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Vegetables half as nutritious as they were in the 1960s (www.yahoo.com)

submitted 6 days ago by Powderhorn@beehaw.org to c/science@beehaw.org

26 comments fedilink hide all child comments

This is The Telegraph, so apologies for the weird choice on percent and other style quirks.

The nutritional value of fruit and vegetables has fallen by up to 50pc since the Sixties because of declining soil quality, according to a new study.

The report, from researchers at Deep Science Ventures, found that humans needed to consume twice the number of vegetables to get the same level of minerals such as potassium, magnesium or copper as would have been present in their food 60 years ago.

The study found that many crops had lost 20pc to 50pc of several key nutrients.

Will Summers, a senior associate at the firm, said: "For 60 years we've measured food security in calories and tonnes per hectare.

"On those measures we've done remarkably well. But we've been quietly hollowing out what's inside our food."

The decrease in nutrient and vitamin value is thought to be down to declining soil quality and crops being selectively bred for their ability to grow quickly, rather than there being any focus on their health benefits.

The effect will be particularly acute for the 14pc of Britons who identify as vegetarian or vegan.

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[–] ObtuseDoorFrame@lemmy.zip -3 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (2 children)

Take a multivitamin for the nutrients. The main point in eating fruits and vegetables is for fiber, anyway.

Edit: I don't mean to downplay the situation, I'm just pointing out a solution.

[–] storm_shadow@piefed.social 11 points 5 days ago (3 children)

Vitamin supplements aren't an optimal way of getting micronutrients. Many of them don't come in a particularly bioavailable form. And some of them interfere with the absorption of others, making a multivitamin in particular not an ideal solution.

[–] SorryImLate@piefed.social 4 points 5 days ago

Agreed. Also, multivitamin production is not regulated. I believe there is quite a lot of evidence showing that the product quantities are often very different to what is stated on the label.

[–] nixfreak@thebrainbin.org 3 points 5 days ago

Yep , its mostly a billion dollar scam for supplements. Health and Beauty is very scammy virually no science at all.

[–] ObtuseDoorFrame@lemmy.zip 3 points 5 days ago (1 children)

I don't disagree, but there's absolutely no way I can afford to get all my micronutrients from food. Multivitamins are a viable solution to this issue. The ones I take are Kirkland whole food vitamins, which are supposed to have higher bioavailability. And Kirkland is one of the only brands I actually trust.

[–] storm_shadow@piefed.social 1 points 5 days ago (1 children)

I don't know you, so I can't know your life situation, but in the places where I've lived, you can absolutely get the vitamins and minerals that you need from a proper balanced diet. And multivitamins in particular, especially ones containing iron and calcium, which interfere with the absorption of other micronutrients, are not a viable solution to a deficient diet.

[–] ObtuseDoorFrame@lemmy.zip 1 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago)

https://www.costco.com/p/-/kirkland-signature-usda-organic-multivitamin-80-coated-tablets/100458954

Looks like the calcium and iron are about one percent of your daily needs, so maybe they're aware of this issue. I stick to whole food vitamins because they're supposed to be easier for the body to utilize. You could be right about multivitamins, but these are affordable enough so that I can keep taking them just in case my body is able to utilize the micronutrients.

I usually buy a few bottles when they're on sale. $20 for 80 pills is an amazing deal.

Edit: 1% daily needs of calcium and 8% iron. It doesn't matter that there's no magnesium because I eat a lot of chia seeds.

[–] Shayeta@feddit.org 3 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) (1 children)

The first time I started tracking my calories I also started having a better idea what has what nutrients and how much. Aside from dark leafy greens having SOME nutrients, all other vegetables you would have to eat 10x of what one usually would to get any significant amount of nutrients from them.

The only one that you could reasonably get from veggies/fruits alone is Vitamin C (which is easy to get anxways), and partially Vitamin A.

I enjoy vegetables, it's just a shame they're mostly water and fiber with not much else.

[–] ObtuseDoorFrame@lemmy.zip 3 points 5 days ago (1 children)

I agree, and find the downvotes on my comment amusing. Fresh produce is vital to being healthy, but not because of micronutrients. It's the fiber, which most people don't get enough of. Also, getting all your magnesium from dark leafy greens is incredibly expensive if you're buying fresh greens. It's not exactly a viable method for most people.

I wonder if people were able to get all their micronutrients from produce in the past, before we did this to the soil.

[–] Shayeta@feddit.org 1 points 5 days ago

I would guess people would live with the deficiencies and just cope however they could.