The Ugly Truth About Food

At any grocery store in North America right now, there are shoppers cruising the isles, making thoughtful choices about their family's nutrition. Armed with the latest information about health, choosing foods high in nutrition is a primary goal. Unfortunately, no matter how carefully one shops, there is often little nutrition in the foods we consume. In fact, it is nearly impossible to consume adequate nutrients through diet alone in our modern world.

What causes our foods to be devoid of nutrition? There are many causes, primarily modern farming, storage, and preservation methods of food. Let's take a look at why this happens.

First, it is widely acknowledged that soils in North America have been depleted of many nutrients since the 1930's due to loss of topsoil and reliance on chemical fertilizers. Farmers replace the nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus depleted by agriculture in order to achieve optimum plant growth. However, little attention is paid to replacing trace minerals lost in soils.

Consumer demand for attractive produce also plays a role. This demand has resulted in plant breeding for appearance and storage longevity, ignoring nutritional quality. Fruits and vegetables are often picked in the green stage, ripening in transit to the store. Again, this prevents the production of nutrients which often occurs in the ripening stage while on the plant itself. One example of this is seen in fruits, where the cartenoid levels increase as fruit ripens naturally.

Produce now travels an average of 1500-2000 miles from farm to market, often in refrigerated trucks. There have been few studies done on the effects of storage on produce, especially in the area of overall phytonutrient levels. However, what we do know is most fresh vegetables steadily loose nutrients when stored in cold, dark conditions. Some types of produce are more vulnerable to these losses than others, losing fifty percent or more of phytonutrients in as little as five days storage.

Food preservation methods often play a role in nutrient depletion. When properly blanched prior to freezing, most-but not all-foods retain more nutrition when frozen as compared to canning methods. Interestingly, the container used in canning also makes a difference. Foods preserved in cans often retain more nutrients than those in glass or plastic containers as many nutrients are depleted by exposure to light.

Preparation methods further affects nutritional quality of food. Chopping, grinding, and heating foods depletes nutrients. Common preservatives added in processing cause depletion of nutrients and the use of antimicrobial preservatives may decrease the bacteria normally present in the colon, impeding the body's ability to absorb what nutrients are left in food after processing.

There has been very little research done comparing nutrients in food before and after processing. The result is that nutritional labels are calculated from unprocessed foods using what are called "nutrient retention factors". However, these formulas do not consider all aspects of nutrient loss and have been shown to be inaccurate in representing nutrient levels in foods after processing.

So what can be done to ensure adequate nutrition in our diets? The most sensible approach would be to eat only fresh, organically raised fruits and vegetables picked from the garden just prior to consumption, eaten in the whole, raw state. Of course, this is not possible for the vast majority of people. While eating foods as close to the ideals is a goal, it is no longer realistic to expect diet alone to provide adequate nutrition. Some form of supplementation is necessary.

In order to incorporate the proper nutrients, in the optimal amounts in ratio to other nutrients and in the most bioavailable form, great care must be taken in the selection of all supplements. Price is not necessarily an indication of quality. Taking the maximum amount safely possible is not a guarantee of maximum benefit, either. Due diligence is required in the selection process. Know that what you are taking is truly of benefit to your body.

Good nutrition is essential for healthy living, but obtaining sufficient nutrition from diet alone is nearly impossible due to modern farming, storage and preparation methods demanded by consumers. Careful use of supplementation is therefore a requirement for health.

Karen Walker is a wellness consultant and author. She works from her home in western Montana. She and her husband, Lynn McCormick, maintain a website to help those whose lives have been upset by catastrophic health events. http://www.keephealthkeepwealth.com

---

Is Dr. Arthur Agatston Fearing the Loss of Popularity of South Beach Diet?

Dr. Arthur Agatston, the cardiologist who developed South Beach Diet has stated in a recent interview that the diet is not low-carb, as everybody labels it. Speculating... Read More

Train Your Self To Eat Healthy

For some people it is really hard to give up the junk food and sweets and eat a better, more nutritious diet. So let's use the example... Read More

Meal Planning: Your Ticket to Freedom

It's 5:30 p.m. and you're heading home after a long, full day. All of a sudden your mind turns to the daily question, "What's for dinner?"Whether it's... Read More

What You Should Know About

I don't understand people sometimes. You know, there is a huge problem with our health care. When it comes to trauma we are the best in the... Read More

7 Things To Your Health

Health is the thing. And no matter how many ways you can measure and quantify symptoms and disease, the only way to be healthy is to add... Read More

Being Proactive With Your Health Decisions

In today's world, there's a definite need to be proactive in protecting our health. But that assumes there's something you CAN do to protect it.See, most people... Read More

Serious About Wanting To Improve Your Familys Healthy Eating Lifestyles?

