The Perils of Processing

This section is compiled by Frank M. Painter, D.C.
Send all comments or additions to:    Frankp@chiro.org

From The May 2001 Issue of Nutrition Science News

By Bill Sardi

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Are all the nutrients required to sustain life and health available in our foods and supplements? Despite food fortification, important nutrients may still be missing.

In the past, researchers searched for missing nutrients. They found that the epidemics of beri beri, pellagra, rickets, and scurvy were caused by deficiencies of thiamin, niacin, vitamin D, and vitamin C, respectively. These were major medical achievements.

In the case of scurvy, British sailors were nicknamed "limeys" in the late 1700s because they carried vitamin C-rich limes on their ships to stave off the disease. Even after vitamin C was first synthesized by Romanian researcher Svent Gyorgi in the 1930s, not all cases of scurvy were remedied until bioflavonoids, from citrus rinds, were included in the vitamin. Evidence suggests vitamin C is an incomplete vitamin without the capillary-strengthening, antihistamine, antiviral, collagen-boosting properties of bioflavonoids, such as those found in berries, cherries, and grapes. Limes had something in them that was not replaced by synthetic vitamin C.

Xanthophylls, a family of carotenoid pigments that includes lutein and zeaxanthin, are recognized for their role in protecting the human retina. One study reveals that 60-year-olds with sufficient retinal lutein levels will exhibit the same visual light sensitivity as a 20-year-old. [1] Without xanthophylls, which are found in dark-green leafy vegetables such as spinach and kale, the human visual system is at greater risk for cataracts and retinal disease. No daily requirement for xanthophylls has been established to date, but there is growing recognition that they are essential for maintenance of the human visual system.

In addition, many domesticated animals' diets do not contain essential omega-3 fatty acids from eggs and meat. Farm-raised fish do not get to eat the phytoplankton required for omega-3 fat production. These changes in the food supply contribute to the statistic that eight in 10 Americans are deficient in essential omega-3 fats required for proper nervous system function. Like the xanthophylls, there is no daily requirement for essential omega-3 fats.

In the 8th century, Charlemagne required Roman citizens to eat flaxseed every day to promote health. While Charlemagne was wise enough to fortify the diet with omega-3 fatty acids 12 centuries ago, modern man has yet to realize this need.

In the early 1900s, human populations that consumed processed rice began to exhibit pellagra symptoms, including dermatitis and gastrointestinal disorders. Casimir Funk, who coined the word "vitamine," was given a supply of rice polishings and commissioned to examine their contents to see if they contained disease-fighting properties.

Funk put those rice polishings aside and eventually found the cure for pellagra and other B-vitamin deficiencies in yeast. Although processed foods are fortified with B vitamins, the other nutritional components in the rice hull, particularly bran, are not added back in. Rice bran contains vitamin E, inositol, gamma oryzanol, tocotrienols, and phytic acid (also known as inositol hexaphosphate, or IP-6), a mineral chelator and antioxidant found in every living human cell. A diet deficient in whole grains—containing the bran—has lead to an array of iron-overload disorders.

Even with food fortification, it is difficult for the best modern diet to provide adequate amounts of bran, bioflavonoids, xanthophylls, and omega-3s. We still haven't replaced all the nutrients found in rice polishings, which started the vitamin revolution 90 years ago.

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Bill Sardi is a health journalist at www.billsardi.com

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References

1. Hammond BR, et al.
Preservation of visual sensitivity of older subjects: association with macular pigment density.
Inv Oph 1998; 39:397-406.

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