Adherents of a healthy lifestyle are supposed to eat natural products of plant origin. But imported vegetables and fruits are more frightening than attractive. Here is a life hacker to protect yourself from toxins and get the maximum benefit from your fruits and vegetables.
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How fruits and vegetables are processed
Not all regions can boast of bountiful harvests, and therefore fruits and vegetables are supplied from abroad, especially in the cold season. However, because the shelf life of organic products is short, they must be treated to ensure their safety during transportation.
- Paraffin and wax coat the fruit to give it a glossy shine and increase shelf life.
- Diphenyl is injected with paper in which citrus fruits are wrapped. This refined product is considered a carcinogen.
- Fruits are treated with methyl bromide and fungicides to kill pests and molds.
- Dried fruits are placed in sulfur dioxide to increase the shelf life and give it a presentation.
- Pesticides are added at the stage of fruit ripening to get rid of insects and fungi. They are toxic and can accumulate in the human body, causing irreversible effects.
- Nitrates are used to fertilize the soil and accelerate plant growth. They are stored in fruits and other parts of plants. For humans, nitrates are dangerous, and in large doses, they are fatal.
How to neutralize fruits and vegetables
General rules
You cannot scrub delicate salad and prickly cucumber with one brush; each product has its own subtleties of cleaning. There are, nevertheless, universal standards for good hygiene.
- Any fruits and vegetables can be rinsed in cold running water. This advises even the US Food and Drug Administration.
- Wash the fruit just before eating. During processing, the outer layer is damaged, and the product starts to deteriorate.
How to wash fruits
- Wash glossy and slippery fruits from wax with a brush and soap in cold running water.
- It is recommended to scald citrus fruits with boiling water: hot water will not damage their dense skin but will neutralize surface preservatives.
Wash even those fruits that you intend to peel before eating. Surface dirt can get onto the pulp through your hands.
- The grapes will benefit from a thorough wash. Divide the brush into small bunches for convenience, and after water procedures, dry in a colander.
- Wash the pineapple without peeling the leaves with a brush and soap.
- With watermelon, be especially careful; they lie directly on the ground during the ripening process.
- If you are allergic, soak any fruit in cold water for an hour.
- Rinse the dried fruits in cold water, and then pour them over with boiling water to get rid of preservatives, which unscrupulous manufacturers do not skimp on.
How to wash vegetables
- If you find yellow spots under the skin when cutting a cucumber, potato, or zucchini, discard the vegetable. Such traces indicate an increased content of nitrates.
- Remember that the most harmful substances are in the upper and lower parts of the fruit, upper leaves, stumps, and peel. Remove or trim them before consuming.
- Remove the core of carrots; additionally, they also accumulate toxins.
- Root crops (radishes, turnips, potatoes, and others) should be cleaned of soil residues. To do this, soak them in warm water for 10-15 minutes, and then rub them thoroughly with a brush.
- For onions, first cut off the bottom, peel the vegetable from the husk, and then rinse in cold running water.
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- White cabbage is usually not washed, but the top dirty and lethargic leaves are removed, and the stalk is cut.
- Peel lettuce, parsley, green onions, dill from the roots, and withered stems, and then fill a large container with cold water and rinse the leaves from sand and dust in it.
Adapted and translated by The Cop Cart Staff
Sources: Life hacker