* Warning: This article may make you second-guess what’s in your local supermarket.
Much of the food available today doesn’t have the nutritional value it could have.
Under pressure from large scale retailers, many farmers are forced to repeatedly grow crops in the same soil without allowing nature sufficient time to recover, which leads to depletion of the nutrient value in the produce we eat.
Picking fruits and vegetables “green”, before they allowed to fully become ripe, further drains our produce of vital vitamins and minerals, as the majority of essential nutrients are carried into our fruits and vegetables in the ripening stage of the growth process. Transporting fruits and vegetables in containers over long distances, for many days and the subsequent gassing of the produce during transportation to ensure it is ripe upon arrival, further compounds the depletion of the produce’s nutrient value.
This video sums up the situation pretty well.
Growing in a Harsh Environment
Additionally, our fruits and vegetables are produced in a polluted planet, with chemicals, pesticides, unclean air and water being the nursery within which they grow. All this combines to create food that is lacking in what our bodies need to be optimally healthy.
This drop in nutrient value of our supermarket produce has led to dietary experts recommending we eat 9-13 servings of fruit and vegetables a day! How on earth could a person eat that much, let alone be able to afford it?
What’s more, a study by the American College of Nutrition found that in order to get the same vitamin value that our Grandfathers received from eating two peaches, you would have to eat 50 peaches today.[1]
So our food is dropping in quality, what’s the big deal?
Our body is a vehicle which requires fuel (food) to run. When the quality of the fuel or food we are putting in is less than optimal, the body functions in a less than optimal way (depleted immune system function, depleted hormonal (endocrine) system, low energy levels and irregular waste elimination system).
It’s not surprising people are getting sicker and sicker.
Growing Health Decline
Source: National Centre for Health Statistics |
What’s more, the rate of heart disease is even increasing in kids!
Is There Any Good News?
Thankfully, yes. The human body in its incredible design is pre-programmed for wellness. Our genetic code has the instructions for optimal health, provided we input the right fuel (food and water).
In an ideal world, what is required for wellness?
Clean Air Low Stress
Clean Water Sufficient Rest
Exercise Proper Nutrition
Not exactly a picture of our world currently, is it?
A Silver-Lining
We can’t always control our environment, but we can ensure we have everything we need to be healthy and well-equipped for that environment.
What are the ways you ensure you eat well and remain healthy? Feel free to share any suggestions with us and our readers below?
[1] Donald R. Davis, PhD, FACN, Melvin D. Epp, PhD and Hugh D. Riordan, MD. (2004); Changes in USDA Food Composition Data for 43 Garden Crops, 1950 to 1999. Journal of the American College of Nutrition Vol. 23, No. 6, 669-682
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