Fresh Food

By Ginny Clark

We all know fresh food is good for you - or is it? New studies reveal that produce is not as power-packed as it used to be...

Isn't it wonderful to eat juicy sweet strawberries in the bitter cold of winter?
To scoop out the tasty green flesh of a ripe avocado on the greyest of Scottish days?

In our continual quest to fulfill the healthy-eating mantra - eat five portions of fruit and vegetables every day - we are hugely grateful for the scientific progress that allows us to eat anything, anywhere, anytime.

But what if this progress was actually destroying the very nutrients we think we are absorbing?

The fact is that food is not what it used to be. Mineral - and possibly vitamin - levels in our veggies have fallen by staggering percentages. Compared to 50 years ago, spinach has 60 per cent less iron and broccoli has 75 per cent less calcium.

Surprised? Perhaps we shouldn't be. Having variety and easy availability has made it simpler for us to adjust our diets and keep them interesting. No longer limited by seasons or borders, we have chemicals to protect and speed growth, the fuel to regulate false climates - and the fastest planes and refrigerated trucks to bring us what we may be missing from our own shores.

But it is this rush to produce which is probably responsible for the nutrient crash. The use of fertilisers and pesticides stimulate a faster growth rate, but this speed means there isn't the same amount of time for absorption of minerals. And completely new varieties have been bred more for they way they will look on a supermarket shelf than for their nutritional value.

Where there is some debate, however, is whether vitamin levels are being affected to the same degree. One study, carried out a few years ago by David Thomas for the British Food Journal, focuses on the mineral reductions.

Taking agricultural practices into account, it suggested that the mineral content in fruit and vegetables and the effect on human health be investigated.

In the US, meanwhile, there is even more worrying evidence. Nutritionist Alex Jack compared the latest published nutrient rates in the Department of Agriculture (USDA) food tables to figures in an old USDA handbook and was astonished by how far some levels had fallen.

Since 1975, he noted a 50 per cent drop in calcium in broccoli (consistent with our 50-year 75 per cent figure) and an 88 per cent drop in the iron from watercress. He also found was a definite drop in vitamin levels, with cauliflower 40 per cent down in vitamin C.

Jack took his finding to the authorities, but they were rebutted by claims that the ways of measuring had changed and that the sampling might not be consistent - ie. the inedible part of a plant may be used for comparison. Jack refused to be put off, however, and with the help of magazine Organic Gardening, examined other yearly rates to see if there was a definite pattern of reduction. There was.

Vitamin C levels, in particular, had dropped in a number of vegetables and some fruits, such as apples. Vitamin A had also dropped in a number of leafy green vegetables.

Conversely, a rise in Vitamin A in carrots and pumpkins was noted. CLEARLY, more research is needed. But, in the meantime, what can we do to ensure that we and our families are getting the nutrition we need to stay healthy?

In the US, the National Academy of Sciences has issued an alert that twice the usual intake of vegetables is required to reach your recommended intake of Vitamin A. This comes from a country where the daily recommendations already exceed ours - Americans are advised to eat three to five portions of vegetables a day plus two to four pieces of fruit.

So where does that leave us Brits and our combined five-piece total? UK nutritionists say some people may want to discuss the possibility of a vitamin or mineral supplement with their GP. Unless we have a health problem, we should still be able to get the nutrition we need from eating a balanced diet.

Yet whether we opt for organic or not, we must still learn to cook our produce in such a way that we get the most value from every bite. Perhaps we should also remember that mantra - and that the five pieces of fruit and veg is only a MINIMUM.

(c) Scottish Daily Record & Sunday Mail Ltd, 2001.

Sources: SCOTTISH DAILY RECORD 19/09/2001 P13 REUTERS Business Briefing , 9-20-2001

Comment:

For more than three decades Dr.Kwasniewski has been warning of the above. Eating twice as much of vegetables means consuming copious amounts of fiber. This, as biochemistry textbooks are advising, means increased load on our digestive system - we do not have enzymes required for digestion of fiber. The body is then required to simply push volumes of undigested food irritating the internal walls of the intestines. It has been known for some time that fiber really does not protect from the bowel cancer. In fact, fiber consumed in larger quantities has proved to contribute to the development of the bowel cancer. So, should we now eat even more of it ??

It has been known for decades that the Optimal Nutrition provides a relief from various health problems related to the digestive system including Lesniewski-Crohn's disease stomach and duodenal ulcers, irritable bowel syndrome, heartburn etc ...