
• insecticides - substances that kill insects;
• fungicides - substances that destroy harmful fungi;
• zoocides - exterminators of harmful warm-blooded animals.

Most pesticides are designed to kill their targets, but some can cause inability to reproduce and grow. Pesticides are able to penetrate into all plant tissues and cause the desired effect, this is a systemic effect.

The use of pesticides forces agricultural workers exclusively for commercial purposes and is aimed at achieving extremely simple indicators.

Namely, stability in the environment, high yields, increased ability to store vegetables and fruits in long-term transportation.

But, unfortunately, against the background of these beneficial properties, pesticides neutralize other equally important plant indicators. With the constant and uncontrolled use of pesticides, the useful composition of vegetables and fruits decreases, the level of vitamins and microelements inevitably falls, and most importantly, the safety for human consumption of products decreases.

However, one should not think that pesticides are pure evil, of course not. At the beginning of the twentieth century, when the first chemicals began their fight against pests and deadly disease-carrying insects, it saved the lives of millions of people.

But over time, the uncontrolled use of pesticides by agricultural workers and owners of private household plots has led to the fact that harmful substances simply did not have time to be processed into simple components, and this began to harm the environment and human health.

Thus, pesticides are divided by chemical composition into inorganic and organic substances. Organic pesticides are used most often and they are called:

1. Phosphorus organic.
2. Chloroorganic.
3. organometallic.
4. Alkaloids (in particular nicotinic derivatives and neonicotinoids).

Above all, pesticides have a deadly effect on many animals and birds. Birds are particularly affected by these poisons. Pesticides affect the processes of calcium metabolism, and this affects the condition of the egg shell. Some pesticides have the ability to drift. So traces of DDT were found in the body of Antarctic penguins, and there pesticides were not used at all.

Pesticides are found in us, not only in vegetables and fruits, but also in water, and, accordingly, in fish and algae.

Scientists still found out how pesticides common in the environment affect human health:

1. Certain levels of pesticides in the blood cause tissues to stop responding to insulin, which in turn leads to type 2 diabetes. These harmful compounds tend to accumulate in adipose tissue. Some types of chemicals disrupt metabolic processes at all levels and lead to obesity. The body is not able to regulate the production of hormones and normalize metabolism.
2. Pesticides can cause malignant neoplasms of the blood and lymph, brain, breast, thyroid, lung and intestinal cancer.
3. The effect on the fetus is expressed in the occurrence of lung diseases in children in the postnatal period.
4. Authoritative scientific researchers in the US and Canada have proven that pesticides found in vegetables and fruits cause hyperactivity syndrome in children. In addition, pesticides are also to blame for the violation of the nervous system and the manifestation of autism in children, for the first years of their lives.
5. Poisonous substances designed to kill weeds and insects increase the risk of Parkinson's disease by several times. Approximately seven million people worldwide suffer from this disease. This applies to both agricultural workers and those who like to poison beetles in their garden.
6. Some experts believe that pesticides will manifest themselves in the future in a permanent violation of the reproductive system, both men and women. The number of miscarriages and congenital deformities will increase. The inability of women to fertilize, and the male body will be deprived of the hormone testosterone. Children who are conceived during the period of active use of pesticides will increase the number of children born with congenital anomalies.

It takes a very small amount of pesticides in the eaten vegetable to get poisoned. Among all people, there are categories that can be especially susceptible to this. These are, first of all, small children, pregnant women, elderly people.

A special category includes people who already have diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, the immune system, or serious disorders of the hematopoietic system. Also, do not forget about people who are in direct contact with pesticides and nitrates due to their work responsibilities. These are employees of warehouses and shops, agricultural workers caring for plants.

But even in ordinary life, it is enough to consume at least a kilogram of vegetables or fruits saturated with chemicals to get poisoned.

Symptoms of poisoning:

1. Unusual or diviant behavior - if a person screams, shows aggression, or vice versa, fell into a stupor, etc.
2. Nausea and vomiting.
3. Pain in the abdomen, in the region of the pancreas.
4. Headache or dizziness.
5. Decreased performance and severe weakness.
6. Drowsiness or agitation.
7. Staggering gait, loss of orientation.
8. A sharp drop in blood pressure.
9. Paleness of the skin and cyanosis in the area of ​​the nasolabial triangle, fingertips.
10. Yellowness of the whites of the eyes and skin.
11. Loss of consciousness, convulsions.
12. Diarrhea.

