Nutrient density in food

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You know how it is why you have one of those “Oh, duh!” moments?

I felt that way when I read Real Food/Fake Food by Larry Olmsted recently.

I’ve thought for most of my life that it was ironic and so bizarre and made no sense that our bodies seem to crave super unhealthy junk food and not healthy food, and I couldn’t understand why.

That book showed that humans actually crave healthy food, but the depletion of nutrients in food that comes out of our current agribusiness system (meat as well as plants) means that our bodies are rarely satisfied nutrient-wise, and thus keep craving more, more, more food. By eating nutrient-poor food, we keep craving more until we get far more calories than our bodies really want or need.

On top of that, artificial flavors means that our bodies are more easily fooled into eating total junk, because our bodies believe strong flavor equals high nutrient content.

I learned that, and it was just like, “OHHHHH!”

It fit with a lot of life experiences I’ve had. For a few examples:

  • Whenever I crave pure empty calories in the form of sugar and starch, I can eat and eat and eat and eat and nothing will satiate it. I’ll just keep eating and eating and eating. But if I instead eat a big portion of healthy fat, I quickly get full and comfortable and have no more cravings. Uncontrollable cravings for empty carbohydrates seem to be a sign that my body is actually wanting fat (perhaps for fat-soluble vitamins?).

  • Sometimes I eat something I mildly dislike the taste of, but for some reason I really want more. I think this is my body communicating that there are nutrients in there I need.

  • Sometimes I eat something I really like the taste of, but for some reason I really don’t want to eat it. I think this is my body communicating that there’s something in there that’s harmful for me. The first time I ever noticed it was when I tried mulberries. The taste was like raisins (yum) and the texture was like raspberries (that’s fine), yet for some reason I hated them. I forced myself to eat more despite that, and I felt blah afterwards. I later noticed that the same thing happens with all nightshades for me.

  • A friend of mine has something similar: she’s allergic to clams, which took her forever to figure out because her body responds to her eating them by making her feel full. She’ll take two bites of clam clowder and instantly feel too full to eat any more. Half an hour later, she’ll be dying of hunger again.

  • Sometimes I find two things that have almost the same taste and texture, but for some reason I really crave one and not the other. I think this is my body communicating that one of them is full of nutrients that are really good for me, and the other isn’t. This is most noticeable with sweet potatoes (which my body really wants) and winter squash (which my body likes just fine, but doesn’t crave).

I’m starting to think nutrient deficiency in agribusiness food is the main cause for most overeating, and thus most obesity.

It made so much sense when I learned that, and it made me even more determined to grow more of my own food and select for deliciousness.

It especially felt like “duh” after I reread what Joseph Lofthouse said about high beta carotene in squashes tasting more delicious, and Carol Deppe saying high omega-3 in free range eggs tastes more delicious.

Everything just sort of came together.

Our bodies aren’t stupid! Our bodies are smart. We just need to learn how to interpret what they’re saying, and stop listening to marketing that is trying to shout so loudly that we can’t hear our bodies.

“Oh, duh!”

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As an interesting side note:

I don’t find myself craving things I intensely dislike the taste of, no matter how healthy they may be for my body, but it’s possible I do crave things that are closely related if I like the flavor okay. I suspect onions are really healthy for me, but I abhore them. Garlic, on the other hand, is a flavor I merely like, yet I seem to want it all the time, and I can feel huge health benefits whenever I eat it.

So that may be an interesting thing to consider when choosing plants for your garden. If there’s something you can’t stand the flavor of, but you can feel the health benefits, maybe see if there’s something closely related you might like the flavor of that would fulfill the same need.

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Tests done in the 1950s (I think) measured the nutrient density of various foods. Similar tests in the 90s showed that most foods had lost a minimum of 30% of their nutrient density. That means you have to eat 30% more to get the same nutrition. Some as high as 80%, if I remember correctly.

Plants react to chemical fertilizers the way we react to junk food (“Want Moar!!”) but again it’s empty calories. Being planted in essentially sterile soil, without the soil life, garbage in, garbage out, they can’t get what they need and pass that deficiency on to us.

The animal feed has largely suffered the same fate.

I read once that we cannot get the nutrients we need fron food, we must have supplements, and the argument was that our ancestors ate many times what we do because they had a very active lifestyle.

Maybe rather than eating 6000 calories a day as the article suggested, they simply ate food that was raised the way food should be–in living soil with microbes and bacteria and fungal networks.

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Oh! That’s a compelling comparison! I hadn’t thought about chemical fertilizers being the plant equivalent to junk food, and the parallel makes sense.

So what you’re saying is, all species on this planet are interconnected, and we need to let them all be involved in the circle of life fully? :wink: Go figure!

Yeah, that makes perfect sense, and may even be another “Oh, duh!” moment all on its own.

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I’m speaking at the Seed Savers Exchange conference on nutrient density on Friday, so I’ve been doing a deep dive into the topic and have learned a lot more. I have to practice talking about it, so anyone is invited on Tuesday/tomorrow 4:30 Pacific Time on zoom Launch Meeting - Zoom

30 minute presentation, then love to hear feedback.

From Soil to Seed: Unlocking the Secrets of Nutrient-Dense Gardening:
Genetics, microbes, and plant stress can greatly impact the nutrient density and flavor of your garden produce. This session offers a deep dive into how gardeners can leverage genetic diversity and soil-microbe interactions to cultivate crops that are not only healthier and tastier but also more resilient. Attendees will gain both the knowledge and the inspiration to apply these concepts in their gardens, ultimately contributing to a healthier, more sustainable approach to food cultivation.

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