Nitrate from fertilisers (together with pesticides) in lettuce, rocket and other leaves harms the people who eat them.

Original statement

شويه نترات في اسمده شويه مبيدات حضرتك بيخشوا لك مع الخص والجرجير مع الكونروف مع الورق مع البتاع

verbatim according to source. Translation by the project; the Arabic wording is authoritative.

Translation

Nitrate from fertilisers (together with pesticides) in lettuce, rocket and other leaves harms the people who eat them.

Origin

Source status

Video transcript (own words)

Attribution

Elawady (machine transcript)

Video

Dr Diaa Al Awady د ضياء العوضي is live! شريحة في الدماغ (Open source)

Published

1 February 2026

Timestamp

0:58:14 (location in the original video’s automatic YouTube caption track; confirms where the words occur, not who speaks)

Attribution uncertainty

Archive transcript (YouTube captions or AI-generated); wording may contain transcription errors; no timestamps available.

Claimed mechanism

Fertiliser nitrate accumulates in leaves.

Claimed health effect

Toxic effects, methaemoglobinaemia ('green man').

Population concerned

Everyone

Geographic restriction by Elawady

none found

Diverging source versions

Scientific assessment

Mostly false – Essential parts of the statement are not supported by the evidence or are strongly exaggerated.

Certainty of evidence: low – Further research is likely to change the assessment considerably.

1. What was claimed?

Fertiliser nitrate in greens harms consumers.

2. What is demonstrably correct?

Leafy greens such as rocket, lettuce and spinach accumulate nitrate, influenced by fertilisation and light; nitrite/nitrate poisoning causing methaemoglobinaemia exists (mainly from contaminated water or infant feeding).

3. What is wrong or exaggerated?

For adults, vegetable nitrate is converted to nitric oxide and lowers blood pressure in trials (Siervo 2013). The EU regulates maximum levels; exceeding a limit is not the same as harm.

4. What remains unclear?

Long-term effects of high vegetable nitrate intake on hard outcomes are not established in RCTs.

5. Which studies support it?

None for adults.

6. Which studies contradict it?

Siervo 2013; Aune 2017 (green leafy vegetables inversely associated with CVD).

7. What applies to Germany and Europe?

Regulated by EU Reg. 2023/915.

8. What is known about Egypt?

Egyptian nitrate monitoring data were not found.

9. What practical conclusion is appropriate?

Normal consumption of leafy greens is not a nitrate risk for adults; infants are a special case.

Assessment details

Rationale for certainty of evidence

For adults, RCTs show that dietary nitrate lowers systolic blood pressure (-4.4 mm Hg, short-term trials); nitrate levels in leafy vegetables are regulated in the EU. Long-term outcome data and the debate about nitrosamine formation (mainly from processed meat) keep certainty low.

Source quality

Machine transcript; mixes fertiliser nitrate, pesticides and a clinical case of nitrite poisoning.

Regional transferability

EU maximum levels exist (e.g. fresh spinach 3,500 mg/kg; rocket 6,000-7,000 mg/kg; lettuce 2,000-5,000 mg/kg depending on type and season). Egyptian levels were not reviewed.

Individual exceptions

Young infants (see C-VEG-07).

Regional scope of the claim

general (biological/medical)

Last reviewed

25 October 2026 provisional

In plain language

Elawady said that fertiliser nitrates and pesticides enter the body with lettuce and rocket. Leafy vegetables do contain nitrate, and the EU sets limits for it. In adults, nitrate from vegetables is turned into a substance that relaxes blood vessels, and trials show a small drop in blood pressure. The real risk applies to very young babies.

Studies on this claim

Regional context

Germany / EU

Regulated by EU Reg. 2023/915.

Egypt

Egyptian nitrate monitoring data were not found.

• Food-safety governance and official controls
• Pesticide residues in fruit and vegetables on the EU/German market (incl. imports from Egypt)
• Pesticide residues in produce sold on the Egyptian domestic market
• Antibiotic (veterinary drug) residues in poultry meat and eggs
• Antimicrobial use in food animals and antibiotic growth promoters
• Hormones in poultry, meat, milk and farmed fish
• Dioxins, PCBs and PFAS in eggs and other animal foods
• Aflatoxin M1 in milk and dairy products
• Aflatoxins in groundnuts (peanuts)
• Heavy metals in fish
• Farmed fish (aquaculture): drugs, water source and controls
• Nitrate in leafy vegetables
• Microbiological safety of fresh produce, herbs and spices
• Import controls and the meaning of RASFF notifications for Egyptian products

What applies in my country?

General scientific assessment

Mostly false For adults, vegetable nitrate is not shown to be harmful and may lower blood pressure.

The following areas of food safety are relevant to this statement:

• Pesticides and pesticide residues
• Veterinary medicines and antibiotics
• Hormonal growth promoters
• Contaminants (heavy metals, PFAS, PCBs, dioxins, nitrate)
• Pathogens (Salmonella, Campylobacter, etc.)

Eggs · Poultry · Dairy · Fish and seafood · Red meat · Fruit and vegetables

Limits: legal rules describe what is allowed, not what every single food contains. Measurement data come from samples and are meaningful only together with their method details.

Country of residence or purchase Compare with another country

References

1. Inorganic nitrate and beetroot juice supplementation reduces blood pressure in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis.. Siervo M et al.. J Nutr 2013 · PMID 23596162 · DOI 10.3945/jn.112.170233
2. Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/915 on maximum levels for certain contaminants in food (Annex I, section 6.1 Nitrates). European Commission. Official document 2023
3. Fruit and vegetable intake and the risk of cardiovascular disease, total cancer and all-cause mortality-a systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of prospective studies.. Aune D et al.. Int J Epidemiol 2017 · PMID 28338764 · DOI 10.1093/ije/dyw319
4. Methemoglobinemia caused by the ingestion of courgette soup given in order to resolve constipation in two formula-fed infants.. Savino F et al.. Ann Nutr Metab 2006 · PMID 16809905 · DOI 10.1159/000094301