Dietician explains why it is crucial to rinse fruits and veggies with just water

People have been advising kids and adults for ages to wash their fruits before they can eat them. There are several reasons why people should do the same but many believe it is to get rid of pesticides and make the fruit “healthier.” There are ample ways people have come up with to properly wash fruits and vegetables using vinegar, salt, hot water and whatnot. However, Nichole (@oncology.nutrition.rd), an oncology dietician revealed that washing the eatables does not affect pesticides. She stressed the need to rinse fruits and vegetables but mentioned that the same is to be done for a simple and different reason. 

The woman received a question about whether rinsing the items can reduce the risk of cancer via the consumption of pesticides. Nichole responded saying, “You’re washing your fruits and veggies to get rid of the bacteria, not the herbicides and pesticides.” She added that the pesticides present in the same are generally at safe levels. Revealing a more rumored myth, the dietician mentioned that even organic fruits and vegetables contain pesticides and that there is not much of a difference. “Organics is marketing. It’s like a big gaslight,” she remarked. She explained that the term “organic” simply referred to an alternative farming method and did not mean that the items were safer, healthier or nutrient-dense. 

“Even the person who coined the term organics said that this isn’t about food safety, it’s just a different type of farming,” she mentioned. Nichole highlighted that even organic products use similar pesticides and elements as regular fruits and vegetables. Coming to another myth, Nichole pointed out that one needs nothing but running water to wash their food items. “You don’t need sprays, bleaches, vinegar and things like that,” she said. She suggested avoiding putting fruits and vegetables in the sink as they have more risk of contracting added bacteria from the sink.

“Just rinse them under running water, I know it seems too good to be true but just eat your fruits and vegetables,” she said. In conclusion, she added, “You don’t need to worry about the pesticides, just rinse them and eat them.” In her caption, the dietician mentioned that an easy way to reduce cancer risk is to simply rinse and eat regular fruits and vegetables. People still had divided views about Nichole’s recommendations. Some were relieved to hear that they don’t need the extra shenanigans of excessively washing fruits and veggies.

However, others were bent against her due to their own observations and learnings. @paulmacz asked, “Pesticides are at safe levels, what about ingesting them over 20 to 30 years?” @desi_ wrote, “Organic produce tastes better than conventional. It must be better, I'm buying organic.” @thebirdie.boutique exclaimed, “Thank you for this! I really thought I needed all those fancy sprays to clean my fruits and vegetables.” @samivi99 added, “I’ve been soaking them in vinegar water because they seem to last longer.” @i_am_skarie wrote, “Organic food is not gaslighting. You need to be worried about pesticides in the US.” @healty_happy_loved said, “This is good information, all of these are correct.”

You can follow Nichole (@oncology.nutrition.rd) on TikTok for more content on health and lifestyle