Nutritional Value of our Vegetables - Part 1

The nutritional value of our vegetables has been greatly compromised due to factory farming practices. So let us take a quick look into how and why.

We will use the Tomato as the example but this applies to all fruit and vegetables.

Using soil over and over again to produce the same plant depletes the soil of nutrients and micro-nutrients. Yes but, they fertilize to keep the plants growing and producing year and year after year. This statement is true they do fertilize but what is in fertilizer? The average fertilizer is comprised of only 3 (three) nutrients; nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P) and Potassium (K). These are the 3 numbers you see on your bags of fertilizer at your big box retailers and are represented as (10-10-10) as an example. The problem is these fertilizers do give the plant and its vegetable the appearance of being healthy. The plant will be green due to the nitrogen and the fruit will develop and be pleasing to the eye.

So where is the problem? The problem lies in the lack of sustainability of healthy soil. Each type of vegetable extracts micro-nutrients from the soil and should be delivering them to you as you eat them.

An excerpt from https://homeguides.sfgate.com/nutrients-tomato-plants-need-40145.html

“The Big Three

Nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, known as "primary nutrients," are the three main ingredients in most fertilizers and are vital to tomatoes. Plant growth and chlorophyll production depend on nitrogen, and phosphorus helps tomatoes grow and cope with stress while aiding in energy production. Potassium fights disease, improves tomato quality and is also important to photosynthesis. These nutrients leach from the soil as tomatoes grow, so you must replace them with fertilizer.

Supporting Trio

Tomatoes need the "secondary nutrients," calcium, magnesium and sulfur, but in lesser amounts than the primary nutrients. Calcium improves cell health, protecting against diseases and bruises. Tomatoes with higher levels of calcium are also more nutritious. Photosynthesis and chlorophyll both rely on magnesium, which helps their overall quality. Sulfur is needed for proteins and amino acids; a deficiency in magnesium and sulfur harms growth and causes yellow leaves.

Micronutrients

Tomatoes need micronutrients too, even if only in small amounts. Zinc, iron, boron, chloride, molybdenum, copper and manganese serve many purposes. Molybdenum, for instance, helps tomatoes efficiently use nitrogren, while zinc helps regulate growth and promotes proper sugar consumption. Boron assists tomatoes in making use of nutrients and is also essential to the development of their fruit and seeds.”

How many commercial tomato growers rebuild their soil with micro nutrients? Non that I know of, so what does this mean? It means that the fruit and vegetables we consume are NOT full of the nutrients that supplied our grandparents bodies and those before them, thus even eating healthy from the grocery store, eating organic you are not getting the nutritional needs your body requires.

How do I get that nutritionally dense food, buy from a local farmer. Go to the farm and get the vegetables. Theirs is usually grown in soil that has compost added to it and compost has the micro nutrients that the vegetables need and YOU and YOUR family NEEDS.