Why our Food Lacks Nutrients

September 6, 2008

There are many reasons why we need vitamins or supplements these days. For one are foods are processed differently than they used to be, that is, as in our ancestor’s time.

How are our foods losing nutrients? For one, our food today is often over processed. Nutrients are lost when foods are over processed through cooking, freezing and canning fresh food. Scientists say the nutritional value decreases dramatically. For example, canned meats and vegetables experience a 50% to 100% loss in vitamin A during sterilization. In one study, after one-and-a-half-years of storage, no trace of vitamin A remained. After three and five years of storage, the vitamin E content was 20 to 60% lower after canning.

Sterilization and storage also caused a 25% drop in thiamin and niacin content and a 50% decline in pantothenic acid. Interestingly, the folic acid content in all the products was 50% higher after sterilization.

Even if folic acid survives the canning process, which includes heatingm will likely destroy it, as subjecting many fresh, frozen and canned foods to high temperatures decreases the level of this important B vitamin.

In a study that included vegetable soup, cauliflower, beefsteak, and fish, none of the dishes retained any folic acid after cooking.

Cooking initiates a destructive process called the Maillard reaction, which alters the chemical profile of a food, especially milk products. At the beginning stages, as milk and milk-based products are heated, levels of the essential amino acid lysine fall dramatically. Later in the Maillard reaction, methionine and tryptophan are reduced along with vitamins B1, B6 and B12 and zinc. Researchers have suggested that consuming products subjected to the Maillard reaction plays an important role in aging.

Another reason food loses nutritional value is due to irradiation.

Food irradiation subjects foods to gamma rays from nuclear materials, electrons from electron guns, and x-rays. By 1988, irradiated foods were already being sold in more than twenty countries. Red meat, chicken, and vegetables have since appeared on the shelves of some U.S. supermarkets.

In theory, food irradiation can preserve foods, kill parasites and bacteria, inhibit sprouting, and delay ripening. There are, however, as many studies indicate, dangers of irradiated food. Irradiation of food decreases the content of antioxidants such as vitamins A, E, C, and K, probably due to the free radicals generated. Individuals who consume raw fruits and vegetables to derive the highest vitamin content possible will essentially be consuming the nutritional equivalent of a blanched or canned vegetable.

The gradually increased availability of irradiated food--much of it poorly labeled or disguised in meals offered in restaurants, airplanes, and schools--suggests that supplements may become even more necessary to replace nutrients depleted in the food supply or to guard against potential health risks.

So should you take vitamins or supplements – if you aren’t eating enough raw vegetables, it is most likely you do.

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