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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><FONT face="Times New Roman">Daily Mail, March 5,
2001 <BR><BR>FRUIT and vegetables are not as good for us as they were 50 years
ago according to a scientific study. Modem farming methods mean that the
amount of essential minerals In the food we eat has been reduced alarmingly.
There is up to 75 per cent less calcium and 93 per cent less copper .
In fruit and vegetables, the study says. Runner beans which used to
contain a significant amount of sodium - vital for the working of the nerves and
muscles - now have almost no traces of it at all. <BR><BR>The levels of other
important minerals such as iron, phosphorous, potassium and magnesium have also
plummeted. Nutritionist David Thomas said he was 'astonished' by his flndlngs.
'Minerals have been recognised as being very important to our physiology,
but the general public has no idea that there has been this dramatic decline in
the levels of such elements in our food,' he said. His research allowed
that broccoli has 75 per cent less calcium, which is essential for building
healthy body and teeth. Carrots have 75 per cent less magnesium, which protects
against heart attacks, asthma and kidney stones. <BR><BR>Spinach, famous as a
good source of iron, was found to have 60 per C less iron than it did 50 years
ago. Mr Thomas said he believed the reduction in the mineral content in food was
a result of modern farm methods which use massive amounts of fertiliser on the
soil. The fertilisers encourage ph growth, but this Is at the expense of
the minerals which are Important for good health. Mr Thomas said:
'We are made up of these substances. If they're deficient then the body cannot
cope as well as It would otherwise.' <BR><BR>He based his conclusions on data
from The Composition of Foods, a comprehensive study of the content of all major
foods dating back to 1940. By comparing figures over a 50-year period he
was able to plot certain trends. A similar analysis, comparing data from
1930 and 1980, was published in the British Food Journal in 1997. It compared 20
vegetables and found levels of calcium, iron and other minerals had declined
significantly. <BR><BR>Professor Tim Lang, of the renowned Centre for Food
Policy at Thames Valley University, said the results revealed an important trend
which needed to be exposed. 'These are big percentages,' he said. 'The
nature of production is altering what we are eating. Plant breeders have been
trying to develop tomatoes and carrots and fruit that look nice, resist disease
and can withstand being shipped halfway around the world.<BR>'They have been
less concerned about the minerals in the food. 'We are dying prematurely
of coronary heart disease and cancer and we are being told to cut down on fat
and eat more fruit and vegetables. But at the same time they are changing the
content of what we are eating.'<BR>Mr Thomas runs a company called Trace
Minerals UK, based in Sussex, which distributes a mineral supplement
called ConcenTrace. <BR><BR> Professor Lang said that despite his
commercial interest, Mr Thomas had carried out a legitimate piece of
research. </FONT><BR></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>