Energy. It’s something we all need, and yet something so many of us seem to be short on the vast majority of the time. One thing that can cause energy depletion is the lack of inherent nutrition available in our food today. Wait! What?! Our food is less nutritious than it used to be? It’s true my friend. Based upon several studies, food has grown measurably less nutritious over the years. According to a 2004 study, on average vegetables contain 16% less calcium, 15% less iron, 9% less phosphorus, and up to 38% less important nutrients than they did back in the mid 1900s. That’s crazy! How could this possibly have come to be?

Well, how this food situation has come about is not agreed upon. There are several different theories which include modern intensive farming techniques that take to much out of the soil, genetic tinkering, poor soil health, and selecting for larger, plumper, and higher yields of food at the expense of the plant’s ability to take in minerals. The larger, plumper grains for example, contain extra starch (making them bigger) but exactly the same amount of minerals as the smaller grains There are even articles that point to studies done that show that increased atmospheric CO2 levels have been shown to decrease the amount of nutrients in food. I’m a bit skeptical of that last once since plants breathe CO2.

One thing I did not specifically see though in my research, was a study of the nutrition value of plants grown in traditionally tilled soil vs soil that had been cover cropped and not tilled. My husband has been doing a lot of research in this area and it has some very interesting ramifications. No till gardening has been gaining some foothold of late and it has some serious advantages in the soil health world. Tilling the soil breaks up the delicate balance of fungus and bacteria that help the plants to thrive. Cover cropping though, was completely new to us. It has been taught for many years that you cannot add organic material to the soil. It only depletes over time as you grow plants on it. In farming the way we have been doing it for years, this is absolutely true. The soil is tilled, amended, crops grown, rotated, and the land allowed to lay fallow for a season or two before the whole process starts over again. But what happens when you grow not one crop, but a wide variety all mixed together and optimized to bring in what the soil needs? Legumes for nitrogen. Alfalfa and deep rooted plants for phosphorus. Plants for biomass. Then once these plants have grown and you’re ready to plant your crop (or garden) you just knock them down in place and plant right into them? As they rot they nourish the new plants and rebuild the soil. Combine this with intensive grazing techniques and all of a sudden your soil is healthier, your plants are healthier, and so are your animals. This is still something I’m learning about, but it sounds very promising indeed.

Lack of proper nutrition from food leaves the body unable to function properly. Nutrients are needed for both run and repair at a cellular level. If you are suffering from energy depletion due to inherent lack of nutrients in your diet, I would recommend supplementation. This could be in the form of adding in a food that is very high in the missing nutrient, like Celtic Sea Salt for magnesium, or in taking a whole food supplement that contains the needed nutrition. Even though foods aren’t as nutritious as they once were, whole foods are still much better for you than processed foods. In the mean time, perhaps you could try one of those no-till methods on your own home garden and see how that grows for you.

References:

Porterfield, A. (2015, November 19) Are GMOs to blame for the loss of nutrients in our fruits and vegetables? Retrieved February 13, 2023, from: https://geneticliteracyproject.org/2015/11/19/gmos-blame-loss-nutrients-fruits-vegetables/

Lovell, R. (n.d.) How Modern Food Can Regain Its Nutrients. Retrieved February 13, 2023, from: https://www.bbc.com/future/bespoke/follow-the-food/why-modern-food-lost-its-nutrients/

Scheer, R and Moss, D. (2011, April 27) Dirt Poor: Have Fruits and Vegetables Become Less Nutritious? Retrieved February 13, 2023, from: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/soil-depletion-aND-NUTRITION-LOSS/

Archuleta, R and Brandt, D. (2016) Soil & Diverse Cover Crops with Ray Archuleta & David Brandt Part 1 Retrieved February 11, 2023, from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNMdWnfjs8s&list=PLCeA6DzL9P4tEvxcRySMcFeo3J8_VEWeg&index=1

Jessica Meades