Originally published January 9 2006
Drop in vegetables' mineral content raises concern in nutrition community
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
SoilandHealth.org discusses the drop in the vitamin and mineral content of vegetables with concerned nutritionists and gardening experts.
The stunning revelation came after Jack compared recently published nutrient values with an old USDA handbook he had lying around.
Some of the differences in vitamin and mineral content were enormous-a 50% drop in the amount of calcium in broccoli, for example.
Johnson (who is head of the Beltsville area office), suggested to Organic Gardening that the nutrient drain should be put in context.
According to her, the 78% decrease in calcium content of corn is not significant because no one eats corn for calcium.
For example, "changes in the public's perception of what the edible portion is may determine what parts have been analyzed over time."
In other words, back when the old food tables were made up, people may have been eating the cobb too, so they got more nutrients.
After comparing the nutrient values for over a dozen fruits and vegetables, it was clear that the nutrient value of many foods has dropped, in some cases drastically.
For example, the amount of vitamin C in sweet peppers has plummeted from 128 mg to 89 mg.= The vitamin A in apples has dropped from 90 mg to 53 mg.
"Men with the lowest amount of vitamin C have a 62% increased risk of cancer and a 57% increased risk of dying from any cause."
The USDA advises that we should be eating 3 to 5 servings of vegetables plus 2 to 4 servings of fruit a day to maintain health.
Harry Balzer is vice president of NPD Group, a firm that gathers information on the eating habits of Americans.
That's not good considering that RDAs are probably too low to keep most people in optimal health to begin with.
Supplements have proven their worth in scientific studies.
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