How to reduce the amount of nitrates in early vegetables

With the advent of early vegetables, everyone starts talking about nitrates. In fact, when cultivating these crops, specific fertilizers are used, but if the plants are grown in industrial greenhouses, then only with the observance of technology. Large producers observe the content of nitrates in products, they are always within normal limits.

If we talk about how to reduce the content of nitrate in the consumed products, then, for example, in the root crops nitrates are collected in the lower part. Therefore, using radish and beets cut off the bottom. If it is green - here nitrates are collected in stems and veins, so it is preferable to use only leaves. For cucumbers and zucchini, peel the skin - it contains the most nitrates.

Among other things, nitrates disappear from vegetables during the period of cooking and cooking.

If the early vegetable cultures are held at a temperature of 2-3 degrees, then for 2 weeks the amount of nitrates decreases by 40%. Among other things, they disappear during pickling, pickling.

It is important to know!

Nitrates are salts of nitric acid (saltpetre), which are present in vegetables and fruits. Nitrates existed long before the appearance of man. And yet, discussions about the negative effects of nitrates on human health have not stopped until now. It must be understood that the problem is not the nitrates themselves, but the quantity that gets into the body. According to the decision of the WHO, 5 mg of nitrates per 1 kg of body weight is considered to be safe for humans. In other words, an adult can receive within 350 mg of nitrates without any negative consequences for well-being.

Plants have the ability to absorb much more nitrogen compounds from fertilized earth than they need for development. Subsequently, only a part of nitrates takes part in the synthesis of vegetable proteins, and the remaining amount of nitrates enters the body in its pure form by eating fruits, roots and leaves of vegetables. Subsequently, some nitrates are quickly removed from the body, while others form all kinds of chemical compounds. Some of these compounds are harmless and can even be useful for the body, but others turn again into nitric acid, and this process is a danger to human health. Nitrates react chemically with the hemoglobin of the blood, as a result of which the erythrocytes are deprived of the ability to saturate cells with oxygen. As a result, there is a metabolic disorder, the development of disorders of the nervous system, the weakening of the protective functions of the body. In addition to all this, nitrates lower the content of vitamins in food. Regular intake of them into the human body, including in small doses, reduces the amount of iodine, which leads to an increase in the thyroid gland. It is established that nitrates are among other things associated with an increased risk of developing gastrointestinal tract tumors and dysbiosis. Proceeding from the foregoing, it can be said that the harm of nitrates for human health is indisputable.

It is important to know, in addition, in which parts of plants nitrates accumulate the most. In cabbage, nitrates accumulate in leaves, carrots in the core, and in pepper in the upper seed. Potatoes, cucumbers and zucchini are unsafe skin, so it must be cut as thickly as possible. This is recommended to do with melons and watermelons. Favorites for the content of nitrates from vegetables - beets and radishes. In general, the security measures are as follows: all vegetables and fruits should be eaten at the maximum ripened, although the content of nitrates in dried fruits can increase several times. When cooking potatoes, the first water can be drained. Greens (dill, parsley, spinach) - before eating it is recommended to hold the hour in cool water. To minimize the harm of nitrates for health, take vitamin C and drink more tea - they remove nitrates from the body

[1], [2], [3], [4], [5]