In the past, when food resources were scarce, solving the problem of food and clothing was a major problem, not to mention how to eat nutritionally balanced. It is precisely because of the shortage of food that in ancient times, there were many poems and songs that expressed the problem of food and clothing.
"May the heavens be full of warmth and go out of the mountains and forests without hesitation."
"But all sentient beings are full, and they do not hesitate to lie down in the sun"
Nowadays, food and clothing are no longer a problem, but there is more and more evidence that the nutrition of the food we eat has declined! In addition, the old people often complain to the table: the current food is not tasteful, not delicious!
Could it be that we are barely able to eat enough and are malnourished again? Still have to endure deteriorating tastes?
Ay! Is it really "fish and bear paws can not have both", is the current food really low in nutrition and tasteless? Will it be eaten malnourished? This article will talk about why many foods are not as good as in the past today, and finally will support everyone's nutritional balance.
01
Has the nutrition of modern agricultural products "shrunk"?
For modern people, diet is not only to solve the problem of food and clothing, but also to pay more attention to whether the intake of nutrients is sufficient. If the diet is malnourished for a long time, it will induce a variety of diseases.
For example, the lack of vitamin C will not only lead to decreased immunity, bleeding gums, but also induce scurvy; lack of vitamin B will affect the health of the skin and mucous membranes; iron deficiency will lead to anemia; zinc deficiency will lead to taste disorders, affecting children's growth and development; calcium deficiency will lead to osteoporosis...
Disturbingly, a growing body of research has confirmed that modern agricultural products are becoming less and less nutritious. This means that eating the same food is not as nutritious as before.
For example, the carotene content of mango in the 1991 "Chinese Food Composition Table" was 8050 μg/100 g, while the mango carotene content in the "China Food Ingredient List 6th Edition" published in 2018 was reduced to 897 μg/100 g; in the 1991 "China Food Ingredient List" the vitamin B1 and vitamin B2 content per 100 g were 0.26 mg and 0.09 mg, respectively, while the "Chinese Food Ingredient List 6th Edition" The content of vitamin B1 and vitamin B2 per 100 grams of yellow corn flour decreased to 0.07 mg and 0.04 mg respectively, and the content of the minerals iron, zinc and selenium decreased.
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In 2018, Harvard university researchers published a paper in the British journal Nature Climate Change, mentioning the impact of climate change on food nutrition, the rising level of carbon dioxide in the world, will make the nutritional value of agricultural products lower and lower, it is estimated that by 2050, 175 million people will be deficient in zinc and 122 million people are deficient in protein.
In addition, a study published in the journal Scientific Reports in 2020, based on wheat grain quality analysis of samples taken between 1850 and 2016, assessed changes in yield and nutritional quality of wheat grains over the past 166 years, and found that from 1955 to 2016, the protein content in wheat decreased by 23%, and the content of manganese, iron, zinc and magnesium also decreased significantly. [1]
Based on multiple studies, many modern foods are indeed not as nutritious as before.
02
Why does nutrition and flavor "shrink"?
In addition to the effects of climate change, human factors are also a major factor affecting the nutrient content of food. Examples include cultivation, transportation and food processing.
(1) Planting method: In the past, almost all crops were planted in the open air, but now in order to increase production, a large number of crops are planted in greenhouses. Compared with the two methods, the vegetables grown in greenhouses may be inferior to those grown in the open in part in terms of nutrition, such as vitamin C, which everyone cares about. [2]
In addition, due to reasons such as temperature and light, the flavor of vegetables and fruits grown in greenhouses is not as good as that of open-air cultivation. For example, an increase in light intensity will increase the vitamin C, soluble sugar, soluble solids content and sugar-acid ratio of tomato fruit, and reduce the organic acid content, which will affect the taste of vegetables and fruits. [3]
At the same temperature, the lower the light intensity, the weaker the photosynthesis of vegetables, the worse the quality, the worse the flavor, which is one of the reasons why many people say that the current vegetables and fruits are "tasteless".
For this matter, the author is still deeply touched, compared with the carrots grown at home and the carrots purchased at the farmers' market, the carrots at home are simply the "delicious ceiling of the carrot world"!
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(2) Transportation: In order to ensure the quality of fruits and vegetables on the shelves, many fruits and vegetables will be picked before they are fully ripe. In the process of storage and transportation for a long time, the nutrition of food will inevitably decline.
(3) Food processing: In order to facilitate the current life, there are a variety of processed foods on the market, such as biscuits, sausages, dried fruits, dried sweet potatoes, pickles, etc. The process of food processing can lead to a large amount of nutrient loss.
03
Will we be malnourished?
Many people may be more worried, since the current food nutrition has "shrunk", will it be malnutrition? Don't worry.
First of all, although most foods now have a decrease in nutrient content, we now have a fairly rich variety of foods! In the past, due to the restrictions of conditions, basically what vegetables in their own home fields could only eat what vegetables, food types were limited, such as most of the rural fields in the northeast were eggplant, potatoes, tomatoes, Chinese cabbage, celery, leeks, carrots, turnips... Always eating is really tired, often a large bowl of rice with a little dish, full of food on the line.
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Now it's different, we can not only eat the dishes at home, but also the dishes from the north and the south. Southerners can eat northern food, and northerners can also taste southern cuisine. Food diversity can not only consume a variety of nutrients, but also enrich our table and promote appetite.
