Source: China's micro platform for science popularization
Expert in this article: Wang Silu, national secondary public nutritionist, internal auditor of HACCP food system of the People's Republic of China
Reviewed by: Liu Shaowei, Deputy Director and Professor of the Food and Drug Administration Research Center of East China University of Science and Technology, Ph.D. in Food Science of Pennsylvania State University, and postdoctoral candidate of Kansas State University
Recently, the cucumbers we often eat have made headlines in major media.
A video about "Toxoplasma gondii in cucumber" was forwarded one after another. The video showed that someone observed the juice of cucumber from a microscope and found that there were many Toxoplasma gondii in it. It also said that this parasite could not be killed at a high temperature of 260 degrees Celsius, and it also told everyone that only supplement mineral selenium could resist them.
As soon as the news came out, it caused panic among many people. Is that really the case? Come and uncover the truth with the small editor!
Do vegetables and fruits such as cucumber contain Toxoplasma gondii?
Toxoplasma gondii, also known as "three necropsies", is a common obligate intracellular parasite with great harm. Once it enters the body, it is easy to enter various parts of the body along with blood circulation, and then destroy the immune function of the body.
It is worth noting that Toxoplasma gondii is a parasite that only exists in animals and has no relationship with vegetables and fruits (plants).
Basically, Toxoplasma gondii does not infect plants, so it has nothing to do with cucumbers.
The biggest possibility is that cucumbers are "infected" through water contaminated by Toxoplasma gondii, which is not the same concept as "infection". Toxoplasma gondii does not enter cucumber fruit at all, but only exists on the surface.
In other words, even if Toxoplasma gondii does exist on the epidermis, it can be removed after proper washing with running water, which is not as scary as the video said. Moreover, the high temperature of 100 ℃ is enough to kill it, not that 260 ℃ can not kill it as mentioned in the video.
Can Selenium Treat Toxoplasma Disease?
The mineral selenium is an essential mineral element for human body and plays an important role in human body, but there is no scientific basis to prove it and prevent it Toxoplasmosis There is a relationship between them, so they are not credible.
What are the "chaotic" things seen under the microscope?
Watching this video, there is something that can move under the microscope. What is the situation?
In fact, this situation is probably due to the normal activity of cell fragments in cucumber, which is called "Brownian motion" in biology and looks like a small insect moving in disorder.
Under what circumstances will you be infected with Toxoplasma gondii?
Toxoplasma gondii is a widely distributed parasite in our daily life. Once it enters the body, it is easy to pose a threat to health.
1. Generally, I ate half cooked meat infected with Toxoplasma gondii that was not completely heated.
2. Drink milk that has not been sterilized and heated at high temperature.
3. It is infected by cutting raw meat (meat infected with Toxoplasma gondii).
4. Contact with Toxoplasma gondii infected cat feces.
5. Contact with water contaminated by Toxoplasma gondii and blood of patients infected by Toxoplasma gondii.
All of the above may cause human infection with Toxoplasma gondii.
How to prevent infection in life?
1. Ensure food hygiene.
In daily life, when dealing with food materials, "raw and cooked food should be separated", meat and vegetables should be treated separately, kitchen knives and chopping boards should be "used exclusively", and raw and cooked utensils should be placed separately to avoid cross contamination.
In addition, refuse to eat meat that is not completely heated, unreliable milk (not sterilized) and raw eggs; Please choose reliable, safe and regular supermarkets and markets to buy meat.
The edible vegetables and fruits must be washed, and attention should be paid to "washing with running water" to avoid eating the fruits attached to the surface by Toxoplasma gondii.
2. Develop good personal hygiene habits.
Wash your hands before and after meals, wash frequently, change clothes frequently, ensure personal and household hygiene, and avoid being attacked by Toxoplasma gondii (parasites).
3. Care should be taken when raising cats (animals).
In the process of raising animals, attention should also be paid to scientific rejection of Toxoplasma gondii.
First of all, it is better to keep the animals indoors and avoid feeding outside; Secondly, please do not feed food that is not thoroughly cooked. In addition, do a good job of cleaning, and always disinfect properly to avoid Toxoplasma gondii infection due to raising animals.
How to choose cucumbers?
1. Look at the "thorn" to see if it is fresh.
The freshness of cucumber can be properly distinguished by observing its "thorns". Generally, the skin of fresh cucumber has thorns, which will fall off when touched lightly; If the cucumber has no thorns (without external mechanical damage) or is sparse and the fruit is soft and rotten, it indicates that the cucumber is not very fresh.
2. Recognize appearance and taste.
Cucumbers with straight, slender and even fruits have a relatively fresh and tender taste and large water content; When selecting, it is recommended not to choose the cucumber with large and empty fruit. Such cucumber usually has poor taste, dry taste and no water.
