NaHCO3 Aka Baking Soda Washes All Pesticides Off Your Fruits & Veggies

Wagner83

Member
Joined
Oct 15, 2016
Messages
3,295
NaHCO3 aka Baking Soda Washes All Pesticides Off Your Fruits & Veggies | 100% Pesticide Removal From Surface - SuppVersity: Nutrition and Exercise Science for Everyone

So what should you remember? The commercial post-harvest washing with clorox-based products is "not an effective method" to remove common pesticide residues from apples. Tap water washing, as it is practiced by the majority of consumers was ineffective. Even baking soda (NaHCO3) requires time (ideally 12 min) to rid the apples of 'all' pesticide residues.

'All', in this context, refers to the residues that have not already been absorbed by the skin of the apples. If you want to remove those as well, you will have to peel the apples, which will, unfortunately, rid the fruit of its most valuable nutrients (e.g., polyphenolic compounds, fibers, pigments, vitamins, and minerals).

With 20% of the applied thiabendazole and 4.4% of the non-systemic pesticide phosmet penetrating the apple skin, even 'bicarbonate washers' will thus have to buy organic if they want to avoid any pesticide exposure (by the way with organic produce is also contaminated w/ environmental pollutants, so washing them is also mandatory | Magkos 2003). If you cannot or don't want to afford that, it may yet comfort you that NaHCO3 washing will - even if we account for the pesticides that already made it into the skin - remove 80% of the systemic pesticide thiabendzole and 95.6% of its non-systemic cousin phosmet
 

xborg

Member
Joined
Dec 17, 2017
Messages
118
Good to know. Did they do any testing with herbicide residues e.g. (glyphosate) ?
 

sladerunner69

Member
Joined
May 24, 2013
Messages
3,307
Age
31
Location
Los Angeles
What is the technique involved in washing with baking soda? Baking soda mixed with water in a bowl and letting the fruit sit there a few minutes?
 
OP
W

Wagner83

Member
Joined
Oct 15, 2016
Messages
3,295
Elephanto mentioned he uses baking soda to soak lentils, I had tried ACV, which I found to be inferior to lemon juice. When I tried the baking soda at room temperature I had issues with rancidity (judging by smell), however in the fridge it allowed me to cook the lentils much faster than with lemon juice. There were still negative effects but I'll probably experience more with it. I'm posting this here as I wonder if soaking veggies/fruits in baking soda can make them easier to digest, I had soaked bell peppers and found them to be particularly creamy after I steamed them. I haven't eaten them in a long time so perhaps steaming only would have provided the same result, but I'm curious about such experiments on veggies/fruits if you run them. I would expect some soaking time is needed to notice decent effects. I wonder if baking soda draws nutrients into the water.
 
Back
Top Bottom