Is Our Food Becoming Less Nutritious?

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Is Our Food Becoming Less Nutritious?

By Kimberly Beauchamp, ND

 

Healthnotes Newswire (February 17, 2007)—A

comparison of the nutrient

content of 43 different garden crops between the years

1950 and 1999

showed significant decreases in six nutrients, reports a

study in the

Journal of the American College of Nutrition

(2004;23:669–82).

 

Shifting agricultural practices over the past 50 years

have raised

the question of how food quality may have been impacted

by these

changes. A

previous comparison of food nutrient quantity in England

found an

apparent decrease in seven minerals found in fruits and

vegetables.

 

The new study compared foods such as broccoli, tomatoes,

Brussels

sprouts, strawberries, and green peppers. Different

nutrients were

compared, including calcium, iron, riboflavin, vitamin C,

niacin,

vitamin A, phosphorus, and thiamin. Amounts of protein,

carbohydrates,

fat, and calories were also compared.

 

When all of the foods were compared as a group,

significant declines

were seen between 1950 and 1999 in the amounts of

calcium,

phosphorus,

iron, riboflavin, vitamin C, and protein. Riboflavin

content showed a

dramatic 38% decrease, and calcium was significantly

decreased by

16%.

Vitamin A, thiamin, niacin, fat, and carbohydrate

contents did not

appear to change significantly over the 50-year period.

 

The authors suggested that a possible explanation for the

apparent

declines in food nutrient content might be related to

genetic

variations

among cultivated crops (cultivars). When certain

cultivars are

selected

for their disease resistance or for higher crop yields,

there may be

a

corresponding decrease in the nutrient content of the

plant. This

trade-off between different plant characteristics is

commonly seen in

agricultural practice. An example of a known nutrient

trade-off

involves

wheat crops. One study compared 14 different varieties of

wheat and

found that the varieties with higher yields also had

consistently

lower

iron and zinc levels. It is possible that cultivars

selected for

higher

yields may not be able to adequately extract soil

nutrients and

synthesize their own nutrients effectively.

 

The authors of the new study suggest that different

farming practices

such as organic growing methods are not likely to affect

the amounts

of

nutrients in plants. However, other studies indicate that

organically

grown foods may contain higher levels of certain

nutrients such as

antioxidants and minerals than conventionally grown

produce.

 

Finally, the authors suggest that eating whole

foods—those that are

not

refined and stripped of their nutritional

value—would be the best

way to

offset any potential nutrient deficits that may occur as

a result of

newer farming practices. It would also be advisable to

eat

organically

grown foods that have not been genetically engineered.

Genetically

modified plants have been altered to contain genes from

other plants

and

animals; these techniques differ from selective breeding

and

cross-pollination methods and are not natural.

 

Because of nutrient loss in food, people should consider

taking a

multivitamin-mineral supplement to compensate, even if

their diet

consists primarily of unprocessed, whole foods.

 

Kimberly Beauchamp, ND, received her bachelor's degree

from the

University of Rhode Island and her Doctorate of

Naturopathic Medicine

from Bastyr University in Kenmore, WA. She is a

co-founder and

practicing physician at South County Naturopaths, Inc.,

in Wakefield,

RI. Dr. Beauchamp teaches holistic medicine classes and

provides

consultations focusing on detoxification and whole-foods

nutrition.

 

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