Secondly, the "Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents" recommends that everyone eat a variety of foods, and vegetables should eat 300 to 500 grams per day, of which dark vegetables with richer nutrients should account for more than half of the total amount of vegetables. In addition, you must eat about half a kilogram of fruit, 300 to 500 grams of milk, 1 egg, 2 two meats, 10 grams of nuts, 25 grams of soybeans, staple food at least 4 inches a bowl of rice per meal, in strict accordance with the recommendations of the guidelines to eat, and do not have to worry about malnutrition.
04
How to maximize the nutrient retention of food?
The same ingredients, in order to consume more nutrients, you must master some methods. This gives everyone 5 tricks to make eating more nutritious.
(1) Ingredient handling: Before cooking ingredients, ingredients must be handled first, and improper handling will lead to loss of nutrients from food. For example, many people in the north will use salt to "kill" when cooking, squeeze out water and then cook, which will lose most of the water-soluble vitamins.
Another example is to make a stir-fried cabbage, there are data show that the cabbage is cut into segments, the loss of vitamin C after frying is about 30%, and if it is cut into thin wires, it will lose 51% after frying, and the finer the cut, the more nutrients are lost. [4] For example, the more times rice is panned, the more vitamin B will be lost.
(2) Wash first and cut later: Cutting first and washing later will cause water-soluble vitamins and minerals to be lost from the incision, so it is best to wash the vegetables first and then cut them.
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(3) Cooking method: Compared with steaming, boiling, stewing, and cold mixing, high-temperature cooking methods such as frying and roasting will cause food to lose more nutrients. For example, when frying food, the higher the oil temperature, the more serious the oxidation and decomposition of vitamin A, and some vitamin A will be dissolved in the oil and lost. The use of cold mix and a little flaxseed oil is not only delicious, but also promotes the absorption and utilization of fat-soluble vitamin A.
If it is stir-fried, it is recommended to use the method of rapid stir-frying, which can shorten the heating time of vegetables and reduce nutrient loss. However, some legumes contain saponins and phytohethagglutinins, which should be fully heated before consumption. If it is a soup, it is recommended to open the soup to avoid boiling water for a long time to accelerate nutrient loss.
Eat prepared dishes as soon as possible, do not heat them repeatedly.
(4) Use spices: The role of spices is not only to enhance the taste of dishes, they also contain polyphenols, flavonoids and other antioxidants, which can reduce the loss of vegetable nutrients in cooking.
Studies have compared the polyphenols, flavonoid content and antioxidant activity of 14 kinds of spices we commonly use, and the results show that in pepper, pepper, cinnamon, white root, cardamom, sand ginger, grass fruit, star anise, cloves, black pepper, fragrant leaf, licorice, tangerine peel, fennel, the strongest antioxidant capacity is cloves, followed by cinnamon and peppercorns. [5]
(5) Increase whole grain intake: Refined white rice noodles are all foods that have been milled and processed, and a lot of nutrients have been lost, so it is recommended to increase the intake of some whole grains in the diet.
The 2022 edition of the Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents deliberately emphasizes eating 50 to 150 grams of whole grains and miscellaneous beans per day. It is very good to make mixed grains and beans, and replace 1/3 to 1/2 of the refined white rice noodles with mixed grains and beans, such as oat rice, brown rice, red bean rice, purple potato rice, corn steamed buns, buckwheat steamed buns, etc.
In addition to these methods, we must also pay attention to the storage time of ingredients, and we must buy less and buy less for ingredients that are not easy to preserve, so as to avoid long-term storage leading to nutrient loss and rot.
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Summary:
Although the nutrition of most foods is now "shrinking", in view of the current situation, there is no need to worry about malnutrition. We should diversify our food, eat more natural foods, eat less processed foods, and optimize our diet.
Author | Xue Qingxin Member of Chinese Nutrition Society Registered Dietitian Health Manager Public Dietitian
Audit | Han Hongwei, Director of the Risk Exchange Department of the National Food Safety Risk Assessment Center
Edit | Jiang Fan
Editor-in-charge | Ding Song
Bibliography:
[1] Mariem, S.B., Gámez, A.L., Larraya, L. et al. Assessing the evolution of wheatgrain traits during the last 166 years using archived samples. Sci Rep 10,21828 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-78504-x
Zhao Pingjuan. Comparative study on Vc content of green vegetables in open ground and greenhouse[J].Modern Agricultural Science and Technology,2012,(10):336-337.DOI:10.3969/j.issn.1007-5739.2012.10.208.
Zhao Y P, Zou Z R, Yang Z J, et al. Effects of different temperature and light on photosynthesis and fruit quality of greenhouse tomato[J]. Journal of Northwest A&F University:Natural Science Edition, 2010, 38(5):6.
Yang Yuexin,Ge Keyou. Chinese Nutrition Science Encyclopedia 2nd Edition (Volume 1)[M].People's Medical Publishing House, 2019
Shan Tiantian, Dai Yu, Xu Xiaoying, Wang Hongxun, Wang Limei.Comparative study on polyphenol, flavonoid content and antioxidant activity of 14 spice extracts[J].China Condiments,2019,44(04):80-83+88.
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Source: Scientific Debunking