Sobering thoughts about our Fruits and Vegetables
LE Magazine March 2001
Imagine the surprise of going online and discovering that the vitamin and mineral content of vegetables has drastically dropped.
Thats what happened to nutritionist, Alex Jack, when he went to check out the latest US Department of Agriculture food tables. The stunning revelation came after Jack compared recently published nutrient values with an old USDA handbook he had lying around. Some of the differences in vitamin and mineral content were enormous-a 50% drop in the amount of calcium in broccoli, for example. Watercress down 88% in iron content; cauliflower down 40% in vitamin C content-all since 1975.Jack took his findings to the USDA, hoping for a reasonable explanation. That was two years ago. Hes still waiting. So is Organic Gardening magazine, which published an open letter, seeking an explanation from Dan Glickman, Secretary of Agriculture. Glickman didnt respond, but USDA employee, Phyllis E. Johnson did. Johnson (who is head of the Beltsville area office), suggested to Organic Gardening that the nutrient drain should be put in context. According to her, the 78% decrease in calcium content of corn is not significant because no one eats corn for calcium. She further explains that the problem may not even exist at all; that the apparent nutrient dips could be due to the testing procedures. For example, changes in the publics perception of what the edible portion is may determine what parts have been analyzed over time. In other words, back when the old food tables were made up, people may have been eating the cobb too, so they got more nutrients.The vitamin drainWe decided to look into this further. Jack had used a 1975 version of the food tables for his research. We dredged up a 1963 version. After comparing the nutrient values for over a dozen fruits and vegetables, it was clear that the nutrient value of many foods has dropped, in some cases drastically. For example, the amount of vitamin C in sweet peppers has plummeted from 128 mg to 89 mg.= The vitamin A in apples has dropped from 90 mg to 53 mg. The fall-offs seem to be limited mostly to vegetables, and some fruits. Some vegetables appear to be gaining vitamins-at least vitamin A. Carrots, for example, have more of the vitamin now than they did in 1963. Why is a mystery. But the phenomenon has apparently occurred just in the nick of time. The National Academy of Sciences has issued an alert that it takes twice as many vegetables to get the daily requirement of vitamin A as previously thought. Carrots and pumpkin are exempt from the caveat. Despite the apparent increase of vitamin A in carrots, most vegetables are losing their vitamins and minerals. Nearly half the calcium and vitamin A in broccoli, for example, have disappeared. Collards are not the greens they used to be. If you’re eating them for minerals and vitamin A, be aware that the vitamin A content has fallen from 6500 IUs to 3800 IUs. Their potassium has dropped from from 400 mg to 170 mg. Magnesium has fallen sharply-57 mg to 9. Cauliflower has lost almost half its vitamin C, along with its thiamin and riboflavin. Most of the calcium in pineapple is gone-from 17 mg (per 100 grams raw) to 7. And the list goes on and on. The USDA refuses to actWhats the deal on this nutrient drain? We decided to ask USDA ourselves, so we contacted the head of the USDA Agricultural Research Service, whose job it is to track the vitamins in food, among other things. Mr. Edward B. Knipling responded to our inquiry with a restatement of Ms. Johnsons letter to Organic Gardening magazine. So we pressed for a better answer. Isnt the agency concerned that Americans may not be getting the vitamins they think they are? What about the food pyramid? Wont a nutrient drain upset the pyramid? Already the National Academy of Sciences is telling us our vegetables don’t have as many vitamins as they’re supposed to. Will the USDA double the required servings of vegetables to make up for the vitamin loss? So far, no answer from the agency.The question is, what is the nature and extent of the problem? Vegetables are a major source of nutrition. Without them, humans miss out on important vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients. Many nutrients (such as folate) werent measured in the past. If they are also disappearing, the extent is unknown. What about more exotic nutrients such as flavonoids, or compounds like I3C? These arent tracked by the USDA. Are they disappearing also? 90% of women and 71% of men get less than the RDA for vitamin B6. Dietary vitamin B-6 intake and food sources in the US population: NHANES II, 1976-1980. Kant AK, et al. 1990.
Men with the lowest amount of vitamin C have a 62% increased risk of cancer and a 57% increased risk of dying from any cause. Vitamin C status and mortality in US adults. Loria CM, et al. Am J Clin Nutr 72:139-45, 2000.
