.


INDOOR GARDENING :
ORGANIC GARDENING :
FOOD DRINK NUTRITION DIET: NUTRITION: VITAMINS AND MINERALS:
Nutritional Value of Fruits, Veggies is Dwindling




Nutritional Value of Fruits, Veggies is Dwindling 
Chemicals that speed growth may impair ability to absorb soil's nutrients 
by Sarah Burns
updated 7/9/2010 5:26:23 PM ET
Prevention
MSNBC 
<http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37396355/ns/health-diet_and_nutrition/>


While we've been dutifully eating our fruits and vegetables all these 
years, a strange thing has been happening to our produce. It's losing its 
nutrients. That's right: Today's conventionally grown produce isn't as 
healthful as it was 30 years ago  and it's only getting worse. The decline 
in fruits and vegetables was first reported more than 10 years ago by 
English researcher Anne-Marie Mayer, PhD, who looked at the dwindling 
mineral concentrations of 20 UK-based crops from the 1930s to the 1980s.


It's happening to crops in the United States, too. In 2004, Donald Davis, 
PhD, a former researcher with the Biochemical Institute at the University 
of Texas, Austin, led a team that analyzed 43 fruits and vegetables from 
1950 to 1999 and reported reductions in vitamins, minerals, and protein. 
Using USDA data, he found that broccoli, for example, had 130 mg of 
calcium in 1950. Today, that number is only 48 mg. What's going on? Davis 
believes it's due to the farming industry's desire to grow bigger 
vegetables faster. The very things that speed growth  selective breeding 
and synthetic fertilizers  decrease produce's ability to synthesize 
nutrients or absorb them from the soil.




Title: Historical changes in the mineral content of fruits and vegetables
Author(s): Anne-Marie Mayer, (Independent Researcher, Devon, UK)
Citation: Anne-Marie Mayer, (1997) "Historical changes in the mineral 
content of fruits and vegetables", British Food Journal, Vol. 99 Iss: 6, 
pp.207 - 211
Keywords: Food, Minerals, Nutrition
Article type: General review
DOI: 10.1108/00070709710181540 (Permanent URL)
<http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?articleid=870383&show=pdf>




Fruits and vegetables aren't what they used to be
Organic fruits and vegetables work harder for their nutrients: Produce has 
been losing vitamins and minerals over the past half-century
by Deborah K. Rich, for the San Francisco Chronicle
Kitchen Gardeners
<http://kitchengardeners.org/ 
fruits-and-vegetables-arent-what-they-used-be>



A shorter URL for the above link:



<http://tinyurl.com/2g4ulyw>



The fruits and vegetables that our parents ate when they were growing up 
were more nutritious than the ones we'll serve our children tonight. On 
average, the produce we grow in the United States has lower levels of 
several vitamins and minerals today than it did 50 to 60 years ago. By 
growing or buying and eating organic produce, however, we can make up much 
of the difference. Organically grown fruits and vegetables are proving to 
have higher levels of antioxidants, vitamins and minerals than their 
conventionally grown counterparts.


Donald R. Davis, a research associate with the Biochemical Institute at 
the University of Texas, Austin, recently analyzed data gathered by the 
USDA in 1950 and 1999 on the nutrient content of 43 fruit and vegetable 
crops. He found that six out of 13 nutrients had declined in these crops 
over the 50-year period (the seven other nutrients showed no significant, 
reliable changes). Three minerals, phosphorous, iron and calcium, declined 
between 9 percent and 16 percent. Protein declined 6 percent. Riboflavin 
declined 38 percent and ascorbic acid (a precursor of vitamin C) declined 
15 percent.


A study of the mineral content of fruits and vegetables grown in Britain 
between 1930 and 1980 shows similar decreases in nutrient density. The 
British study found significantly lower levels of calcium, magnesium, 
copper and sodium in vegetables, and of magnesium, iron, copper and 
potassium in fruit. The report concludes that the declines indicate "that 
a nutritional problem associated with the quality of food has developed 
over those 50 years."


The decline in our produce's nutritional value corresponds to the period 
of increasing industrialization of our farming systems. As we have 
substituted chemical fertilizers, pesticides and monoculture farming for 
the natural cycling of nutrients and on-farm biodiversity, we have 
lessened the nutritional value of our produce. Integrated well-established 
organic farming systems can counter the decline.




Fruits, vegetables not as nutritious as 50 years ago
By LANCE GAY
SCRIPPS HOWARD NEWS SERVICE
Wednesday, March 1, 2006
Seattle Post Intelligencer
<http://www.seattlepi.com/health/261163_veggie01.html>



In spite of what Mother taught you about the benefits of eating broccoli, 
data collected by the U.S. government show that the nutritional content of 
America's vegetables and fruits has declined during the past 50 years -- 
in some cases dramatically.


Donald Davis, a biochemist at the University of Texas, said that of 13 
major nutrients in fruits and vegetables tracked by the Agriculture 
Department from 1950 to 1999, six showed noticeable declines -- protein, 
calcium, phosphorus, iron, riboflavin and vitamin C. The declines ranged 
from 6 percent for protein, 15 percent for iron, 20 percent for vitamin C, 
and 38 percent for riboflavin.


