Vitamin-less Vegetables
A Nutrition Series, Part Two
Read Part One Here
by Terri Mitchell
Big, green, hybrid, inbred, watery produce is not
the whole story. There’s more. Changing climates, commercial
fertilizers, and changes in soil composition have also been identified
as reasons for the vitamin drain in commercial produce. Increasing
carbon dioxide levels are known to significantly diminish important
trace minerals, including zinc.
Synthetic fertilizer is another potential source of vitamin depletion.
It is now possible to distinguish an organic orange from a conventionally
grown orange by looking at factors related to fertilizer. Organically
grown fruits and vegetables have been reported to have significantly
more antioxidants, poly phenols, and enzymes than commercial produce.
According to one report, organic fruits themselves have better
antioxidant defenses.
The commercial solution to disappearing vitamins is to manipulate
vegetables and fruits genetically, inserting foreign genes to force
them to produce more nutrients. Tomatoes, for example, have been
forced to produce foliate through this method. Such “biofortification” causes
the tomatoes to produce compounds never before seen in plants.
And they end up without PABA, a B-complex coenzyme that makes up
part of foliate. The solution for that is to douse the plants in
PABA to make up for the loss.
Chromium is a trace mineral that is essential for optimal health.
Food sources of chromium include brewer’s yeast, whole grains,
wheat germ, fruit, eggs, meat, and shellfish. Chromium deficiency
is widespread in the United States due to mineral-depleted soils
and over-reliance on refined and processed foods. Chromium is an
essential component of glucose tolerance factor, which enhances
insulin function and is essential for proper carbohydrate metabolism
and blood sugar regulation. Insufficient chromium intake is associated
with signs and symptoms similar to those seen in people with diabetes
and cardiovascular diseases. Chromium helps to promote healthy
glucose and lipid levels and may help promote fat loss and optimal
body weight.
For those who find the unregulated world of vitamin-less vegetables
unpalatable, or don’t care to eat vegetables that have absorbed
up to 45 times the amount of pesticides in the soil, including
DDT (banned decades ago but is still with us), high-quality, standardized
supplements are one way of incorporating a standard amount of known
nutrients in the diet. Supplements can give the less-than-stellar
diet that extra edge. It has been estimated that a calcium supplement
alone could keep more than 100,000 people out of the hospital and
save $2.6 billion in medical expenses annually. Calcium is one
of the disappearing minerals in vegetables. If taken long enough,
magnesium supplements could halve the number of colon and rectal
cancer cases in women. And riboflavin, which has decreased 38%
in commercial vegetables since 1950, could prevent cataracts supplementation
improves serum glucose levels in both type I and type II diabetics.
Compliments
of Rev.Teresa Weems
Colon Hydrotherapist
Body Detox Systems tweems@bodydetoxsystems.com