Dr. Christine Wood, M.D, a practicing pediatrician in Encinitas, California, is the author of How to Get Kids to Eat Great & Love It!, offers some sound... Read More

Why are Free Form Essential Amino Acids Necessary and What to Look For!

1. Look for high quality, crystalline, free-form, amino acids (AAs) Most amino acid blends on the market are actually reduced milk or soy proteins. These may contain... Read More

A Heart Healthy Diet Makeover

Heart Disease remains the number one cause of death in the U.S. among both men and women. Part of the problem is it is truly a silent... Read More

Fiber in a Nutshell?

There are numerous diets out there that guarantee that they are the ones that will work. We all know who and what they are. There is the... Read More

Macrobiotics: Diet and Lifestyle for Long-term Health

A frequent misunderstanding about macrobiotics is that it is a diet sick people use - cancer patients especially - in order to heal. While it is true... Read More

7 Bad Eating Habits You Should Change Immediately

People are obsessed with dieting and weight loss! Don't believe me? Just tune-in to any source of advertising...you're instantly bombarded with the latest diet schemes and "Hollywood"... Read More

Optimize Your Diet For Maximum Growth

The best weight training and cardio workouts will do very little if your diet is off. Make sure you have your diet optimized to build quality lean... Read More

Oregano: Nature?s Antibiotic and Antiseptic

Many of us sprinkle oregano on our pizza and stews without realizing its impressive healing powers. But oregano is much more than a flavorful herb. It contains... Read More

Essential Fatty Acids (EFAs)

Essential Fatty Acids are oils, omega-3 and omega-6, that you can find, in certain amounts, in all oils that you can purchase in most the health food... Read More

Redeeming Unsaturated Fat

The most dreaded word in many dieter's vocabulary is 'fat'. It is not uncommon to hear a dieter discuss their avoidance of eating fat as if it... Read More

Choosing Organic for Health

We come from a society where growing organic and just growing produce and livestock for food Was once one of the same. Small, family farms still grow... Read More

Time Line of the Development of GlycoBiology and GlycoNutritionals

1880s - Characterization of monosaccharides by Emil Fischer.1952 - Fresh, not aged, Aloe gel heals radiation burns on rabbits (Clarence C. Lushbaugh, Cancer 1953 vol. 6)1970 -... Read More

Unhealthy Foods: Five Sneaky Foods Revealed

With the array of different diets and diet foods available to help with weight loss and health, it's sometimes hard to figure out what's healthy and what's... Read More

The Best Way to Consume Vitamin C

Eating orange mean absorbing vitamin C to our body, is that right? Probably yes because orange is rich with this nutrient. Vitamin C is a very essential... Read More

Tips for Effective Muscle Building Diets

One of the biggest mistakes many new bodybuilders make is that they don't pay attention to their muscle building diets with the same detail, desire and determination... Read More

Protein Wont Make You Fat: Myth #1

How many magazines have you read where they tell you to take in X grams of protein? How many times have you see .75g of protein per... Read More

The Five Keys to Healthy Eating

1. Enjoy what you eatWhether someone is following the Atkins diet, the South Beach diet, the advice contained in Tom Venuto's e-Book, "Burn the Fat, Feed the... Read More

Calcium: the Miracle Mineral

We've heard it not only once or twice or even thrice but a lot of times. If you want healthy bones and teeth then pack up on... Read More

Functional Foods: What They Are And How They Work

In the brain, a typical protein can live for approximately ten days. The thoughts, feelings and memories of a human being are made up of what was... Read More

Got Soy? Milk, Snuff, and Soy Beans

Milk is highly underrated. Experts say, America finds itself in a calcium crisis today because consumers aren't drinking enough milk.Milk is highly overrated. Experts say,If you really... Read More