If you notice similar signs in yourself or your loved ones, and the symptoms may be combined, or only one of them may appear. Immediately call an ambulance or take the victim to the nearest hospital. Before receiving qualified assistance and the arrival of an ambulance, you can independently perform several important actions to save a person.

1. First, gastric lavage. This can be done by giving several glasses of salted water and inducing a gag reflex from the root of the tongue.
2. Secondly, dilute magnesia powder for oral administration in a glass. This substance has a high osmotic pressure and causes diarrhea. Be aware that oral magnesia has an extremely unpleasant taste.
3. Give sorbent if possible. It can be ordinary black or white activated carbon, Atoxil, Enterosgel.
4. If a person is unconscious, lay him with raised legs on his side, so that in case of vomiting, to prevent aspiration of vomit.

How to get rid of pesticides and nitrates

How to get rid of chemistry in vegetables and fruits, if it is present there, in order to prevent poisoning.

It is important to understand that thanks to the systemic and widespread use of pesticides and nitrates, literally every vegetable or fruit that hits your table has one or another degree of contamination. The exception is not even made up of products grown in their own garden. The only difference is that people who grow their vegetables know when and what they add to the ground, or how they water the plants.

The rest of the consumers can only blindly rely on the integrity of sellers and manufacturers, on whom it is better not to rely. And yet, following some rules, you can get rid of nitrates and pesticides in fruits and vegetables and reduce the concentration of harmful substances in products.

But each type of vegetables and fruits in its own way specifically accumulates substances harmful to us in different parts of the plant, and therefore they must be cleaned in different ways.

Potato

Drain the first water after boiling the potatoes, pour clean water again and continue cooking. Good for peeling.

Cabbage

In any type of cabbage, the main part of nitrates is collected in the upper leaves and stalk. Remove the topmost leaves and do not eat the stalk.

Tomatoes

In this vegetable, the coarser and thicker the peel, the more it is stuffed with harmful substances. Do not buy unripe vegetables with a yellow tint. Put the tomatoes in cold water for an hour.

Zucchini, cucumbers and eggplants

Cut off the "butt" and peel and stalks of these vegetables - this is the most dangerous place for pesticides to accumulate.

On each side, additionally cut off one centimeter of the vegetable. Soak in cold water for thirty minutes.

Parsley, dill, lettuce

The maximum accumulation of chemistry in the veins and petioles, they must be removed. Soak in lightly salted water or soda solution for forty minutes.

Wash well, but rather soak for thirty minutes in water. For better storage, grapes are treated with fungicidal solutions.

Pears and apples

If the fruits are sticky and unpleasant to the touch, then they must be treated with diphenyl. This is a substance to prevent rotting of fruit. Wash under running warm water with a brush, but rather cut off the peel.

By the way, difinil has long been banned by WHO - the World Health Organization, as a dangerous carcinogen.

Large berries cut in half for convenience can become a source of microbial infection. In its composition, watermelon contains the maximum amount of glucose, and this, in turn, is an excellent nutrient medium for many bacteria.

Yellow streaks in the pulp of a watermelon indicate an overabundance of fertilizers in it. Do a simple and quick test. Place a piece of watermelon pulp in a glass of cold water. If the water has become just cloudy - everything is in order, but if the water in the glass has changed its color, be sure that there are pesticides.

Carrots, beets, radishes

Early radishes contain the highest levels of pesticides of any vegetable. Just that, we buy first of all, in early spring. Cut off the ends and tops of the radishes.

Beets with twisted ends are likely to have a lot of chemicals that can do a lot of harm. For beets and carrots, be sure to cut off at least one centimeter from the tip and the greenish stalk.

Getting rid of chemistry in vegetables and fruits - useful tips

Any vegetables and fruits get rid of harmful impurities if they are soaked in water.

