Nitrate/Virginality
Nitrates occur in water, meat, cheese and various vegetables. It’s not a harmful mineral. However, the body can convert nitrate into nitrite, which is poisonous in high concentrations. Only a very small fraction (about 5 per cent of the nitrate intake) will be converted to nitrite by the bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract.
Bloods capacity to transport oxygen through or body can be harmed by consuming high amounts of nitrate. These amounts will cause the production of methemoglobins.
Virginality indicates how protected a water is from its surroundings. It is determined by the water’s level of nitrate, an inorganic compound made up of one nitrogen atom and three oxygen atoms. Nitrate is easily carried through soil by water. The substance can leach into the ground below the root zone through heavy rainfall or irrigation, and it may subsequently find its way into groundwater.
Distillation, reverse osmosis, and ion exchange can each remove nitrate from water; several manufacturers offer equipment to apply these techniques to home drinking water. Standard water softeners or filters, including carbon adsorption filters, do not remove nitrate. Boiling water actually increases the concentration of nitrate.
The World Health Organization recommends that exposure to nitrate should not exceed 50 mg/l for short periods. In the United States, drinking water may not contain more than 10 mg/l of nitrate, a level determined by a study in 1951 of infants suffering from blue baby syndrome. The Virginality of bottled water can be classified as follows:
- Superior: 0 to 1 mg/l
- Very Good: 1 to 4 mg/l
- Good: 4 to 7 mg/l
- Acceptable: 7 to 10 mg/l
- Potable: 10 to 50 mg/l
