You do everything to maintain a healthy lifestyle: eat clean, exercise regularly and avoid prescription drugs with their possible side effects. But what if I told you those drugs may be right there in the vegetables you eat?
That’s right; prescription drugs can find their way from medicine cabinets to the crops we consume. How does this happen? Water scarcity has pushed many metropolitan areas to use reclaimed wastewater for activities such as watering golf courses, landscaping, and even crop irrigation. Wastewater often contains traces of prescription drugs, either from daily use or disposal of unused medications. Some traces of these drugs can survive the wastewater treatment process and end up in our crops.
How do we know it’s real?
Researchers from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Hadassah Medical Center confirmed that produce irrigated with wastewater contains traces of prescription drugs, specifically carbamazepine—a drug used to treat seizures. They conducted a study involving 34 individuals divided into two groups: one group ate wastewater-treated produce, while the other consumed freshwater-treated produce. After one week, urine tests revealed significantly higher concentrations of carbamazepine in those eating wastewater-treated produce.
Potential dangers?
Carbamazepine comes with common side effects like dizziness, drowsiness, nausea, vomiting, or loss of balance. However, more severe side effects include blurred or double vision, involuntary eye movements, lupus-like syndrome, or toxic epidermal necrolysis (a disorder that makes you prone to infection).
You may consume lower doses of these prescription drugs through your vegetables compared to taking a pill. However, long-term, low-grade exposure through our daily diet can still be a cause for concern.
What about organic produce?
Unfortunately, even organic produce can be treated with wastewater. This is especially prevalent in drought-stricken California, where a significant portion of the country’s produce is grown. So what can you do to ensure your vegetables are free from prescription drugs?
- Start your own garden: Grow your vegetables in a raised bed filled with clean, organic soil, and irrigate with a fresh water source. This offers you full control over the conditions under which your produce is grown.
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Get to know your local growers: Talk to local farmers and gardeners to learn about their water sources and farming practices.
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Regular detox cleansing: Consider undergoing regular detox cleanses to mitigate your exposure to prescription drugs traces in your food and overall health.
In conclusion, though we may not yet have control over the public water supply, we still have options to minimize our exposure to prescription drugs found in vegetables. Maintaining good personal health includes being aware of the hidden dangers in our food and taking informed steps to minimize our risk.
