Autumn abundance of vegetables and fruits allows us to revise the usual diet in the direction of increasing the consumption of gifts of nature. Assorted fruits and fresh vegetable salad are tasty and healthy, but do not forget that these vitamin dishes may contain nitrates.
Nitrates are salts of nitric acid extracted by plants from the soil during growth. These salts are absolutely harmless, but only until they get into our body. Once inside, harmless nitrates in vegetables turn into extremely unsafe nitrites that can block cellular respiration. Most nitrates are found in early vegetables and early greens, because an increased rate of nitrogen-based fertilizers applied to the soil is used to accelerate ripening. It should be borne in mind that the nitrate content in vegetables grown in hotbeds is usually higher than in those grown in open ground.
Size is important! Most nitrates can be found in beets, radishes and cabbage. Least of all salts of nitrogen are found in eggplant, bell pepper, tomatoes, green peas and garlic. The size of the fetus is directly proportional to the
nitrate content
. Nitrates in ripe vegetables are less abundant than in unripe ones. Heat treatment can significantly reduce their number. A thorough washing of the fruit reduces nitrates in vegetables by 10 - 15%. During the heat treatment of potatoes, up to 50 percent of nitrates are in the broth, the same thing happens with beets, carrots, and cabbage. Frying reduces nitrates in vegetables by 15 percent, and frying in deep fat - by 60. But steaming is the champion for the destruction of nitrates!
Canned and salted vegetables have a lower nitrate level compared to fresh fruits. The fermentation process allows to reduce their content by 2-3 times. But fresh vegetable juices are characterized by even higher levels of nitrogen salts than the original root crops.
Forewarned is forearmed!
- Peeling of any root crops by half reduces the content of nitrogen salts.
- Cabbage stalk, covering sheets and thickened leaf veins are to be removed.
- The core of the carrot contains the highest amount of nitrates; carrot should also be cut from the ends.
- Boiled beets must be previously peeled, peeled and tip.
- The tops of zucchini and cucumbers contain the least amount of nitrates, and the stalks - the largest.
- Leek accumulates nitrates below, in the white part of the vegetable.
- Soaked, pre-washed greens, peeled from stems, also has a reduced level of nitrates.
- An elongated radish contains more nitrogen salts than a round radish.
- Early watermelons ripen early due to the large amount of fertilizer applied to the soil. When eating these berries, it is better to refrain from carefully eating slices.
- Storing fruits and vegetables at the right temperature (for example, in the refrigerator) also helps prevent the conversion of nitrates to hazardous nitrites. Spoiled, rotten fruits should not be eaten in any case!
The nitrate tester solves the above problem best! This small-sized meter of nitrates in vegetables allows you to measure their level in fresh fruits. All you need to do is pierce the peel of the fetus with a tester. The numbers of nitrate content in the test vegetable will be displayed on the color display. In addition, in the memory of the device contains standards for the content of nitrates for 30 types of fruits.