If you are not growing your own vegetables and fruits, it is essential that you clean them thoroughly before consuming them. According to Swedish scientists, fungicides, plant growth regulators and insecticides can grow inside the bodies of the people who consume them.

Cleaning your edibles can lower the number of harmful chemicals in your body. It is still now clear how pesticides affect the human body, but those chemicals are definitely not supposed to be in our bodies.

Why you should wash your vegetables and fruits?

1. To protect your brain

Apparently, consuming fruits full of pesticides can really harm the health of humans and mammals because your system is receiving a significant amount of neurotoxins.

These neurotoxins can really harm your brain and its functions. This can lead to a chronic movement disorder such as Parkinson’s disease.

2. Decrease the Risk of Cancer

We all should be doing what we can to protect ourselves from cancer. This means that washing our eatables is part of the task. Many agents and weed killers use chemicals that have high amounts of glyphosate which is a potential cause for cancer.

Even worse, the rainwater and the air that we breathe is filled with this harmful substance. We can’t do anything about the air, but we can at least wash our veggies and fruits and control the outcome.

Another chemical that has ties to cancer is the pesticide because it has cancerogenic properties. Substances such as creosote, organochlorines, and sulfate are linked to cancer, while DDT, chlordane, and lindane can inflict a tumor.

3. Protects Your Children’s Health

Because kids are constantly evolving, it is essential that you clean their fruits properly. They shouldn’t be exposed to these dangerous chemicals such as pesticides. You can actually harm their vital organs and cause some condition.

According to a study from 2012, children who are exposed to these chemicals experience reduced cognitive function, pediatric cancer or problems with behavior as they grow up.

Another dangerous occurrence that can happen at children who are exposed to pesticides is brain cancer.

The Proper Way to Wash Pesticides Off Fruit and Vegetables

1. Use cold water

The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) claims that the best way to clean vegetables and fruits is with cold water.

Fruits like apples, plums, mangoes, grapes, peaches, pears and berries, and vegetables such as kale, spinach, okra or tomato need around three washings with cold water.

It shouldn’t take more than 1 minute of your time and you will be protected while consuming important edibles that are rich in essential nutrients.

Also, it is important to rub them thoroughly because friction and cold water clean the peel of the fruits the most effectively. If you want to be completely safe, you can get a scrubbing pad or brush and clean your veggies and fruits for at least 30 seconds.

2. Salt Water Solution

To wash your fresh eatables, you can always make a salt solution which will enhance the cleaning process even more. Simply mix two teaspoons of salt with four cups of warm water.

Mix it thoroughly until it is completely dissolved. After it cools down, put your fruits and veggies in a bowl and wait for at least 30 minutes before scrubbing them.

Fruits and veggies that have soft and thin peel can be damaged by this method, so don’t use for products such as berries. For items similar to berries, simply rinse them in cold water.

3. Vinegar Soak

Another good soak method that will definitely remove any harmful chemicals from your edibles. As a substitute for vinegar, you can use the juice of a lemon. It will do a fine job of cleansing your fruits and veggies from pesticides.

To prepare it, take a bowl and fill it with four parts of water and add one part of vinegar. Place your edibles in the bowl an wait for at least 30 minutes. This method will keep your fruits fresh, so you can always do them at once after buying them.

4. Homemade Fruit and Vegetable Spray

If you simply can’t find the time for the methods mentioned above, you can make your own spray for removing pesticides that will last longer.

Combine one cup of water with a tablespoon of lemon juice, and two tablespoons of white vinegar.

Put the mixture in a spray bottle and shake it in order to mix everything thoroughly. Spray your edibles before washing and brushing them with cold water.

5. Peel and Trim

If you want to avoid brushing or rinsing you can always peel your fruits and vegetables. Of course, you can do this method for fruits and vegetables that have hard skin.

This is even a more effective way to clean your edibles, but the only problems come that you won’t be getting all of the important nutrients because, for example, a lot of the nutrients in apples are found in their skin.

6. Avoid Cleaning with Dish Soap or Bleach

The worst thing that you can do to your fruits and vegetable is to clean them with more chemicals such as soap or bleach. You actually will make things worse and you will ingest more chemicals in your body.

This is because these two chemicals can be absorbed by the pores of a fruit or vegetable and it will be even harder to clean it.

Always go for a healthier way of dealing with things and you won’t jeopardize your health. Choose at least one of these methods and protect your overall health.