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. 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. 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