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Farming out Nutrition
Often, we hear the words “you don’t need to take vitamins and minerals if you have a healthy, balanced diet”. This seems like a perfectly reasonable statement, but just what is a healthy balanced diet and just what is in our food?
With rising obesity and chronic diseases in our society, much of it preventable with simple nutrition, it is obvious people are perhaps not getting the nutrition they should. In fact, we live in an age where many are over-fed but under-nourished leading them to a state of “malnutrition” previously thought of as a third world disease.
Many people eat a diet low in fresh fruits and vegetables and even then those we are eating have been found to be low in nutrients, compared to what they used to be.
A noticeable decrease in the levels of nutrients in foods over the last 60 years has been observed in the British Government’s Composition of Food tables, over a 50 year period from the 1940’s to 1991, when investigated and analysed by British researcher and nutritionist David Thomas. They compare and contrast the mineral content of a variety of vegetables, fruits, cuts of meat and some dairy products.
Significant decreases in their mineral levels were noted, sometimes as much as 70 percent. Sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium, phosphorus, iron, copper, nitrogen and chlorine were the main minerals assayed, based on each foods source, preparation (whole/peeled/with leaves) and condition (raw/cooked) being the same.
Even here in Australia, Victoria’s Director of Public Health, Dr. John Catford has reported that at least 10 percent of the total burden of disease in Australia is attributable to nutrition.
The Journal of the American Medical Association in 2002, reported that suboptimal folic acid levels, along with suboptimal levels of vitamins B6 and B12, are risk factors for cardiovascular disease and neural tube defects. “It seems prudent for all adults to take vitamin supplements,” the researchers concluded.
A 2003 report by Dr. Jeffrey Blumberg of the USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University and Dr. David Heber of the UCLA Center for Human Nutrition concluded that daily multivitamin use is likely to be a cost effective way to reduce the health risks posed by suboptimal intake of micronutrients.
The Harvard School of Public Health, declared in 2005: “While most people get enough vitamins to avoid the classic deficiency diseases, relatively few get enough of five key vitamins that may be important in preventing several chronic disease: folic acid, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, vitamin D and vitamin E”.
But why is it happening? Much of this nutrient shortfall has been attributed to the increased industrialisation of both animal and plant farming practices. Many animals are raised in intensive “factory farming” situations such as feed-lots, pens and battery cages, where they can’t exercise, see sunlight or eat their natural diet. Cows are bred and fed to produce far more milk for human consumption, than a calf would ever consume, putting a huge strain of their bodies. Chickens are bred to reach adult slaughter weight within 42 days rather than 140 days in a natural bird.
Fruit and vegetables are majorly depleted and may be up to 46% lower in Calcium, 27% lower in Iron and 24% lower in Magnesium, in general. The reasoning for this has been attributed to things such as mineral depletion in the soil, use of commercial NPK fertilisers, low microflora in the soil, storage and transport of produce but even down to our own preparation and cooking methods. In fact the only mineral that has increased over this time is Phosphorus, thought to be due to the use of these fertilizers.
Food is not eaten fresh and is sometimes stored for up to 12 months and transported many kilometers. Crops are not rotated and fields are not left fallow or replenished with good organic matter these days. Vegetables and fruit are the best indicators of nutrient depletion in the soils, as if the minerals are not there, they are simply not available to be incorporated into the plants structure. Then you’ve also got the problem of contamination from herbicides, fungicides, pesticides, antibiotics and hormones.
It would seem we need to maximize our nutrients from food. Organically grown foods generally tend to be higher in nutrient content, and should always be the first choice. Sub-clinical nutrient deficiencies are probably more common than we might imagine. This is perhaps one reason something as simple as the over 65’s using a multivitamin-mineral daily, in one study, reaped beneficial results.
We must also take into account the decreasing efficiency of a digestive process to extract nutrients from our food and that begins at about 50.
Though many of the study’s conducted to compare nutrient values in organic versus conventionally produced food have not been conducted in true scientific manner, there does seem to be consistency in higher vitamin C levels in organic foods. The Organic Retailers and Growers Association of Australia conducted a nutritional study in 1999, and found significant differences in nutrient levels in three supermarket and organically grown vegetables. Sometimes the organic variety had up to 12 times more nutrient.
Minerals such as zinc, copper and magnesium are essential for proper enzyme functioning in the body – magnesium is involved in over 300 enzyme reactions and zinc is required for over 200 - and we all know of the necessity of adequate Calcium for healthy bones and teeth. There is a growing body of evidence that minerals play a major role in our physical and physiological well-being.
It has been noted that dietary magnesium has declined from around 500mg in 1900 to about 183mg in 1990, barely meeting the 300-400mg RDI – the minimum we need to prevent deficiency. This has been attributed to the over-processing of food and lack of fresh food, as magnesium is higher in unrefined grains and plant foods. Magnesium is rarely added back to the soils in modern synthetic fertilizers, so it can hardly be high in foods in the first place.
So what can we do? Obviously it is a good idea to support organic farming practices of both animals and plants and seek out these foods. Local weekend markets are a great place to find affordable fresh organic fruits and vegetables and health food stores and now some supermarkets, sell organic breads, teas, nuts, needs, dried fruits and packaged foods. Some supermarket chains are now stocking organic chicken and meats but there are butchers popping up all over the place now selling ethically and environmentally sustainable organic or free range meat.
If you support organic farming practices and food production methods, your money is also helping to support the environment, with less fossil fuels burned in transport and less pesticides and synthetic fertilizers being used on our earth.
Admittedly for some this way of eating is unaffordable or not available, but they can try to buy locally produced, fresh and in-season food that has not been in storage or transported and use a multi vitamin-mineral to make up for some of the shortfall. And what about the good old vegie garden out the back?! It’s been lost over the years but many in their 30’s or older will remember their parents or grandparents having a garden for growing food! Admittedly water is an issue at the present time, but why not grow a few things - even some tomatoes, strawberries and herbs in pots if you only have a small space?
Remember, we are all one with the earth and you are what you eat!
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