Fruits and vegetables aren't as nutritious as they used to be. What happened?

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

For decades, doctors and nutritionists have recommended eating plenty of fruits and vegetables for good health. But when you dig into a salad or nosh on an apple, are you getting the same nutritional benefits as you would have years ago? Probably not.

“Multiple studies have reported a measurable decline in the nutrient content of fruits, vegetables and grains over the past several decades,” Nicole Avena, a nutrition researcher and associate professor of neuroscience at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, tells Yahoo Life.

Nutritional content has dropped for more than 70 years. One study published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition analyzed 43 different garden crops (mostly vegetables) and found “statistically reliable declines” in six key nutrients — protein, calcium, phosphorus, iron, riboflavin and ascorbic acid — since the 1950s. The biggest drop (38%) was in riboflavin. The mineral density in wheat has also been dropping over the past 160 years.

The reason for this is complicated, but the basic takeaway is clear: This is not great for our health. “To get as many nutrients from our fruit and veggies as they did in the ‘70s and to hit our recommended daily consumption, we would need to consume seven to 10 servings a day,” Scott Keatley, a dietitian and co-owner of Keatley Medical Nutrition Therapy, tells Yahoo Life. (The American Heart Association currently recommends consuming five servings of produce per day, specifically three vegetables and two fruits, for a longer life).

https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/fruits-and-vegetables-arent-as-nutritious-as-they-used-to-be-what-happened-090004774.html

[Skittles]

1. is it me or are fruits just not as tasty as they used to be

I detest veggies so I don't know about them

[Figarosmom]

4. Most fruits ive had have been either tasteless

Or sour. I've stopped buying watermelon and will try growing this year since it stays warm much longer now.

[Skittles]

12. takes me back!

had a coworker whose farmer dad would show up to our corporate building in Dallas in a truck piled with huge watermelons - sold them out really quickly! I would see people in the elevators holding them. Good stuff!

[highplainsdem]

8. The quality of produce, like the quality of meat, has really dropped. Soils are depleted of nutrients

because of farming methods. Fruits and vegetables are picked long before they're eaten.

Veggies can be combined with fruit. i used to make slaw combining romaine lettuce and a cored but unpeeled apple in a food processor, then adding a bit of mayo.

[MadameButterfly]

9. Anyone who has had a garden

can no longer eat tomatoes from a grocery store. Most commercially grown tomatoes, especially those labelled organic, are hydroponic. This means nutrients are supplied in water and there is no soil used. There are organic growers disputing the allowance of hydroponic growers using the organic label, because the original definition of organic included growing in and improvement of the soil.

Berries are increasingly hydroponic, putting organic berry growers out of business. Driscoll berries are hydroponic. Strawberries in stores lost their flavor years ago, and more recently blueberries. Raspberries still seem to be flavorful but they ay be next.

Yes, nutrients have been declining in over-farmed soil using modern methods vs. organic that focus on restoring soil.

i don't know if my garden tomatoes are as nutritious as past garden tomatoes, but there's nothing today like an open pollinated organic tomato grown in home-made compost, picked when ready to eat and eaten that day. My home grown strawberries and blueberries taste great.

Try your local farmers' market. You will find similar results.

[Skittles]

21. I do get some from a farmers market

they're better than the supermarket, but not as good as they were in the past

[MadameButterfly]

24. its about the soil

I have a hard time comparing now and then, too hard to remember, but i think you are right. We have been degrading soil for centuries and bringing it back takes time and dedication.

Look up the book: Dirt: The Erosion of Civilizations by David Montgomery
For millenia civilizations have exhausted nutrients in soil and been forced to move on to new land to grow food. This has been happening since agriculture began about 15,000 years ago. We no longer have new land to move to, and a return to hunter/gatherer is not an option. We have to learn how to take care of the soil.

A small percentage of our farms have begun to do that. There have even been some government subsidies for farmers to transition to organic, but not nearly enough. I expect that will end under Trump. But it is hardly even a news story, ever. The issue got Congress' attention after a cloud of dust turned the air black in Washington D.C. during the Dust Bowl era, causing some reforms but not nearly enough. We are slowly starving ourselves of nutrients.

