There might be steroids in the fruits & vegetables you eat
We must include fruits in our diet as they are an excellent source of vitamin A and C, and having them in our diet generally keeps us away from many chronic diseases. WHO recommends having five servings of fruits and vegetables every day for a healthy life. The quality of fruits and vegetables depends on how they are ripened and harvested. The process of fruit ripening is long and in this long process, the fruit becomes soft, changes its colour, and develops an aroma and a flavour naturally. Sadly, sometimes due to high demand, or to save time and money, these fruits are forced to grow fast, unnaturally, and untimely by injecting chemicals and steroids. The difference between artificially ripened fruits and naturally ripened fruits is that artificial ones are only ripe from the skin and stay raw on the inside, while natural ones are completely ripe throughout. The chemical commonly used in the artificial ripening of fruits is Ethephon that disrupts the organic balance of nutrients and vitamins according to an article by DownToEarth. Arsenic, phosphorus, and industrial-grade calcium carbide can also be traced in fruits and vegetables. These elements can cause symptoms like ulcers of the skin, mouth and throat, vomiting, diarrhoea, everlasting eyesight loss, sore throat and abdomen pain according to the article. Generally fruits and vegetables spend a long time in travel and harvesting them when entirely ripe would lead most of them to decay before reaching to us. However, this does not mean that steroids are absolutely necessary in the process and we should find healthy alternatives to it.