Price SetNote: All prices in British Pounds"Why is it that you have to eat four carrots to get the same amount of magnesium as you would have done [with one carrot] in 1940?"
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The Illusion of Balanced DietAn article 'Changing Tastes' based on UK's 'Food National food Survey, 2000' highlights changes in British diet since the 1950s. The article acknowledges that unlike 50 years ago, in the UK today, we can choose from an enormous range of fresh and convenience foods throughout the year, but we still need to eat more fruit and vegetables. However, the article concludes the British diet today is probably as healthy as it's ever been. While all the indices highlighted in the survey seem reasonable, what is sorely missed is a mention of the declining nutrient content of our food as compared to fifty years ago and how that is impacting our health. Obtaining all your nutrients through diet alone is much more challenging now than it was 50 years ago. Modern farming practices propagate select varieties of crops and use farming techniques aimed at higher yield and economic gains, and not nutritional gains. As a result our food contains fewer nutrients these days and those are further depleted by our processing methods. So even if you are one of the 24 percent of UK's population classified as 'Traditional cooking enthusiasts' by www.food.gov.uk's Consumer Attitudes Survey, 2007, chances are you could still be at risk of developing some form of mineral deficiency. The Missing Minerals and VitaminsKushi Institute, a Massachusetts-based natural health institute, analyzed the nutrient levels in food by studying the USDA nutrient data from 1975 and 1997, and they uncovered a similar trend. The average mineral levels in 12 fresh vegetables had declined—calcium levels had dropped 27 percent, iron levels had dropped 37 percent, vitamin A levels, 21 percent; and vitamin C levels, 30 percent. USDA figures also corroborate the decline in mineral and vitamin content of several fruits and vegetables between 1963 and 1992. (See Table 1) Table1: Mineral decreases in fruits and vegetables from 1963-1992: In 2000, 'Organic Magazine' compared nutrient values of foods as listed by the USDA in 2000 with those listed in 1963. Vitamin A in some vegetables such as carrots seemed to have actually increased, along with some minerals. But nearly all other fruits and vegetables showed large decreases in many nutrients. Here is a sample of the decline they found:
This is troubling news for people who are trying to eat a balanced diet. Even healthy foods—fresh fruits and vegetables—may not be as healthy as they once were. Who is to blame?The author of the British study (Historical Changes in the Mineral Content of Fruits and Vegetables), Anne-Marie Mayer, now at Cornell University, says, "Changes in agricultural practice could have contributed to the decline for instance, soil compaction, use of agricultural chemicals, disruption of soil life, or lack of organic matter." Dr David Thomas, a US-based nutritionist, believes that modern horticulture methods together with new varieties of crop, longer storage times and long-distance transport have caused changes in the nutritional value of the foods we eat. Some of the specific reasons include: 1) Soil Erosion due to Over-farming 2) Soil Nutrition Depletion due to Over-fertilising 3) Desire for Better-looking Food Donald Davis, a senior researcher at the University of Texas, who was studying the disappearing nutrients from 43 common fruits and vegetables over 50 to 70 years, found that the higher-yielding the crop, the less is the amount of cancer-fighting phytonutrients in it. Food scientists are just beginning to understand how valuable these phytonutrients actually are. Davis says: "We can only guess what the loss of these from high-yield farming will mean to the health of the consumer." 4) Preferences for Exotic varieties While there is no real evidence yet that eating locally farmed food is better for you, however, there are many reasons to believe that locally grown food (foods produced within 100 miles of your homes) might be better for you than produce purchased in the supermarket. Being in transit or cold-stored for days affects not only the taste of your food, but the nutritional value of the food also declines. 5) Reliance on Convenience Foods Refining and processing of grains and other foodstuffs typically results in loss of 70% or more of the magnesium content (as well as other nutrients). The conversion of wheat into flour results in a loss of 82% of magnesium. Refining rice into polished rice sacrifices 83% of the magnesium. Milling corn into corn starch loses 98% of the magnesium. When soy beans are cooked, they lose 69% of their magnesium. Quick-cooking oatmeal provides only about 15% of the magnesium obtained from the slow-cooking cereal. Why do I need to care?The FSA Eatwell Plate launched in 2007, is split into five segments to represent the five food groups and advises that over 33 percent our diet should consist of fruits and vegetables. How many people do you know that eat that percentage of fruits and vegetables daily? Sam Montel, the online nutrition expert with www.eatwell.gov.uk notes that eating habits of our population have changed. Meat and dairy products, bread and potatoes continue to be important even if, for some of us, they now tend to be in the form of hamburgers and frozen chips rather than the traditional roast beef and boiled potatoes. Children, aged 4 to 18, drink two-thirds more fizzy drinks than milk (National Diet and Nutrition Survey). Many children today are getting a high proportion of their energy from sugar, and some of this is down to soft drinks. As early as in 1930s, scientists had warned that declining nutrient levels of our food would lead to a rise in chronic, degenerative diseases like heart disease, cancer and adult onset diabetes. In 1996, UDSC released a study that correlated decrease in minerals in food to health issues prevalent today. (See Table 3) Table 3: Mineral Deficiencies Associated with Disease How to make up for lost vitamins and minerals1) Opt for locally grown organic food. 2) Take vitamin and mineral supplements.
References
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