And proper heat treatment, halves the risk of eating a serving of nitrates. Place vegetables in boiling water without salt, then after a few minutes add salt and drain. At the same time, 80% of pesticides go away, but vitamins also go with them.

Choose vegetables that grow in your climate zone.

All foreign and exotic fruits are simply stuffed with chemistry. Manufacturers are forced to do this, otherwise they simply would not have arrived in their original form.

In European countries and in Asian countries, chemicals do not hesitate to add to the ground and water the plants with an extremely large amount of preservative fertilizers and other chemicals.

The dirtiest plants come to us from Turkey, Holland and Egypt. In these countries, the sun is bright, but the soil is very infertile.

Conclusion

Fruits, vegetables, greens, root vegetables - all this is an integral part of the diet of all people who want to be healthy and beautiful. But, as you know, when there is demand, there will be supply, so farmers try to grow plants as much as possible and spend as little money as possible and lose goods. As a result, we suffer.

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In the season of mass harvesting of fruits and vegetables, their consumption increases sharply. And we are always afraid of the threat of poisoning. Or, at best, a disorder of the stomach associated with the ingestion of dysentery sticks or an excessive content of nitrates and nitrites, especially in vegetables. In the first case, you can avoid health troubles and thoroughly wash your hands and vegetables, but with nitrates, the situation is more complicated. Even vegetables grown in your own garden can be high in nitrates. This is due to improper use of fertilizers. Even such organic fertilizer as bird droppings can become a source of nitrate increase if it is abused and the dosage is not observed, because this is an organic fertilizer with a high nitrogen content. Nitrogen fertilizers must be applied together with potash and phosphorus, then their effect will be balanced. The introduction of microelements, such as silicon, cobalt, manganese and others, reduces the deposition of nitrates in plants. You can replenish the soil with microelements by introducing ash into it, which contains all the components necessary for the transformation of nitrates.

And yet it’s good if all the vegetables are homemade from our garden, and we can say with confidence that there are no excess nitrates in them, but we grow them for our own use, and we cannot risk our health. It’s another matter if some vegetables don’t grow in our garden or don’t grow for some reason, then we also go to the market.

There are a lot of products on the market grown specifically for sale, during the cultivation of which the planters spared no effort to bring in a huge amount of saltpeter. You know that saltpeter is a mineral fertilizer containing nitrogen, which causes intensive plant growth. In addition, there are many other drugs that help to accelerate the formation of the ovary, the growth of fruits and accelerate their ripening and even regulate the color of vegetables and fruits. All these drugs, in excess of the permissible norms of use, have a very negative effect on the human body. In addition, products manufactured using chemical plant protection products against diseases in unacceptable periods also lead to serious poisoning.

Fruits and vegetables removed from the plant still remain living organisms and vital processes take place in them. However, after harvesting, processes with the decay of organic substances are more observed in vegetables. Vegetables contain up to 90% of water and therefore, with the evaporation of water from them, losses in the mass and appearance of vegetables are associated, and the more they contain nitrates and other chemical compounds, the faster they deteriorate, become stained and rot. It should be noted that in vegetable products there is a possibility of the presence of nitrates, but apples, plums, raspberries and other fruits are not subject to the accumulation of nitrates.

It is possible to recognize the increased content of nitrates in vegetables only with the help of a special device, but since the devices are made in China, they are tuned to certain indicators of the norms of nitrates in vegetables. Sometimes the quality of vegetable products can be determined by their appearance. Vegetables with an excess of nitrates are not stored well, we observe not only a change in the color of the fruit, but also the aroma, they quickly lose their appearance and, of course, quality. They become soft, with a jelly-like pulp and, of course, their taste qualities deteriorate. When purchasing vegetables, preference should be given to vegetables grown in the open field. High temperature when growing vegetables in greenhouses and insufficient supply of fresh air, lack of ventilation contributes to the accumulation of nitrates in vegetables. Therefore, even in the conditions of home greenhouses and hotbeds on warm days, it is imperative to open transoms and frames for ventilation. Inadequate lighting leads to the accumulation of nitrates in the leaves and stems of plants. This happens not only in greenhouse conditions, but also in thickened plantings in open ground.

