A lot of people who eat this produce and don't take any supplements are healthy and doing fine. If the nutrient levels have really fallen so much, then, how come malnutrition isn't an epidemic?
* The article is making claims about a 100 year timespan and I doubt we have comparable data on nutrient deficiencies which is that old
* Daily calorie intake has probably doubled in that time period, so in theory you'd hope daily intake of all essential nutrients would double as well, but here we are with almost half of women and children having iron deficiency, with widespread deficiency in vitamins D and B12, half of the population not getting the recommended calcium intake etc.
So I think as an example to start throwing some numbers out there. About 40% of Americans don't get the recommended amount of calcium. First chart in the article shows calcium in vegetables at retail declining by 90% in the last century.
I think we have evidence establishing that nutrient deficiency leads to cravings - maybe declining nutrient density is a factor encouraging overeating and obesity?
Half of the western world is obese, eating double what you actually need in term of calories probably make up for a lot of deficiencies in micro nutrients
Malnutrition isn't as visible as obesity though, you can be a fat fuck and still malnourished in some aspects, but if you're already fighting high blood pressure and diabetes these issues are way down your list of problems. It can be very subtle like micro gut health, teeth health, long term bone health, children not growing as tall as they could, &c.
Maybe people are "fine" and surviving but not flourishing. For example, if you are deficient in magnesium, you could have reduced energy levels, poor sleep, anxiety, depression, heart issues, etc. If you have reduced calcium, you develop osteoporosis down the line.
Maybe there are other health effects like people subconsciously eating more because the body is craving certain micronutrients, leading to getting fat from too many macronutrients.
safety1st|1 year ago
* The general population does have a bunch of nutrient deficiencies in their diet - https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/7-common-nutrient-defic... as an introduction to the problem
* The article is making claims about a 100 year timespan and I doubt we have comparable data on nutrient deficiencies which is that old
* Daily calorie intake has probably doubled in that time period, so in theory you'd hope daily intake of all essential nutrients would double as well, but here we are with almost half of women and children having iron deficiency, with widespread deficiency in vitamins D and B12, half of the population not getting the recommended calcium intake etc.
So I think as an example to start throwing some numbers out there. About 40% of Americans don't get the recommended amount of calcium. First chart in the article shows calcium in vegetables at retail declining by 90% in the last century.
I think we have evidence establishing that nutrient deficiency leads to cravings - maybe declining nutrient density is a factor encouraging overeating and obesity?
Pretty interesting topic
lm28469|1 year ago
Malnutrition isn't as visible as obesity though, you can be a fat fuck and still malnourished in some aspects, but if you're already fighting high blood pressure and diabetes these issues are way down your list of problems. It can be very subtle like micro gut health, teeth health, long term bone health, children not growing as tall as they could, &c.
Virtually no metrics are going in the right direction in the US when it comes to nutrition: https://globalnutritionreport.org/resources/nutrition-profil...
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/feb/10/nutriti...
francisofascii|1 year ago
carlmr|1 year ago
Maybe there are other health effects like people subconsciously eating more because the body is craving certain micronutrients, leading to getting fat from too many macronutrients.
aziaziazi|1 year ago