Quality nutrition

Unfortunately, the awareness of the nutritional quality of our food in general is still very low which leads to people thinking they are doing what they should, when in fact they are still deficient in their nutrition.

Let me go through my favourite Top 5 on what is impacting the quality of our fruits and vegetables (meats, poultry, etc. is a whole other story):

1. Soil quality and ripeness at harvest
The nutritional value of our fruit and vegetables today, is simply not comparable with the nutritional content of the fruit and vegetables our parents ate when they were children. The main reason for this is that we don't replenish the soil in which our food grows with all the nutrients it needs, nor do we allow the soil to recover. I don't even want to go down the path of the use of herbicides, pesticides, etc. as this doesn't necessarily apply to organic food.

What does however, but isn’t directly related to the quality of the soil is the fact that it is all about production. The faster we can complete the cycle the better (economically anyway) so more often than not, we don’t give it the time to ripen on the tree/plant. The problem with this is that the nutrients really don’t enter into the fruit until it is ripe. You see, if we let the fruit ripen on the tree it has gone bad by the time it ends up in the store and that is bad for business. So, we harvest early, and treat the harvest with all kinds of stuff. Bananas and apples for example are gassed to avoid it from going bad, and gassed again when it is transported to the store so it looks good.

What I am not 100% clear on yet, is how much of this process also applies to organically grown fruits and vegetables but it wouldn’t surprise me if at least some of this post-harvest processing also applies. I find it curious that often it reads “organically grown”. Does this mean that while the growth was done organically, the post-processing wasn’t any different?

2. Air quality has a big impact
I think we all know how "pure" our air is. It is important to think about that because, while the plants may not be sprayed with all the nasty stuff, what happens to what is in the atmosphere when it rains? Especially in highly industrialized areas there are a lot of toxins in the air. All of this will go into the soil and on the plants - even if they are grown organically.

Therefore, in my opinion if you do eat organic it would be best if what you eat grows in area with as little industry nearby as possible. The downside to this is that many people who like organic food also like to eat locally grown and unfortunately most of us live in highly industrialized areas. Tough call...

3. Crunchy or squishy?
Here's another thought for you. Did you know that cooking your food, actually reduces the amount of nutrients you get from it? Growing up, I remember that my dad always wanted his veggies "soft". To give you an example, the cauliflower would fall into small piece when it was served, and the same thing happened to Brussels sprouts. My wife and I like our veggies crunchy, which many times has caused a debate with my mother in law, who also likes her veggies overcooked.

It might amaze you that five minutes make an enormous difference in the nutritional quality of a meal...which also has the benefit that you get to eat sooner! ;-) The bottom line is that the longer food is exposed to heat, the greater its nutrient loss. However, one might argue that overcooking makes it easier for the body to digest the food and digestion is needed for absorption of the nutrients.

4. Solids and liquids
Did you know that a liquid can be absorbed by the body much quicker and more efficiently? The reason for this is, that as soon as a fluid/juice enters the mouth the body already starts absorbing the nutrients, whereas a solid needs to go through our digestive system. So ideally, what you'd like to do for maximum nutrition absorption is to liquefy organically, ideally wild, grown fruits and vegetables from an area with no (or very little) pollution.

5. Spoiled fruits and veggies?
I think we all know one – remember the kid who always got what he/she wanted just by asking? They were pampered...with the best of intentions, but pampered nonetheless. Most of these kids had a tough time when they came in touch with the reality of life – not a lot of things come easy. They weren’t prepared because they had always been protected.
I would argue that a lot of our food is pampered as well. Fruits and vegetables are cultivated in ideal situations so that they grow fast and good-looking. But what does this do to the character (i.e. nutritional quality)? As it turns out that a lot of the nutrients actually are enhanced if the plant/fruit is under “stress”. So it doesn’t mean that if something is grown organically, that it has by definition also a higher nutritional quality.
An example of this, are phytonutrients. Phytonutrients are the immune system of a plant - they protect plants from disease. So, if a plant feels that it needs to protect itself from disease, it will increase the amount of phytonutrients. What is really cool is that they can protect you too! There are as many as 2,000 known phytonutrients. Just one serving of vegetable or fruit may possess more than 100 different types.
So, if you can get something that has grown wild chances are that it will have a higher phytonutrient content than something that was cultivated in a protected environment. Eat wild!!!

It is a fact though that it is amazing what good nutrition does for your body. So do everything you possibly can to improve your nutrition. My family we’ve made some changes, and we’ve already seen the benefits. One being that this winter there have been so many people with colds and flu’s and I’ve not had one!

I am a realist, however, and I know that for many (including me) it is not realistic or sustainable to make a dramatic change from one day to the next and sometimes our hectic lifestyle comes in the way of taking good care of ourselves.

If we can do it, YOU can too and I’d gladly share the little things that we’ve done so you can consider to implement them for you.

Till next time – stay healthy!

Leon