It is time we recognize that when it comes to sanitation and safety, what really matters most is what we put inside our bodies. Sometimes we get distracted on keeping the external part of ourselves clean that we neglect the importance of internal contamination which has more detrimental consequences to our health. We need to be more aware of the importance of what we choose to eat and drink which can nourish or damage our body
and well being.
The fruits and vegetables we eat usually contains sanitizing solutions such as chlorinated compounds and organic acids. Studies have proven that washing them with tap water is not enough to completely wash the pesticide residues away. These disinfectants have negative environmental effect and produce long term harmful health effects. Studies have shown that chlorine-based sanitizers can form potentially harmful disinfection by-products (DBPs) such as trihalomethanes, which could also be carcinogens. Animal laboratory experiments has shown these DBPs can cause cancer, reproductive and developmental problems. This is an alarming concern that lead researchers to consider electrolyzed water as a more safe, relatively less expensive and environmentally friendly alternative to traditional disinfectants used in the food industry.
Here are some great examples to show how effective electrolyzed water can be in the food industry. One study showed that electrolyzed water could eliminate the most commonly used pesticides which includes – Acephate, Omethoate and Dimethyl Dichloroviny Phosphate (DDVP). This study was done using spinach, cabbage and leeks which all showed that the level of pesticide residue decreased with prolonged immersion in electrolyzed water. After 30 minutes of immersing the vegetables in electrolyzed water, the acephate residues decreased to 74-86%, the omethoate residues was minimized to 62-75% and the DDVP residues was eliminated by 60%. Numerous similar studies have concluded that electrolyte water is efficacious in eliminating the residues of pesticides.
Even better is that studies demonstrated that adding electrolyzed water did not alter the Vitamin C and nutrient content of the vegetables and fruits in the process. Other similar researches was done using tomatoes, alfalfa seeds, sprout, cucumber and strawberry which consistently showed the same positive results.
The electrolyzed water works by combining a high available chlorine concentration and a high positive oxidation-reduction potential (ORP). The effect of electrolyzed water on pathogens was documented using a transmission electron microscopy (TEM) that allows us to get a high resolution image of the molecular structures. It showed that when the pathogens were exposed to electrolyzed water their outer walls become wrinkled and their
internal components change thus making the pathogens easier to penetrate and kill.
Many studies have been done showing time and again the effectiveness of electrolyzed water against numerous food-borne pathogens. The use of electrolyzed water to wash the fruits and vegetables is a proven and powerful way of getting rid of the pesticide residues in your food and ensuring it is safe to consume.
Now it is up to us to care and do something about about what we put inside our body. One way is by simply washing our food with electrolyzed water we could be rest assured that there wont be any significant pesticide residues and bacterial pathogens in them.
Written by: Karina Del Mundo