Science deep dive

Research coming out of Germany has confirmed what many of us have suspected for years—the nutrient density in our produce is steadily cratering:

Broccoli
- Calcium = 1985 > 103 ..... 1996 > 33 ..... difference - 68%
- Folic acid = 1985 > 47 ..... 1986 > 23 ... difference - 52%
- Magnesium = 1985 > 24 .... 1996 > 18 ..... - 25%

Carrots
- Calcium = 1985 > 37 ..... 1996 > 31 ..... difference - 17%
- Magnesium = 1985 > 21 ..... 1996 > 9 ..... difference - 57%

Spinach
- Magnesium = 1985 > 62 ..... 1996 > 19 ..... difference - 68%
- Vitamin B6 = 1985 > 200 .... 1996 > 82 ..... difference - 59%

Apples
- Vitamin C = 1985 > 5 ..... 1986 > 1 - 80%

Bananas
- Calcium = 1985 > 8 ..... 1996 > 7 ..... difference - 12%
- Magnesium = 1985 > 31 ..... 1996 > 27 ..... difference - 13%
- Folic acid = 1985 > 23 ..... 1996 > 3 ..... difference - 84%
- Vitamin B6 = 1985 > 330 ..... 1996 > 22 ..... difference - 92%

I can't help but wonder if, looking at these numbers, you still believe you're getting enough vitamins and minerals from the fruit and vegetables sitting on your counter, or if you've come to realize that supplements are just a necessity now if you want to actually give your body what it needs.

Doctors are only thinking about bigger paychecks.

mistybear4 said:Research out of Germany has confirmed a rather grim trend: the vitamin and mineral content in our fruits and vegetables is steadily declining.

It makes me wonder—given these findings, do you honestly believe you're getting sufficient micronutrients from the produce available at your local grocery store? Or have you realized that dietary supplementation is actually necessary to ensure your body gets what it needs?

Look, I have a brilliant strategy for you: stop trying to sell vitamins and minerals like you're peddling snake oil. Instead, try selling them as "not" snake oil... which is to say, just tell people to hand over their cash upfront, otherwise, you'll spend thirty minutes lecturing them on why they should buy their Vitamin C from you for $67 instead of picking it up at the supermarket for $2.75. You save your breath, and the customers open their wallets much sooner.

Amy Fox97 said:Doctors only care about their paychecks.

Oh, really?
And where exactly did you get that profound insight? 😈

Not from your... well, you know.

Anthony Harris14, look, this isn't about making some sale; it's more about trying to wake people up to the reality that they can't just rely on whatever fruits and vegetables they graze on during the day to hit their actual mineral and vitamin requirements—I'm convinced otherwise, if you catch my drift.

mistybear4 said:Studies out of Germany

I'd love to track down the original paper. Could someone drop a link or a formal reference? Thanks. 🙂

darkbison81 said:I’d love to find the original article, could someone please provide the reference? Thanks 🙂

darkbison81, I'm actually hunting down that original paper right now, and as soon as it turns up, I'll send it over... 🙂

There's just an overwhelming amount of data out there to sift through, and while some searches turn up nothing, I've learned that it usually just comes down to how much leverage you have or how stubborn you're willing to be to dig for the truth. I've always found that if you're persistent enough, things eventually fall into place, much like how I managed to end up grabbing a drink with David Heber and Nobel laureate Louis Ignarro recently here in Atlanta, USA (I can shoot those photos over to your email if you want to see them) ... 🙂

mistybear4 said:darkbison81, I’m actually hunting down the original paper right now. As soon as I track it down, I’ll shoot it over to you... 🙂

I don't need photos, but thanks for the offer. I'd definitely take a PDF of the article though, especially if it's in some journal that isn't easy for me to access. 🙂

mistybear4 said:David Heber
Louis Ignarro

Wait, is this the same David:
UCLA Center for Human Nutrition, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California-Los Angeles

The Ignarro I’m familiar with—you know, the guy who does all that work on nitric oxide signaling? I can't recall the specific colleague's name right now, but his stuff is all over PubMed 😵—doesn't really focus on nutrition research...

But whatever, it doesn't matter much.

I was watching this science documentary on TV the other day where one of the experts mentioned how back at the turn of the century, just eating a single apple was enough to hit your daily Vitamin C requirements. Now, he was suggesting you'd need somewhere in the ballpark of 20—maybe even 60 apples—to get the same result today. I haven't actually looked into whether there's any real scientific basis for that claim or if it’s backed by any specific studies, but that's what I heard.

This totally reminds me of those old Donat magnesium commercials from back in the 80s.
You know, the ones where some guy is walking through the dirt, crumbling it between his fingers, while a voiceover says there’s less and less magnesium left in the soil.

Anthony Harris14 said:I just heard that somewhere; I have no idea if there's actually any real research backing it up.

Exactly. That’s precisely why I insist on digging up the original study myself. When you're just dealing with secondhand information, things get "skewed" or completely misinterpreted.
I won't say that when you read the actual paper, you get a much better look at the mat & met (it's a hell of a thing, honestly 🙂), but more than anything, I love getting into the discussion sections 🙂

Only then do you really grasp what kind of data you're holding and what you can actually do with it. 🙂

Hannah Davis18 said:It totally reminds me of those old donut commercials from the 80s.
You know the ones—someone walking across the ground, crumbling it with their hands while some narrator tells you there's less and less magnesium left in the soil.

So what, are we supposed to just start eating dirt now? 🤔
How on earth do you even remember stuff like that? 😁

not even trying to be subtle.
😁

i remember everything, but this intro just brings it all back.

darkbison81 said:You're spotting the mat & met stuff pretty clearly—it’s honestly wild how much detail is packed in there 🙂 )

Most of the people mistybear4 is aiming his posts at don't even know what mat & met is, let alone how to actually make sense of an original scientific paper!

Jose Miller3 said:The people mistybear4 is aiming his posts at don't even know what mat & met is, let alone how to actually interpret an original scientific paper!

Look, I just say what interests ME. When I want to fact-check something or dig for specific details, I ask. I also make sure to remind everyone that just because something is reported doesn't mean it's exactly what the scientist actually discovered or published. Plus, I point out that there are all kinds of scientists out there, and frankly, any old thing can get published these days...

How someone chooses to handle information—whether they analyze it themselves, seek help, blindly believe it, or dismiss it outright—is entirely their own business.
At least we have some well-meaning chemists here 😉 who would be more than happy to help anyone interested evaluate whether a study is actually legit. 🙂

darkbison81 said:just some well-meaning chemists 😉

where can you even find people like that? 😁

Jose Miller3 said:Where can you even find people like that? 😁

The only ones I ever run into 😁 and honestly, their patience is unreal 🙂

Jose Miller3 said:Where on earth can one find people like that? 😁

My resident chemical guru is darkbison81.😍

eena_ said:my go-to chemistry expert is Luca😍

honestly, she's not even a chemist at all...