Lutein and zeaxanthin reduce the incidence of cataract by 22%. A prospective study of carotenoid and vitamin A intakes and risk of cataract extraction in US women. Chasan-Taber L, et al. Am J Clin Nutr 70:509-16, 1999.
People with low levels of retinol, beta-carotene, vitamin E and selenium are more likely to get cancer. Serum retinol, beta-carotene, vitamin E and selenium as related to subsequent cancer of specific sites. Comstock GW, et al. Am J Epidemiol 135:115-21, 1992.
Supplemental vitamin D reduces the risk of colon cancer by half compared to dietary vitamin D which reduces it 12%. Calcium, vitamin D, and dairy foods and the occurrence of colon cancer in men. Kearney J, et al. Am J Epidemiol 143:907-17, 1996.
The area of China with the lowest micronutrient intake has the highest rate of cancer. Supplementation with vitamin E, selenium and beta-carotene lowers the rate. Vitamin/mineral supplementation and cancer risk: internationaal chemoprevention trials. Blot WJ. Proc Soc Exp Biol Med 216:291-6, 1997.
American children have inadequate levels of vitamin E. Vitamin E status of US children. Bendich A. J Am Coll Nutr 11:441-4, 1992.
Flavonoids protect against stroke. Dietary flavnoids, antioxidant vitamins, and incidence of stroke: the Zutphen study. Keli SO, et al. Arch Intern Med 156:637-42, 1996.Whats for dinnerThe USDA advises that we should be eating 3 to 5 servings of vegetables plus 2 to 4 servings of fruit a day to maintain health. (A serving is one cup of something raw and leafy or one-half a cup of something either not leafy or cooked-or 3/4 cup of vegetable juice). That is potentially 9 cups of vegetables and fruit a day. Thats a lot of lettuce. Are people doing this?Harry Balzer is vice president of NPD Group, a firm that gathers information on the eating habits of Americans. His data says no way. According to him, the preferred American meal is one-dish, already prepared. Unless a vegetable can be squirted out of a bottle, its a nonentity. Why? Were in a hurry. Vegetables are considered side dishes, and Americans dont have time for such frivolity. The decline is relentless. Within the last 15 years, the percentage of all dinners including a vegetable (other than salad or potatoes) dropped 10%. Its now 41%. This raises a big question. If people are not eating their vegetables, how are they getting their vitamins? The answer is theyre not. Study-after-study show that Americans dont meet the RDAs for many nutrients. Thats not good considering that RDAs are probably too low to keep most people in optimal health to begin with. Americans know what they should be eating. Theyre just not doing it. And theyre not likely to. According to Balzer, for example, pizza is one of Americas favorite meals. It fulfills, he says, the American ideal of being easy and fast, liked by old and young, and easy to clean up. If you blot it with a paper towel, throw on some pineapple, and use your imagination, it even seems to fit with the food pyramid. What else are people eating? Bread, doughnuts, pasta, cheese, beef and milk. Without fortified cereal, Americans would not come close to meeting RDAs.Yes, but what about the produce section? Isnt it filled with resealable bags full of wholesome, scrubbed little carrots, prewashed salad greens and spinach? Somebody must be buying them, or they wouldnt be there, right? According to Balzer, those puppies are highly successful, raking in a billion dollars in sales ($100M is considered successful for a new food product). But the fact that people are buying them doesnt mean theyre eating them. The reality is that onions are most-often served vegetable in America. Tomatoes (including ketchup) are second. According to one study, less than one-third of Americans get the minimum five servings of fruits and vegetables a day, let alone the recommended nine. According to Balzers data, the percentage of Americans who buy healthy groceries is about 10%. The other 90% relies on ketchup, onions, fat-free snacks, ice cream, cheese and Sweet TartsTM as their source of nutrition. Now we find out that even if a person accidentally eats a vegetable, it may not contain the nutrients its supposed to. What can a person do?
Vitamin supplements work “…the nutritional content of produce is not as important as things like appearance and big yield. In other words, the view of commercial growers is that food is a product in the same way that running shoes are a product. Looks are more important than substance.”
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