12 July 2025

Experts told how not to get poisoned by watermelons in Odesa

(Photo collage: Intent)

The watermelon season in Odesa has already started, and it's time to listen to and analyze popular stereotypes about this fruit.

Watermelons are often the cause of poisoning, so Accent figured out how to prevent it.

Anastasia Neklyudova, an infectious disease doctor, noted that nitrates are often cited as the main cause of watermelon poisoning. Nitrates are fertilizers, but watermelons are not a product where nitrates accumulate in critical doses. However, nitrates can turn into nitrites, which oxidize iron and can affect hemoglobin in the blood.

"Most of the poisonings that people associate with watermelons are common food poisoning. Why watermelons? Because they are eaten for dessert, and people are used to associating poisoning with what they ate last. Instead, some infectious agents, such as salmonella, can multiply in the body for several days before they start poisoning it," the doctor noted.

Кирило Бойко

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