Many people are afraid to buy early vegetables and especially watermelons because of the threat of poisoning with nitrates and other substances. How to reduce the content of nitrates in vegetables at home? If, when buying vegetables, you are not sure that they have passed sanitary control to detect nitrates, then vegetables such as cabbage, beets, carrots and should be boiled in plenty of water. Before cooking, peel the vegetables and leave them in cold water for 1-2 hours. Moreover, it should be noted that the smaller the vegetables are cut, the better they are freed from nitrates.

An effective method of getting rid of nitrates is pickling with vinegar. Experts conducted a study that in pickled cucumbers, after a day, the nitrate content decreased to 21% of the original content. After seven days, there were no nitrates in canned cucumbers at all. This method of reducing the nitrate content can be applied to tomatoes.

The amount of nitrates is greatly reduced in an acidic environment, when pickling and pickling vegetables. Least of all nitrates in salted cucumbers, but with long-term storage, the amount of nitrates increases again. Nitrates are well destroyed in sauerkraut, they are not detected already after the first ten days after pickling.

You need to know that nitrates are unevenly distributed in vegetables. For example, in potatoes and cucumbers, they accumulate most close to the surface of the peel. Therefore, if the vegetables are not from the home garden and there is no confidence in their quality, fresh cucumbers must be peeled, the middle must be cut out of the tomatoes before use, and the peel of the potatoes must be removed with a thicker layer. But in cabbage and carrots, nitrates accumulate inside. Therefore, if earlier, when pickling cabbage, the stalks were eaten raw, they were tasty and sweet, but now it’s better, even if the cabbage is homemade, not to use the stump and the leaves adjacent to it. For carrots, try not to use the core. In onions, nitrates accumulate in the upper and lower parts of the bulb; in watermelon, nitrates are distributed evenly throughout the fruit.

The good quality of vegetables is that they can be stored for a long time, during long storage they almost completely lose nitrates, although, of course, vitamins are also mostly lost.

Increased doses of nitrates can contain vegetables grown in winter and early vegetables grown in greenhouses, because all the evaporation from the soil has no way out and settles on the plants. Vegetables such as lettuce, spinach, radishes, green onions and others are best kept for two hours in cold water, changing it several times. Harmful compounds will be released into the water. These vegetables should only be stored in the refrigerator.

It is believed that the critical dose of nitrates is 5 mg per kilogram of human weight, in order to obtain such a dose, one kilogram of spinach, five kilograms of green onions must be consumed at a time.

Another way to neutralize the effects of nitrates is to consume large amounts of vitamins. It has been established that it is vitamin C and, to some extent, vitamins E and A that are inhibitors that inhibit and prevent the processes of converting nitrates into toxic compounds in our body. Therefore, it is recommended to include more vitamins and foods containing vitamins in the diet. A healthy body with good immunity will be able to resist all nitrates.

Fertilize and store properly

Can nitrates be reduced?

Follow these tips: Use microfertilizers: molybdenum reduces the content of nitrates in radish, radish and cauliflower; zinc and lithium - in potatoes, cucumbers and corn.

Store vegetables and potatoes under normal conditions (optimum storage temperature 2-5°C). In potatoes, after six months, the content of nitrates is reduced by a factor of three, in carrots - by 2.5 times. At elevated temperature and humidity, harmful nitrites can form under the action of microorganisms. This contributes to pollution and injury.

Fighting nitrates in the kitchen

Moderately but constantly

The main way to neutralize the harmfulness of nitrates is moderate but consistent consumption of vegetables throughout the year. Fruits and berries are suitable for seasonal "gluttony", but not watermelons and melons - they are prone to increased accumulation of nitrates, especially in the unripe part closer to the crust.

Do not gnaw watermelon and melon peels, as well as cabbage stalks. Nitrates are concentrated in them and 8 thickened leaf petioles.

Both beautiful and useful

Herb stalks should be discarded, using only the leaves for cooking. However, the stems can be used if they are first soaked in water.

By the way

The transition of nitrates to nitrites is facilitated by prolonged defrosting. Therefore, frozen vegetables are thawed immediately before use, or hot dishes are started without defrosting.

