Nitrates in watermelon - a threat to your health!

Watermelons are able to contain a huge amount of nitrates, and in many respects it depends on the large sizes that these melons can reach . In the summer, almost all people are happy to taste luscious watermelon flesh, which is most prone to absorbing harmful substances. To protect yourself and your loved ones from possible poisoning, you should learn how to determine the number of toxic components yourself.

In themselves, nitrates in watermelon are virtually non-toxic, but nitrites are formed from them, the danger of which is that they can provoke a lack of oxygen in the blood, resulting in hypoxia. With excessive intake of nitrates in the body, the incubation period of the disease can be from 2 to 6 hours, after which the signs of acute poisoning begin to appear.

Symptoms of nitrate intoxication:

• The appearance of cyanosis of the mucous membranes, lips, face and nails;
• nausea;
• Increased salivation;
• Vomiting;
• Stomach pain;
• diarrhea;
• General weakness;
• drowsiness;
• Strong headache;
• Violation of coordination of movements.

Caution - nitrate watermelon!

In the watermelon nitrate fed with nitrates, the pulp is intensely red with a light purple hue. The fibers from the core to the crust are distinguished by yellow, while in normal condition they must be white. "Wrong" watermelon has a smooth glossy cut surface, and if you grind its flesh in a glass of water, it will turn pink or red. It should be noted that early products contain an increased amount of nitrates, so it is better to buy them in late summer or early autumn. The properties of the fetus depend not so much on the season as on the growing and watering conditions. The norm of nitrates in a watermelon should not exceed 60 mg per kilogram of product, and everything above these indicators poses a threat to human health and life.

Choose the "right" watermelon

If you knock on the crust of a normal watermelon, you can hear a small ringing, and the nitrate product produces a specific sound of a deflated rubber ball. When a healthy fetus is squeezed, characteristic crackling is heard, it has a clear bright pattern, and from one side of it is seen an earth stain. Nitrates in watermelon make its flesh glossy and too smooth, although it should normally be
Granular and sugar. A dangerous fruit often has on its crust rotten specks, which indicate that it was in these places were injected with harmful substances. Violet or yellow veins in the flesh indicate that nitrates in the watermelon far exceed the permissible standards. It should be noted that large fruits, as a rule, contain more harmful substances, so it is recommended to choose melons of medium size.

There is a great many tips how to check the watermelon on nitrates, but for this there is a special device called a nitrate meter. With the help of such a device, you can quickly and accurately determine the amount of harmful substances contained in fruits. By the way, nitrates in watermelon accumulate unevenly: their high concentration is observed under the fetal crust, so this part should be taken for analysis.