If you want to know what constitutes a healthy diet, information is easy to find these days. Anyway, most of us know the basics: say no to chips and soda; Eat fresh fruits and vegetables instead. It’s just a question of implementing it in our daily lives.
But do the things we’ve labeled as “good for you” in our minds, like fresh fruits, vegetables, or whole grains and pulses, still live up to their reputation?
The short answer is “not necessarily.”
“There has been a decline in mineral content in a wide range of foods,” said david montgomeryA geologist in the Department of Earth and Space Sciences at the University of Washington in the northwestern US.
The question is: why?
The dilution effect reduces the levels of nutrients in some foods.
Montgomery has researched various farming practices and how they affect the soil and thus our food. For his book, “What’s Your Food At,” he looked at nearly 1,000 peer-reviewed studies on nutrient levels in foods including fruits, vegetables and grains. They found that there has been no consistent change in the levels of macronutrients in food over the past few decades. It included carbohydrates, proteins and fats.
But the same cannot be said for micronutrients like vitamins and minerals like iron and zinc.
“We don’t need a lot of them, but they are central to our health,” Montgomery told DW. “Mineral levels are particularly affected by agricultural practices.”
For example, when grains are bred to yield twice the amount of wheat, this can result in reduced nutrient levels per ear of wheat.
This can happen with grain varieties that do not alter the amount of minerals and nutrients absorbed from the soil, but which are bred to grow twice as much as wheat – then the same amount of goodness is spread across a higher yielding crop.
This is the so-called dilution effect. And that’s one reason, Montgomery says, why some healthy foods today aren’t as healthy as the ones our grandparents used to eat.
‘Reducing soil disturbance’ leads to more nutritious food
The soil in which our food grows also plays an important role in how nutritious the food on our plate is.
Modern farming techniques, such as plowing and the use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, upset the balance of fungi and microbes present in the soil. And if this balance is disrupted, plants may be less able to absorb nutrients as well as phytochemicals, which have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.
That’s why Montgomery calls for “regenerative agricultural practices, which involve minimizing physical and chemical disturbance of the soil, keeping living plant roots in the soil at all times, and growing a variety of crops.”
If you do this, it increases the so-called nutrient cycling and the production of phytochemicals. And that could lead to “more of these compounds that we want in our food that are actually present in our food,” Montgomery said.
And why do we want them in our food? While phytochemicals are not essential to our health and are not classified as nutrients, they protect our cells from damage caused by environmental toxins and help neutralize free radicals that can damage our DNA.
All plants produce them, so you can find them in anything from grains to vegetables in your salad to berries in your oatmeal.
Additionally, the more phytochemicals a food contains, the better it tastes.
The better known micronutrients include:
- vitamin C: Good for your teeth and heart health and contributes to a healthy immune system. Found in peppers, kale, strawberries or oranges
- Zinc: The body does not produce zinc on its own, but it is needed for healthy growth and wound healing. Found in seafood, oats or eggs
Benefits of a balanced diet
Astrid Donalise is a nutrition scientist Federal Nutrition Center of GermanyNot concerned about the nutrients in the food we grow. Instead, she says, it’s more important to eat a variety of foods.
It’s easier for us to achieve a balanced diet than our grandparents, says Donnelly, because we have access to a wider variety of fruits and vegetables year-round.
For example, in Germany winter in the past meant eating a lot of beets and potatoes and not much fruit other than apples and pears.
But that doesn’t mean we should always eat strawberries in the winter, just because we can. “You should choose regional and seasonal produce,” Donnelly said. “This way, fruits and vegetables will be especially fresh, and shorter transportation routes will protect the environment.”
Silke Restemeyer, a nutritionist German Nutrition SocietyAn independent non-governmental organization also emphasizes the importance of a diverse diet. He has some recommendations about what this diet should include.
“People who eat a lot of fruits and vegetables are less likely to experience high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke,” Restemeyer told DW. “We’ve also seen signs that diseases like cancer and dementia are less common in people who eat more fruits and vegetables.”
Eat more whole wheat and less meat
That’s not all there is to a healthy diet. Restemeyer also recommends eating legumes like beans and lentils for their high fiber content. They also provide our body with vitamin B1, vitamin B6 as well as micronutrients like iron, zinc and magnesium. They don’t cause our blood sugar to rise as quickly, meaning that a regular portion of lentil soup, for example, will keep you satiated for longer than a pastry or burger.
Nutritionists suggest eating a handful of nuts a day – they contain important fatty acids and are good for your heart.
When choosing wheat products like bread or pasta, you should choose whole wheat options, as these have more fiber. “It reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes, lipid metabolism disorders, colon cancer and heart disease,” Restemeyer said.
These are just some examples of things that can help keep you healthy. The general idea is to eat more plant products, more whole wheat, less meat and less soft drinks, Restemeyer said.
Edited by: Zulfikar Abbani