And you can also put the herbs like a bouquet in water in direct sunlight for 2-3 hours. During this time, the plants will almost completely convert nitrates into organic forms.

Where are nitrates hiding?

In the shell of carrots, nitrates are less than in the core, and in cucumbers and radishes, on the contrary, the peel is richer in nitrates.

In squash, zucchini and eggplant, nitrates are concentrated in the part adjacent to the stalk. In cucumbers, beets and radishes - at both ends.

All nitrates - in decoction

During cooking, potatoes lose up to 80% of nitrates, carrots and cabbage - up to 70%, beets - up to 40%. At the same time, an intensive transition of nitrates into a decoction occurs in the first 30-40 minutes.

These figures are valid if you poured the broth hot: when cooling, some of the nitrates return to the vegetables. When cooking and stewing to remove harmful substances with steam, cabbage, beets and zucchini do not need to be tightly closed with a lid.

Cooked - ate

Freshly prepared juices can become hazardous to health: nitrates in their composition turn into nitrites very quickly. Therefore, juices (especially vegetable ones) are either consumed immediately or sterilized.

Receiving anti-nitrate treatment for beets, pumpkins, zucchini - cut vegetables into small cubes and pour water at room temperature 2-3 times, keeping it in it for 5-10 minutes.

You can also not prepare salads in advance, and even more so store them in a warm place.

Useful "ascorbic"

You can also reduce the risk of nitrate consumption in the process of eating - for example, if you wash down a salad of leafy greens with any juice high in vitamin C. It has been established that ascorbic acid (vitamin C) blocks the transition of nitrates to more harmful nitrites. In salted and pickled vegetables, the content of nitrates is reduced due to their transition to brine.

Don't make an elephant out of a fly!

The destruction of nitrates by methods of intensive cooking has a downside: vegetables simultaneously lose vitamins and other useful substances. If you've put a lot of effort into getting quality vegetables, take it easy and don't get hung up on fighting nitrates. Eat stalks, green salads and petioles, enjoy pickles and brine.

Follow the growing technology and measure in food and be healthy!

How to reduce the amount of nitrates in foods - video

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It's no secret that many vegetables and fruits are treated with nitrates and pesticides. You can partially get rid of them: for this you need to properly wash and clean fruits and vegetables.

CABBAGE. The top cabbage leaves and stalk contain more nitrates than the head itself, so they should be discarded.

POTATO. In potatoes, chemistry collects under the skin and in the core of the tuber, so after the potatoes have boiled, this water must be drained.

Zucchini, CUCUMBERS, EGGLANTS. Cucumbers in color should be a soft grassy color. If they are dark green, this indicates that they were overfed with nitrates. Zucchini and eggplant need to be peeled. Cut off the stalk area - this is the most poisonous place.

GREENS, SALAD, PARSLEY, DILL. Most of all, chemistry accumulates in veins, petioles - you don’t need to eat it. Greens always absorb nitrates faster and soak for an hour in water before adding it to dishes.

TOMATOES. When choosing tomatoes, keep in mind: the thicker the peel, the more significant it contains chemistry. Do not buy orange-red tomatoes, as if unripe. Do not be shy and ask the seller to cut the tomato and if it has white flesh and thick veins, this means a high content of chemistry. And if you still come across low-quality tomatoes, hold them in cool water for about 1 hour.

GRAPE. To keep grapes for a long time, they are treated with fungicides. To get rid of this substance, wash the grapes well enough, preferably in water with soda. (In general, any fruits and vegetables are good to wash with soda!)

WATERMELONS. You should not buy watermelons cut in half and wrapped in a film - this is a good basis for the reproduction of bacteria and microbes. Watermelon has thick and yellowish veins - it means it was fertilized. You can also do a small test: put the pulp for one minute in a glass of water; the water changed color - the watermelon was fed, the water just turned cloudy - the berry is clean.

PEARS AND APPLES. When purchasing fruits, pick them up if you feel that the fruits are slippery, sticky - they are treated with diphenyl. So that they do not deteriorate and are stored for a long time. In the European Union, the USA, diphenol is prohibited due to its strong carcinogenic and allergenic properties. Biphenyl-treated fruits must be peeled.