"It's an amazing thing," said Davis, adding that the decline in nutrient 
content has not been widely noticed.


He said an agriculture scientist appears to have been the first to pick up 
the disappearance of nutrients in 1981 in a paper comparing the data on 
nutrients on garden crops grown in the United States with those grown in 
England.


Davis, who discussed his findings at a recent meeting of the American 
Association for the Advancement of Science meeting in St. Louis, suspects 
the trend in agriculture toward encouraging crops that grow the fastest 
and biggest is a reason for the decline. The past five decades have been 
marked by the "Green Revolution," which has seen a marked increase in U.S. 
production and yields as farmers have turned to the fastest-growing and 
greatest-producing plants.




Fruits and Vegetables Less Healthy Now Than 50 Years Ago
Growing Your Baby
<http://www.growingyourbaby.com/2010/07/14/ 
fruits-and-vegetables-less-healthy-now-than-50-years-ago/>



A shorter URL for the above link:



<http://tinyurl.com/2ddzwq2>



According to Sherry Tanumihardjo, PhD, look for foods that have bold and 
bright colors. The stronger the color of the fruit or vegetable, the more 
phytochemicals it has.


Steve Schwartz, PhD, suggests using food pairings to get the most from 
your meals. Combining fruits and vegetables of varying colors, such as red 
tomatoes with green avocados, will help you get more nutrients.
Donald Davis suggests looked for smaller fruits and vegetables over larger 
ones. Smaller means the nutrients are more concentrated and better for 
you. Think blueberries rather than apples.


Johnny Bowden, PhD, says gently cooking vegetables by steaming or roasting 
them and help soften cell walls and release more of the available 
nutrients.


Preston Andrews, PhD, tells parents to eat fruits and vegetables quickly 
after they are harvested. These foods begin to lose their nutrients as 
soon as they are picked. The sooner they can be eaten, the better they 
will be.


Parents who want to choose organic fruits and vegetables can also use 
simple shopping tips to buy organic on a budget. Shopping locally, buying 
in bulk, and growing a small backyard garden are all ways parents can save 
money on organic produce.  Summer, staff writer




Al's Morning Meeting
Home > Reporting, Writing & Editing > Al's Morning Meeting
Fruits and Vegetables Losing Nutritional Value
Posted by Al Tompkins at 12:08 AM on Jul. 26, 2010
Poynter.org
<http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=2&aid=187469>



Prevention says you can still buy non-organic produce smartly if you know 
what to look for -- for instance, buying smaller produce. And it says that 
pairing certain kinds of produce can increase your body's ability to 
absorb nutrients.




-----------------------------------------





The complete articles may be read at the URLs provided for each.




WEBBIB1011




Sincerely,
David Dillard
Temple University
(215) 204 - 4584
[log in to unmask]
<http://daviddillard.businesscard2.com>
Net-Gold
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/net-gold>
Index: <http://tinyurl.com/myxb4w>
<http://listserv.temple.edu/archives/net-gold.html>
<http://groups.google.com/group/net-gold?hl=en>
General Internet & Print Resources
<http://guides.temple.edu/general-internet>
COUNTRIES
<http://guides.temple.edu/general-country-info>
EMPLOYMENT
<http://guides.temple.edu/EMPLOYMENT>
TOURISM
<http://guides.temple.edu/tourism>
DISABILITIES
http://guides.temple.edu/DISABILITIES
INDOOR GARDENING
<http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/IndoorGardeningUrban/>
Educator-Gold
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Educator-Gold/>
K12ADMINLIFE
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/K12AdminLIFE/>
RUSSELL CONWELL CENTER SUBJECT GUIDE
http://guides.temple.edu/Russell-Conwell-Center
THE COLLEGE LEARNING CENTER
<http://tinyurl.com/yae7w79>
Nina Dillard's Photographs on Net-Gold
http://tinyurl.com/36qd2o
and also  http://gallery.me.com/neemers1
http://www.flickr.com/photos/neemers/
Net-Gold Membership Required to View Photos on Net-Gold
Twitter: davidpdillard


Bushell, R. & Sheldon, P. (eds),
Wellness and Tourism: Mind, Body, Spirit,
Place, New York: Cognizant Communication Books.
Wellness Tourism: Bibliographic and Webliographic Essay
David P. Dillard
<http://tinyurl.com/p63whl>
<http://tinyurl.com/ou53aw>


INDOOR GARDENING
Improve Your Chances for Indoor Gardening Success
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/IndoorGardeningUrban/
http://groups.google.com/group/indoor-gardening-and-urban-gardening


SPORT-MED
https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/sport-med.html
http://groups.google.com/group/sport-med
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sports-med/
http://listserv.temple.edu/archives/sport-med.html


Health Diet Fitness Recreation Sports Tourism
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/healthrecsport/
http://groups.google.com/group/healthrecsport
http://listserv.temple.edu/archives/health-recreation-sports-tourism.html





Please Ignore All Links to JIGLU
in search results for Net-Gold and related lists.
The Net-Gold relationship with JIGLU has
been terminated by JIGLU and these are dead links.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Net-Gold/message/30664
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/healthrecsport/message/145




.