Don't eat these 5 kinds of vegetables raw, be careful of parasites! Here's a trick to teach you how to wash vegetables properly →

When it comes to parasitic infections, many people know that eating undercooked animal meat may cause parasitic infections;

Every year, many people become infected with parasites from eating raw shrimp, fish, crab, snail and other aquatic products.

But many people don’t know that eating certain types of vegetables raw may also cause parasite infection!

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What's going on? There are several possible reasons.

One is that parasites and vegetables live in the same environment, and parasites or insect eggs are attached to the vegetables.

Second, vegetables are contaminated by parasites or insect eggs during the process of fertilization, irrigation, and spraying of pesticides;

Vegetables irrigated with human and animal manure are particularly susceptible to contamination by parasites and insect eggs.

Third, during the storage and transportation process, vegetables are easily contaminated by parasites from other vegetables due to collision and bumping with other vegetables.

Vegetables that are attached with parasites or insect eggs must be rinsed with clean water before eating, and it is best to cook them before eating.

Let’s take a look at five vegetables that are easily attached with parasites or insect eggs!

01

These 4 common vegetables are prone to parasites

Water chestnuts , also known as water caltrops, have a crisp texture and sweet taste. They can be used in cooking or making desserts. Many people have been eating them since childhood.

Water chestnuts are refreshing and delicious. They can be eaten as vegetables or made into traditional Chinese medicine.

The nutritional value of wild rice is very high. It is a vegetable that is high in carbohydrates, protein, water and low in calories, and is often used as a weight loss food.

Lotus root is a common ingredient on our table. It can be stir-fried, stewed, or steamed.

The common feature of the above four vegetables is that they are all common aquatic plants that grow in moist underground swamps or paddy fields.

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Fresh water chestnuts and water caltrops have a short shelf life and are crisp, sweet and juicy when eaten raw;

Therefore, many people often choose to eat it raw as soon as it is picked or purchased.

So the question is, eating water chestnuts, radishes, wild rice stems, and lotus roots raw will increase the risk of infection with Fasciola brucei!

The final host of Fasciola brucei is mammals such as pigs. The eggs are excreted through pig feces. If the eggs contaminate water sources, they can develop into miracidia in the water.

After the miracidia encounter the intermediate host snail, they develop into cercariae inside the snail. The cercariae then escape from the snail body and attach to aquatic plants such as water chestnuts, horns, wild rice stems, and lotus roots, forming metacercariae on the surface.

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When the metacercariae of Fasciola busulinae are accidentally ingested by the human body, the cyst wall is digested by gastric juice, and the larvae will parasitize in the small intestine. After 1 to 3 months, they will develop into adults and cause Fasciola spp.

It causes inflammation, bleeding, ulcers or abscesses in the intestinal mucosa, leading to abdominal pain, diarrhea, loss of appetite and other symptoms in the infected person;

In the later stages, edema and ascites may occur. In severe cases, malnutrition may occur, affecting growth and development, and even death.

Infection in children may also affect their physical and intellectual development.

Therefore, it is recommended not to eat water chestnuts, horns, wild rice stems, and lotus roots raw, and not to bite the skin with your teeth.

Someone asked, is it okay to soak it in salt water?

Salt water cannot kill the Budejovian ginger worm. The best way to kill insects is high temperature.

Because the metacercariae of the ginger worm cannot withstand high temperatures, they will die if boiled in boiling water for 1 minute.

Therefore, it is best to wash water chestnuts thoroughly before eating them, peel them, and boil them in boiling water for more than 1 minute before eating.

Water chestnuts can also be eaten after being steamed or boiled, peeled and cooked, or made into porridge, or crushed into a paste to make water chestnut cake.

02

Water celery and Fasciola hepatica

The celery we often buy in the vegetable market is mainly the dry celery grown in the dry land in the north. There is also a kind of celery family called water celery;

Water celery mainly grows in rivers, paddy fields or in moist, loose and fertile soil in the south.

A large trematode belonging to the same Fasciola family as Fasciola busulina is called Fasciola hepatica.

Adult fascioliasis worms live in the bile ducts of cattle, sheep, and other mammals.

However, their intermediate hosts include snails and aquatic plants, and the metacercariae of Fasciola hepatica may be attached to the surface of water celery;

If we do not wash water celery thoroughly after picking it, or eat it without frying it, we may be infected with Fasciola hepatica.

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After the liver fluke metacercariae are accidentally ingested by the human body, they will pass through the small intestine, invade the liver from the abdominal cavity, and move into the bile duct. They can also enter the bile duct through the mesenteric vein or lymphatic duct, causing liver fluke disease.

Infection with Fasciola hepatica can cause liver diseases such as chronic cirrhosis, liver fibrosis, and portal hypertension.

These illnesses can be especially harmful to children, as they can cause symptoms such as jaundice, bloating, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, and weight loss.

During the migration process, Fasciola hepatica can also stay in various related organs such as the lungs, brain, eye sockets, and subcutaneous areas to parasitize ectopically, causing great harm;

They can parasitize the human body for up to 12 to 13 years.

Therefore, before eating water celery, we must clean the dirt on the surface and make sure it is fried before eating.

03

How to wash and cook vegetables correctly?

The vegetables you buy, no matter if they have a lot of dirt on them or look very clean to the naked eye, should be carefully rinsed several times with running water before eating, and it is recommended to wash them repeatedly.

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Because it is inevitable that parasites and insect eggs will attach to these vegetables, and they cannot be seen with the naked eye, but if they enter the human body, it will be a big trouble.

Repeated rinsing with running water can wash away most of the parasites and eggs.

Summer is coming, and it is the season to eat aquatic plants such as water chestnuts, horns, wild rice stems, lotus roots, and water celery, but we must never eat them raw.

These parasites are basically afraid of high temperatures, so they must be fried, boiled, or steamed before being eaten, and there is no need to worry about the risk of parasitic infection.

Author｜Zeng Xinyue Popular Science Creator

Review｜Han Hongwei, Researcher at the National Food Safety Risk Assessment Center

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