BEET, CARROT, RADISH. A huge amount of nitrates is found in the tops and tips of root crops, trim them before use. Do not buy beets with twisted tails. In carrots, cut off 1 cm of the tail, the green parts must be cut off completely, they contain a large amount of chemicals.


It is possible to minimize the amount of chemicals used, for this, choose mainly vegetables and fruits that are grown in our country. They are many times "cleaner" than imported ones. We do not use mineral fertilizers in such quantities, for the simple reason that our producers do not have the money to buy fertilizers in such quantities, as, for example, they buy mineral fertilizers in America, Holland, the Netherlands, Turkey.

The most polluted vegetables and fruits come to us from Holland, Turkey, Israel, Egypt, they have poor land and it simply cannot give a rich harvest without a significant amount of fertilizer. And a safe amount contains chemicals in fruits and vegetables grown in the countries of the former Soviet Union, Bulgaria, Belarus, Poland.

H costs- these are salts of nitric acid, their plants absorb from the ground as a biologically necessary element. There are no vegetables without nitrates, it's all about their quantity. If a plant has accumulated a lot of nitrates, due to excessive fertilization, for example, with saltpeter, then the plant simply stores this substance.

But the main cause of poisoning with nitrates is not they, but nitrites that are converted from them in the body. Getting into the blood, nitrites lead to oxygen starvation, upset the work of the gastrointestinal tract, increase the risk of cancer.

Usually, the largest amount of nitrate accumulates in the root of the plant. The smallest, in the leaves, but in the stems of plants, compared with the leaves, nitrates are more. The skin contains 3-7 times more nitrates than the pulp of the plant. The riper the vegetable, the less nitrates it contains.

All plants differ in the ability to accumulate nitrates in themselves.
● The highest content of nitrates - 3000 mg; gourds, radishes, beets, leafy greens.
● Average content of nitrates - 400-900 mg; cabbage, cucumbers, pumpkin, carrots, zucchini.
● Low content of nitrates - 50-100 mg; berries, onions, tomatoes, fruits, legumes, potatoes, sorrel.

The norm of the content of nitrates in fruits, vegetables per 1 kg of the product.
● Parsley, dill - 1500 mg;
● Radish, lettuce, radish, sorrel, spinach - 1200 mg;
● Beets - 1400 mg;
● Potato - 120 mg;
● Cabbage, zucchini - 400 mg;
● Sweet pepper, cucumbers - 200 mg;
● Carrots, eggplants - 300 mg;
● Bulb onion, melon, - 90 mg;
● Watermelons, apples, tomatoes, pears - 60 mg.


How to choose vegetables and fruits without nitrates?
Buy vegetables only from authorized places of sale, only there you can ask for a certificate of quality for products in the store. An expert opinion of the laboratory of veterinary and sanitary examination is issued on the market, it indicates the level of nitrates in checked vegetables and herbs.

Choose only ripe vegetables, save them in the refrigerator, as nitrate levels in foods increase at room temperature. And salads prepared with early greens and vegetables should be eaten immediately, as nitric acid salts quickly multiply in them.

There are several ways to reduce the nitrate content of vegetables and herbs.
It is necessary to remove the first two, three leaves of the stalk - nitrates accumulate here most of all, then thoroughly wash the vegetables using a brush. Also, vegetables and lettuce can be washed in a soda solution: 1 tbsp. spoon per liter of water and rinse with clean water. If you soak vegetables for half an hour, then you will get rid of nitrates by 25-50%.

Carrots and cucumbers must be properly cleaned - cut off 1 cm on both sides, and cut off the base of radishes and tomatoes. For lettuce and greens, use only leaves for food, as nitrates accumulate in the stems. After cooking, it will remove another 25-50% of nitrates.

The most effective way to remove nitrates from vegetables is to boil them. Put the peeled vegetables in boiling water without salt, boil, then salt and drain the water, and only 10% of nitrates go away when frying.

Yes, there are drawbacks to these methods of getting rid of nitrates, because a certain amount of vitamins will be lost, but what if you really want fresh vegetables and herbs. Some scientists claim that nitrates in small amounts are even beneficial to health. After all, normally the human body produces 25-50% of these chemicals on its own, others come from food.

