Mineral Depletion of the Soil ...why a 'healthy diet' isn't so healthy any more. Hundreds of years of farming have depleted the soil of the minerals we need in our food. Plants need these mineral for their own healthy growth, and we need them for our own health when we eat plants. Our need for minerals is part of our evolution during our prehistoric beginnings. Intensive farming, and the use of inorganic fertilisers, has gone on since the 1920’s, but these fertilisers consist mainly of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. calcium, in the form of lime, and iron are sometimes added. The essential trace elements are never deliberately replaced. Analysis showed severe depletion in the mineral content of the vegetables (see Table). Perhaps the most concerning results relate to the mineral loss in two of the West's main vegetables, potatoes and carrots. The latter lost 75% of its magnesium content, 48% of its calcium, 46% of its iron and 75% of its copper, with similar losses in potatoes. Calculation of critical ratios: Ca:P, Na:K, Mg:Ca and Fe:Cu found a significant change in all these ratios, which will have a significant influence on our body’s biochemistry. This example shows that we don't know what a 'healthy diet' consists of any more.
There are many reasons why minerals and trace elements have been diminished. This includes the depletion of the soil itself by long-term farming, excessive use of NPK fertilisers, (trace elements are never deliberately added), changes in varieties of plants grown and loss of micro-organisms in the soil. This deficiency in our diet is
made even worse by
radical changes to our eating habits. There has been a massive increase in manufactured,
convenience foods, often
referred to as ‘junk food’. These are high in saturated fats, sugars and
processed carbohydrates. These foods have, over the last 30 years, as the norm
and there is a generation of children who have eaten little else and regard it
as an appropriate diet. Consequently, we have created a society which is overfed
but malnourished of micro-nutrients. These factors have contributed to the
rise in certain diseases, such as diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease and
osteoporosis. Chemical substances derived from the diet also affect human behaviour. A recent study demonstrated that proving the recommended daily allowance (RDA) of micronutrients assisted in the correction of ant-social behaviour of juveniles. |
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