Despite centuries of cultivation and hybridization, commercially-grown produce lacks the nutritional punch of wild, edible plants growing in your backyard, according to best-selling author Jo Robinson who spoke last month in Springfield at the Acres U.S.A. conference.
But it’s possible to make smart food choices in the grocery store that boost nutritional value, she said.
Hundreds of people filled an auditorium in Springfield at the Prairie Capital Convention Center while a snow storm blanketed central Illinois to hear Robinson, author of “Eating on the Wild
Side: The Missing Link to Optimum Health.”
The author said her book is based on 15 years of research and analysis of 6,000 research studies.
In one study, she said, dandelion greens compared with spinach had:
Two times more calcium
Three times more vitamin A
Five times more vitamins E and K
75 percent more fiber
Perhaps the most significant loss from cultivation is the phytonutrient value in plants.
“Phytronutrients are the compounds plants produce to protect themselves from predators . . . deer, UV rays, fungus and disease,” she said. “Phytonutrients are the plants’ self-defense system. The plants’ self-defense system becomes our self-defense system.”
Robinson said phytonutrients help increase immunity and fight cardiovascular disease, cancer, dementia, diabetes and obesity. Phytonutrient-rich foods are anti-inflammatory.
Besides cultivation and hybridization to increase yields, plants have lost nutritional value by being bred to withstand long-distance shipping, add sweetness and tenderize skins. Other factors that strip nutrients are massive doses of pesticides and fertilizers, she said.
“Spraying pesticides reduces the plants need to produce phytonutrients,” Robinson told the audience. “When plants are grown in glass or plastic greenhouses that block UV light, the plant does not need to protect itself from UV light and produces less phytronutrients.”
There is little research on the nutritional value of hydroponic food, she said.
Hybridization of corn, for example, has produced super sweet varieties that have reduced protein to 2 percent and increased sugar to over 40 percent.
The most phytonutrient-rich foods are often bitter, sour or astringent tasting. Ranking apples typically available in grocery stores, she ranked Granny Smith most nutritious and Golden Delicious least nutritious. Best varieties available in the grocery store are Granny Smith, Fuji, Red Delicious, Braeburn and Gala. In one study, participants who ate one Golden Delicious apple a day had measurably increased triglycerides and cholesterol.
Once harvested, food rapidly loses its nutrients, she said, so backyard gardens are best. Short that, join a CSA, shop at a farmers market or select carefully in the grocery store. Best store-bought options include kale, black and red grapes, artichokes, parsley and herbs, she said.
Concord grapes are more nutritious than other grapes, even when purchased as Concord grape juice, she said. On the other extreme, Thompson seedless grapes have stripped out the anthocyanins and resveratrol, and 98 percent of raisins are made from Thompson grapes.
What’s the most nutritious food that helps fight disease? Locally grown, organic, she said. For more information, go to her website at www.eatwild.com. Acres U.S.A. publishes books and a magazine on organic, sustainable farming. It is based in Austin, TX. For more information go to: www.acresusa.com.