Nitrates are found in meat products, beer, water, and already in the oral cavity, under the influence of bacteria, nitrates turn into nitrites and, together with saliva, end up in the stomach. And in the stomach, nitrites are mainly not carcinogenic nitrosamines, but healthy nitric oxide - blood circulation in the stomach is normalized, protecting it from ulcers, gastritis and the influence of aggressive drugs.

Nitrates are always present in aquarium water. This is an inevitable product that appears as a result of the life of the inhabitants of the reservoir.

Organic residues, food that has fallen to the bottom, dead plant leaves - all this is processed by bacteria living in the soil.

As a result, toxic ammonia and no less toxic nitrites are released, and nitrates are formed from them.

The latter are dangerous only in case of an overabundance, if the situation is not brought under control in time. Therefore, it is important to know when it is time to sound the alarm and how to reduce nitrates in the aquarium.

Perhaps the main reason is the negligence of the owner of the aquarium, when he neglects an important rule of care and does not carry out regular water changes.

This must be done weekly, carefully collecting the remains of organic matter from the bottom with a special siphon and removing old water, about 1/4. Then it is replaced with fresh water, thereby reducing the concentration of the harmful substance.

The habit of overfeeding fish can also provoke an increase in nitrates. Remains of a diet that was not eaten on time (especially catfish tablets) should be removed immediately.

Another important factor is the overpopulation of the aquarium. If there are a lot of fish, the water is saturated with waste and harmful substances quickly enough. Some plants, including elodea and hygrophila, consume nitrates, but often natural filters cannot cope.

Can problems be avoided altogether? Of course, if there are almost no fish in a decorative pond, then there are a lot of plants. But few people like this option, so sooner or later you still have to decide how to achieve a decrease in nitrates in the aquarium.

Signs to watch out for

Water filled with nitrates will not change in appearance. But the higher the concentration, the more the inhabitants of the aquarium will suffer. Fish can become lethargic, dull, “itch” on snags and stones, immunity deteriorates, and they get sick more often.

As for plants, some shrubs, such as Cryptocorynes, will begin to shed their leaves. Other plantings will be covered with small holes, turn yellow in whole or in part. Excess nitrate provokes the development of algae.

If diseases and death of fish have already been observed, it is necessary to control the content of nitrates in the water.

Today, modern and inexpensive tests are available, they are sold in stores. They operate on the principle of litmus paper. With their help, you can monitor yourself and not puzzle over what the fish suffer from. You will have accurate readings.

Each test is accompanied by precise instructions, but in any case, the optimal content of nitrates (NO3) for most fish, with the exception of rare exotic species, is considered to be less than 20-40 mg / l.

What to do

If the test confirmed a high level of nitrate in the water, this does not mean at all that a sharp death of the inhabitants will follow. It's just time to take action.

It seems like the ideal solution would be a complete water change. And this is really effective, but it can be stressful for fish, plants and shrimp will definitely suffer. Therefore, you will have to reduce nitrates gradually.

You can act like this

1. Temporarily reduce fish feeding.

2. Solve the problem of overpopulation, if necessary.

3. Every day, carry out water changes in small portions - approximately 15%. This is the most inexpensive, affordable and effective way to reduce nitrates in an aquarium.

4. Make sure that the filter capacity is sufficient for the volume of the aquarium. No filter is an alternative to a water change, but cleansing is important too.

5. Be sure to rinse the filter (external, internal), but with one small "trick". In order not to upset the balance, it is worth using drained aquarium water for washing, beneficial bacteria will be washed under running water, which should process nitrates.

6. A faster solution would be to use aquarium chemistry. There are special liquid conditioners that can reduce the level of nitrates in the water, and at the same time get rid of green algae. They are absolutely safe for fish, but it is important to follow the instructions exactly.

The level of nitrates will not decrease immediately, it takes some time. After successful "treatment" of water, one should not forget about the causes of its intoxication and try to take into account all the dangerous factors as much as possible in the future. With proper and regular care, which, by the way, is not difficult at all, the aquarium biosystem will be able to successfully clean itself.