Fruits come in different types of natural and sweet flavors and unlike artificial candy and other types of sweets, fruits supply us with a lot of important nutrients and vitamins. But, not all fruit we eat is healthy and a lot of the fruits we eat on the daily are actually brushed with the same ingredient motor oil is made of and when ingested, this substance can have a devastating impact on our overall health and well-being.
Fruits Are Being Covered with a Dangerous Wax
According to The Hearty Soul, a lot of farmers and manufacturers cover their products with a wax coating with the goal to preserve them. First, they eliminate the natural wax through washing and then they coat the apple or orange with the petroleum-based wax. They assert that this wax is pivotal for preservation of the fruit and for averting fungus and bacteria and it is also a way to make the fruit more color-rich and to appear attractive to the customers. But, do fruits really need this substance?
The controversy regarding the substances used for the making of this wax has been present for some time now, mostly because of the fact that wax is not a food ingredient so companies do not need to be open about the ingredients which they make it with. Some of the known ingredients found in these waxes are common allergens like dairy, soy, and gluten, as well as preservatives and fungicides. Others have artificial colors and dyes which have been associated with a higher chance of cancer.
How to Minimize Your Exposure to the Wax
Even though conventional waxes for coating fruits have harmful ingredients, there are a lot of manufacturers that have turned to all-natural coating wax, for example, Syncera and Tal-Prolong. These natural variants are made of ingredients like wood resin, beeswax, and carnauba wax and are free of fungicides, preservatives, and petroleum ingredients.
If you want to avoid eating fruits that contain these types of coatings, you should buy fruits locally and when in season to decrease the chance of the produce containing preservatives and other questionable ingredients. Also, you can always ask the seller about the origin of the fruits they are selling.
Do not forget to check out the video below to learn how to find out if the apples or oranges you have been buying contain a harmful coating wax:
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