Organic standards aren't being upheld since the government took over policing them. Organizations like "Real Organic" are trying to fix that. Farms who sign up as members uphold the original organic standards. We can be consumer members for $100/year to support them and learn more about what they are doing and connect to suppliers. I haven't seen anything labelled as Real Organic in a grocery store yet, so I buy organic at the farmer's market as much as possible.

[Skittles]

28. interesting, I had not heard about that.....thanks

here in Texas we recently had to the wind and dust thing, it was not pleasant, lasted for days.....

[I_UndergroundPanther]

2. Don't know if this applies

But fruits and veggies go bad much faster than they used to. Strawberries rot overnight. I started noticing a change is shelf life around 1996. It has gotten worse.

[LisaM]

16. It depends where you shop.

I work near a Japanese grocery store (Uwajimaya) in Seattle and the quality of produce and how long it lasts are way superior to other local stores. Among other things, they don't drench it in water every 10 minutes or so. When I do get waterlogged produce, I dry it off as soon as I get home and store lettuce with paper.

[Skittles]

29. ooh I have noticed that too!

I swear bananas go bad at the stroke of midnight

[Figarosmom]

3. I grow heirloom veggies

They haven't been altered for better packaging for shipping or to produce in bulk. They have taste to them. The tomatoes don't taste dry and like cardboard. Igrow enough to can and freeze to last me all winter. The only thing in produce I buy at the store is celery and carrots and this year I will be growing those.

I do run out of potatoes in the winter though and end up buying them so this year I'm growing more. I'm even trying growing some from seed instead of seed potatoes. Actually I'm doing both. The seeds I ordered are a fingerling potatoes and I'm growing russet and reds from seed potatoes.

[GardenGnome]

6. You make a good point

Growers have focused on the appearance and fast growth of produce without giving a thought to the taste.

[Figarosmom]

7. The same with

Roses. They focus on appearance and hardiness and breed out the beautiful scent. So again I pay extra and buy heirloom plants.

Here's a place to get seeds if anyone wants them. If you do order and grow save seeds since musk is destroying the seed bank.

https://www.freeheirloomseeds.org/#rules

[mwmisses4289]

11. Oh! I thought it was just me noticing that

more modern rose varieties have almost no scent. My sense of smell is poor to begin with (and two bouts of covid haven't helped), so I thought it was just me. The worst ones are from that British gardener guy whose roses were really popular in the 1990's and early 2000s.

[GardenGnome]

15. Thanks

Good advice.

As for roses, I don't attempt to grow them. The tea roses they bred for looks are vulnerable to so many pests. Smart move going for heirloom plants.

[GardenGnome]

5. My experience

I grew up in the 50s and 60s. My mother was a big gardener. By the time I was in my teens she was providing our family of four with fruits and vegetables year round. When I left home and started eating store bought vegetables, I immediately noticed the difference in the way I felt and in my energy levels. By age 20, I was taking vitamins to make up for the lack of nutrients.

Time passes. In my mid 60s I started my own garden and am now growing almost enough fruit--I still buy some apples--and more than enough vegetables to keep me and a friend supplied year round. And again, once eating fruits and vegetables from my own garden, the improvement in my health and energy levels was noticeable. I still take vitamins, but it's no big deal if I miss a day or two. In the past, it would have been.

I read some years back that we were getting about 20% of the nutrition from store bought vegetables that people got 100 years ago. Some fruits, like watermelon, are pumped full of water to make them grow faster. And, yes, this is done at the cost of flavour. If you can manage any kind of garden to supplement your vegetable and fruit supply, I highly recommend doing so.

[LisaM]

18. This is not possible as we are being forced into tiny apartments.

People rave about density, but as we are being increasingly herded into small, expensive spaces with no outdoor access, and reliant on transit, options like having our own gardens don't exist.

