Plants are losing their nutrients. Global supply chain disruptions are delaying shipments, causing nutrients to deteriorate as foods spend more time away from their nutrient sources. It seems like the world is conspiring to keep you from consuming the nutrients you need. What can you do? These simple habits can help you maximize nutrients in your fruits and vegetables.
Why maximizing matters: Produce is less nutritious than you think
Fruits and vegetables are at their most nutritious when plucked from the plant. Several factors in the modern food system cause major nutrient loss, so anything you can do to preserve vitamin and mineral content makes the difference.
- The longer the plant spends off the vine, the more the nutrients decline.
- Time spent in air increases oxidation, which deteriorates nutrients.
- Improper storage temperatures further and damage during shipment further degrade nutrients.
- Lack of nutrients in soil (due to massive industrial harvests and monocropping, among other reasons) grows produce with lower vitamin and mineral content.
Vitamins and Minerals disappearing in produce
Over the last 30–40 years, nutrient density has declined dramatically in crops, with some of the largest losses occurring in:
- Calcium
- Iron
- Magnesium
- Potassium
- Zinc
- Vitamin A
- Riboflavin (vitamin B2)
- Vitamin C
How to get the most nutrients from fruits and vegetables
Buy local
It's time to hit the farmer's market. As soon as a fruit or vegetable is disconnected from its nutrient source — vine, tree, plant — it starts losing moisture and its nutrients begin to degrade.
Produce can take up to a week in transit and 1–3 days on grocery store shelves before you bring them home. During that time in storage, transit, and display, temperature and humidity must be carefully controlled to prevent moisture loss and maintain nutrients.
Buying local produce minimizes transit time, minimizing nutrient loss due to storage conditions and degradation that happens over time.
Don’t hoard
Chances are, you’re not an expert in food storage. And all the fruits and veggies co-mingling in an overstuffed produce drawer in the home fridge aren’t being stored at optimal temperature and humidity conditions.
To retain the highest nutrient quantity, it’s best to eat fresh produce within a couple days of buying. Buying a giant bag of spinach may not be as good of a deal as other bulk purchases. Every time you open the bag, you expose the spinach to oxygen, which — you guessed it — oxidizes the leaves, destroying nutrients and decreasing its lifespan.
Store whole fruits and veggies in airtight containers
Since buying individual carrots is not an option, you'll still have to store some food for a short time in the fridge. Keep it intact. Cutting the produce exposes more surface area to oxygen, leaving less nutrient-dense area for consumption. Only peel fruits and vegetables right before eating, or don’t peel at all (when appropriate) as the skins are often the most nutrient-dense parts of the plant.
Eat seasonal fruits and vegetables
Peak taste often means peak nutritiousness. Analyses show that fruits and vegetables are at their most nutritious when they are in season.
Opt for frozen over canned
Produce that is to be frozen is usually harvested at peak ripeness, which is also peak nutritiousness. Vegetables, but not fruits, are quickly blanched (boiled in water for a short period) to retain flavor, color, and texture while killing harmful bacteria. Because hot water steals water-soluble nutrients, some Vitamin C and B vitamins are lost during the blanching process. While frozen, the nutrient levels remain stable.
Since canning exposes fruits and vegetables to high temperatures and the water of the canning medium, canned fruits and vegetables can lose up to 90% of their Vitamin C content. Once stored, they remain stable. Fat-soluble nutrients, like vitamins A and E, do not leach out into the canning or cooking liquid. Canned tomatoes, on the other hand, have higher lycopene content because heat releases this nutrient with cancer-fighting properties from its cellular matrix.1 Some research suggests that, even with this nutrient loss, frozen vegetables may retain their antioxidant capacity.
Try freeze-dried fruits
While it doesn’t beat fresh, freeze-drying appears to preserve nutrients better than standard dehydrating. Instead of using uses oxygen and high temperature that degrade nutrients, freeze-dying uses low temperatures under a vacuum. In a recent study, freeze dried guava retained 63% vitamin C as opposed to 25% in a fruit after drying by heat pump.2
When possible, buy from regenerative farms
All around the world, plants are losing their nutrients. Modern agricultural methods to increase crop yields interfere with soil health, supplying plants with fewer nutrients. Higher carbon dioxide in the air causes plants like wheat, rice, and potatoes to generate higher levels of carbohydrates. This means they draw in less water, which prevents higher absorption of minerals from the soil. This particularly affects levels of protein, B vitamins, iron, and zinc. Many scientists say organic isn’t going to be much better because those plants are exposed to the same carbon dioxide and, often, the same higher-yield farming practices that deplete the nutrients in the soil.
According to a recent article in National Geographic3 , numerous studies indicate regenerative farmed crops have higher nutrient content. This practice, still without an official definition, describes farms, often smaller and independent, that focus on maintaining and enhancing soil health. According to studies, spinach grown under regenerative methods has four times the phenolic compounds than standard New York City supermarket fare.
