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Health Articles > Declining Nutrition in Food
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Declining Nutrition in FoodDeclining Nutrition in Food……. by John Arts
I have long said that there are 2 main reasons for taking a good nutritional supplement. The first is that some health problems readily respond to taking nutrients at levels higher than you could get from even the best food. The second is that the nutrient value of food has steadily fallen and is our discussion today.
An article titled “Declining Fruit and Vegetable Nutrient Composition: What is the Evidence?” appeared in HortScience (Feb 2009). The report covered many aspects of food nutrient levels but mentioned clear evidence linking falling nutrient levels to modern agricultural practices.
Evidence showed a clear relationship between modern fertiliser use, crop yield and mineral levels. Without a doubt crop yields have increased by using fertilizers and high yielding varieties but as crop yields increased there was a corresponding drop in mineral levels. This was referred to as the “dilution effect”. The study commented that today’s vegetables are larger but contain more carbohydrates but less vitamins and minerals.
Take a new variety potato- it may be bigger but has the same amount of minerals as the older smaller potatoes. Of course we do not compensate by eating twice the amounts; we just get fewer nutrients. Nutrients are in fact being diluted in large higher yielding varieties. The study authors said "when breeders select for high yield, they are, in effect, selecting mostly for high carbohydrate with no assurance that dozens of other nutrients and thousands of phytochemicals will all increase in proportion to yield."
A really telling comparison was made in a side by side planting of broccoli and grain. The lower yielding older varieties and higher yielding newer varieties were planted alongside each other in the same soil. The results were the same. The newer varieties had up to 40% lower levels of minerals.
The other interesting point was that newer varieties grow so much faster and are in the ground for shorter periods. This shorter growing time limits the uptake of minerals from the soil. Less time growing means fewer nutrients.
The report also commented that modern fertilisers are high in NPK (nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium) and it is especially the high amounts of potassium that can interfere with the plant’s ability to take up nutrients.
As with all information it is only of value when we apply it and here there are two appropriate responses. The first is that we need to eat even more fruit and vegetables. Maybe the 7 servings is too low or we need to double the serving sizes. What I do is to pretty much fill my dinner plate with vegetables (excluding high starch foods like potatoes) and then add a small amount of protein.
The second piece of advice is to use a good quality multi mineral supplement as it is the minerals that are at greatest risk from declining nutrient values in our food. The better mineral supplements are chelated which means they are bonded to amino acids. It is best when supplements combine these essential minerals with the most important vitamins and antioxidants.
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