[GardenGnome]

20. The modern world isn't designed for living off the land.

I have 3/10s of an acre, of which 12' x 65' is vegetable and berry garden. That doesn't include the areas where I have fruit trees. I'm hoping to make this work until I hit 80. If I'm lucky, maybe longer. If I'm not, and I end up in assisted living or a condo, I've thought about what I could grow under those circumstances. Nothing like what I have now, but something could be done with a south-facing balcony. And I suppose I could grow a few things inside with the grow lights I'm using for seedlings. Seed sprouting can also provide some nutrition and they don't require much. Just a jar. Are there any farmer's markets near you? We have a couple in the area. They offer better produce than you can get at the grocery store.

[LisaM]

23. We don't have a balcony. In hindsight, that should have been a priority.

At the time we moved out of our small rental house (something that pretty much no longer exists in Seattle) we had an older dog and I was afraid of a balcony for her sake, I didn't want her to tumble off. Now we are in this okay but too small place. It was convenient because it was near a lot of stores and buses but with the light rail and relentless construction and destruction around us, the stores are gone, the buses have been replaced by this horrible light rail and all the new housing is small apartments, temp housing really, designed for single tech workers. Moving is just so expensive.

Things like this need to be factored into all these apartments they are throwing up. It is all essentially short term housing and lifestyle things like even window gardens aren't considered.

[GardenGnome]

27. That's a really good point

I started a vegetable garden because of climate change. I expected fruits and vegetables to become more expensive and less available. City planners and builders should be taking this into account. I knew a man who grew up on a farm in Illinois during the Depression. He said they never had any money but they always had food. Governments that are rightfully concerned about providing more, and less expensive, housing should also be concerned about food availability and how personal gardens can ease the pressure. Allowing space for neighbourhood allotments would help, but that won't happen in cities where any empty space is viewed as a money-making opportunity.

[LisaM]

30. The housing they throw up is all short term.

I seriously don't understand how I am expected to live and die in this small, expensive place.

[MadameButterfly]

25. Individual gardens just aren't practical for everybody

I gardened for years and loved it but realized it was competing with my career. There are dedicated organic farmers who can grow food much more efficiently than I can and who need the support from those of us who care. If we buy from farmers markets, join CSAs, support organizations that buy land for small farmers, we are doing as much or more than if we had our own garden.

Where I live there is the Agricultural Stewardship Association. They buy land and make it affordable for beginning farmers. These farmers commit to making the land for farming forever. This means it can't be developed.

I've been to NOFA conferences in NY and VT--I assume they have them in every state. Farmers who present are constantly innovating farming methods. There is an army of young people dedicating their lives to this cause. There are organizations that offer opportunities to invest in organic farming. The primary goal is to promote organic farming but investors do make money.

It was most important for me to have a garden when my daughter was young to understand where food really comes from. So that she would grow up valuing vegetables and understanding the role we and nature play. Now my priority is to support people who can produce organic food on a small scale (the large scale farms aren't doing it right) but on a much larger scale than I ever could.

[C Moon]

10. I used to love broccoli. My favorite vegetable. But since I had COVID last winter, I can't eat it.

It tastes like boiled grass to me now.

[nuxvomica]

13. I think the use of pesticides has played a big role

Many of the compounds in plants that make them nutritious and tasty are related to protecting the plant from pests and harsh conditions. If the plant doesn't have to protect itself, it won't make a lot of these compounds.

[mwmisses4289]

14. A number of things are contributing

but big ags emphasis on things that can survive being shipped, along with soil depletion, probably have a lot to do with it.

[RainCaster]

19. We can thank Monsanto for that

The world's seed supplier. Specially bred for mediocrity.

We grow some of our veggies and others we get from a local truck farm, or the local farmer's market.

[BidenRocks]

17. Quantity over quality

When I saw "Soylent Green" in 1973, I didn't know it was a documentary.

[no_hypocrisy]

22. It's the soil.

The soil has lost its nutrients over years of farming. Like the loss of topsoil instead of rotating crops.

The roots of vegetables, fruits, tubers absorb the nutrients or they don't if the nutrients are minimal.

All that's left essentially is fiber.

[RockCreek]

26. Does anyone know if the situation is better in Europe?

Many countries there have protected at least some traditional agriculture and methods.