Fed and still starving

Consider this startling fact: it takes 100 bowls of today’s spinach to equal the nutrients we could get in a single serving 60 years ago.

by Victoria Bowmann, Ph.D. — 

We are a nation of over-eaters, more so than any other in the world. In fact, Americans lead the world in heart disease, diabetes and obesity. Why do we eat and eat and still overeat? The paradoxical answer is that we are starved for nutrition.

Consider this startling fact: it takes 100 bowls of today’s spinach to equal the nutrients we could get in a single serving 60 years ago. Even though we are attempting to eat more organic foods, we are still starving, from the perspective of nutrient density. Our food just does not have the quantity of vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and other nutrients we expect — and need — it to have.

The end of World War II left a surplus of bomb-making materials, including nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus. Since it was known that these components are needed to grow large, plentiful crops, these excess minerals made their way into the fertilizer realm for the first time. And they continue to be present there today, in record numbers. Unfortunately, these fertilizers are not fortified with the other micro-nutrients also needed by the soil. Yields may look great on the outside, but they are nutrient-poor on the inside.

Even as recently as 1992, the Earth Summit confirmed this finding. According to its statistics, farmlands in North America are 85 percent nutrient-deplete, the worst in all categories. As a nation, we are fed but not nourished.

How can we evaluate our foods to determine whether they are nutrient-dense? A rating system called ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity) indicates a food’s ability to clean up free radicals so that we are not damaged from cellular disintegration. This type of knowledge is a powerful tool to assist us in making choices that will support vitality and greater quality of life.

Victoria Bowmann, Ph.D., is a licensed massage practitioner specializing in cleansing and detoxification. She has been in private practice in northeast Phoenix since 1978. 602-971-8392 or [email protected].

Reprinted from AzNetNews, Volume 24, Number 4, August/September 2005.