Low nutritional value in fruits and vegetables can be a problem.
For years, there has been talk about the pros and cons of modern agricultural techniques. Industrial agriculture, or “excessive agriculture,” has led to huge yields, but many argue that nutritional content and therefore the overall nutritional value for humans suffers.
The average bushel yield per hectare for large crops in the United States has risen to the sky since the 1950s. Corn up to 342%! Wheat is 290%, while both soybeans and alfalfa are up about 170%. Similar types of return gains occur in Europe, Australia, Japan and other parts of the world.
Data from researchers from the Wisconsin-Madison Department of Soils shows that while these important cultural developments have occurred over the past 50 years, food levels have been besieged and reduced.
New evidence of nutrient depletion
The latest figures, published by Dr David Thomas, a primary care professional and independent researcher, looked at the difference between UK governments publishing tables on food content published in 1940 and again in 2002. It showed that the iron content of 15 different types of meat decreased by 47%. Dairy products show similar declines; 60% falls in iron and up to 90% decrease in copper.
Save more for less value.
It is true that the presence of fruits and vegetables in the modern world of industrialized countries is at the highest level. If we want it, it’s there. On the other hand, despite this increase in availability, consumption of fruits and vegetables has not increased among the population. In fact, it has decreased in many subgroups of the population. When this knowledge is combined with reported declines in nutrient content in foods, many health care providers, scientists, researchers and government officials are looking for answers on how to hopefully maintain the nutritional value and balance of our foods while increasingly producing soil themselves to feed an ever-growing population. So far, the road ahead is uncertain at best.
New research shows a protective link between tea consumption, fruits and vegetables and women’s health.
Risk of tea and ovarian cancer: Researchers from the Department of Food Epidemiology at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden conducted a 15-year follow-up study of more than 61,000 women between the ages of 40 and 76. Their data, published in the Archive of Internal Medicine (2005; 165 (22): 2683-2686), showed that women who regularly used tea had a significantly lower risk of ovarian cancer. Tea drinkers who had an average of one cup a day, equal to an 18% reduction in risk. One or more cups a day resulted in a reduction in the risk of 24% and 2 or more cups per day indicating a 46% reduction in risk. As might be expected, these findings led researchers to conclude that “results suggest that tea consumption is associated with a lower risk of ovarian cancer.
