The Mineral Content in Our Foods

The mineral content in our foods has changed drastically in the last 100 years. The soil has been depleted of it's vital nutriets. What has happened to the soil?

Plants absorb 70 to 80 different minerals. The commercial fertilizers being used only replace a few of them, NPK- nitrogen, phosophorus, and potassium.

Fewer crops and animals raised further depletes the mineral status of the soil. Organic wastes that in former times would have been composted and returned to the land, are now mostly sent to landfills or incenerated.

Soil contains bacteria, fungi, plant and animal life, in a state of constant interaction and balance. Every one of these organisims needs dozens of different minerals to survive and play it's part in the ecosystem. Some bacteria have a vital role in converting soil minerals into chemical forms plants can use. NPK fertilizers change the soil pH to acidic conditions in which these bacteria cannot survive. To combat soil acidification, farmers lay lime on the soil, which adds back calcium and magnesium to raise the soil pH, but it also converts manganese and some other trace elements into chemical forms that plants are unable to absorb.

Pesticides and herbacides also reduce the uptake of trace minerals by plants. Chemical fungicide sprays destroy beneficial fungi, and reduce the ability of plants to absorb soil minerals. Insecticides can also reduce trace mineral uptake by inactivating choline containing enzymes in plants, essential for the absorbtion of manganese and other minerals.

How does this affect our health?

To maintain good health, we need good food with both vitamins and minerals. The foundation of human health is the quality of the food we eat, which relies ultimately on the soil on which it was raised.
Minerals are needed for the proper formation of blood and bone, the maintenance of healthy nerve function, heartbeat regulations, reproduction and fetal development. They are essential to the process of growth, healing, and energy release. Minerals are an essential part of our diet, and a lack of them causes a susceptability to diseases, such as heart disease (magnesium), cancer (selenium), diabetis (chromium), and mental illness (zinc).