Per the National Geographic article: “Researchers studied cabbage, carrots, spinach, and soil from Singing Frogs Farm and discovered that the cabbage grown on the regenerative farm had 46 percent more vitamin K, 31 percent more vitamin E, 33 percent more vitamin B1, 60 percent more vitamin B3, and 23 percent more vitamin B5 than cabbage from the regularly tilled organic field. The cabbage also had more calcium, more potassium, more carotenoids, and more phytosterols.”
Prepare vegetables to maximize nutrients
Depending on their nutrient blend, each fruit and vegetable requires different cooking methods to maximize nutritional value. A few examples:
- To preserve the high vitamin C content in broccoli, eat raw or cook with minimal water. Since vitamin C is water soluble, boiling broccoli in causes the vitamin C to leech out into the water. Opt for steaming.
- Cook carrots to increase the bioavailability of beta-carotene. Heat breaks down the cell walls that make this powerful antioxidant less available in the body when consumed from raw carrots.
- Cook tomatoes to increase the bioavailability of lycopene. Ideally, consume with oil to further support absorption of this fat-soluble antioxidant.
Cut vegetables after cooking. When you can, cook vegetables whole and peel and dice afterwards. If possible, leave the skins on. Not only does this protect the inside of the foods — like our skin protects our insides — they contain fiber and other nutrients. Keeping vegetables intact while cooking minimizes the surface area exposed to water and air, thus decreasing nutrient loss during cooking.
Pair foods to support absorption
Iron is on the decline in plants. What mineral content remains is impossible for your body to use without vitamin C. Pairing plant-based iron sources with vitamin C supports bioavailability of the iron.
When preparation is not enough: How to supplement
Knowing what critical nutrients can run low and signs you may not be getting enough is the first step to creating a smart supplement regimen.
|
Nutrient |
Roles in the body |
RDA for adults |
Deficiency Symptoms |
|
Calcium |
|
1,000–1,200 mg |
|
|
Iron |
|
8–27 mg |
|
|
Magnesium |
|
310–420 mg |
|
|
Potassium |
|
2,600–3,400 mg |
|
|
Zinc |
|
8–12 mg |
|
|
Vitamin A |
|
700–1,300 mcg RAE |
|
|
Riboflavin (Vitamin B2) |
|
1.1–1.6 mg |
|
|
Vitamin C |
|
90–120 mg |
|
Calcium
This mineral is widely available in supplement form, often paired with magnesium and vitamin D for enhanced bioavailability.
Iron
As overload due to extremely high doses from supplements can be fatal, supplementation should be overseen by a doctor after blood tests have confirmed a deficiency.
Magnesium
While a common supplement, absorption varies wildly by compound. Generally speaking, the cheaper the supplement, the mess magnesium will be absorbed and used at the cellular level where it is needed.
As magnesium is water-soluble and the body can’t store excess, it’s important to supplement with high absorption in mind. Liposome encapsulation protects magnesium through the digestive system and bloodstream for efficient delivery to the cells.
Potassium
Because it can be toxic in excess amounts, supplements are uncommon. Potassium is easily added to the diet through electrolyte drinks and blends.
Zinc
Also water soluble, zinc is readily available in multi-vitamin supplements. Moderate amounts, like those in many of these daily multivitamins and Lypo-Spheric® B Complex Plus, can be beneficial for correcting dietary shortages while excessive supplementation can cause nausea, headaches, and gastric distress.
Riboflavin
One of the water-soluble B vitamins, riboflavin has no documented adverse effects when taken in high doses. It’s available in Lypo-Spheric® B Complex Plus for cell-level absorption.
Vitamin A
Because this nutrient is fat-soluble, the body can store excess not initially absorbed. That makes supplementation potentially toxic. Vitamin A esters absorb better than beta-carotene.
Vitamin C
With no known toxicity level, vitamin C can offer powerful support for total body resilience when absorbed at the cellular level. Most vitamin C supplements — the pills, powders, and gummies — fall way short by supplying a dose far too high for your body to absorb. Added sugars further interfere with absorption.
Liposomal vitamin C supplements, namely Lypo-Spheric® Vitamin C, deliver this antioxidant at the cellular level to make up for diminishing food content and then some.
What we learned
Vitamin and mineral levels are declining in crops. Awareness of the issue is the first step to avoiding deficiency. The best ways to maximize nutrients in produce include:
- Buy only what you can consume quickly, ideally from a local regenerative farm.
- When this isn't an option, consume frozen or in-season produce. D
- Don't buy the bag of spinach that is puffed up with excess air.
- Just remember, that no matter what, every time you eat a plant, you're still consuming beneficial antioxidants, polyphenols, vitamins, and minerals.
Often, that is not enough to avoid deficiency. Supplementing depleted nutrients with forms that support absorption fills the gaps.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best way to cook veggies without losing nutrients?
Steaming often offers the best way to maintain nutrient content in vegetables as it does not allow cooking liquid to leach out the vitamins and minerals. That said, each vegetable has a unique nutrient matrix. Look into each individual vegetable you are preparing to maximize its nutritional value.
