Everyone knows that fruits and vegetables are good for us. Most people know we don’t get enough. But fewer people know that the nutritional content of conventionally grown fruits and vegetables has been declining steadily since the introduction of chemical farming (sometimes called industrial agriculture) after World War II.Various studies using government data have documented significant nutrient declines in fruits and vegetables from 1930 to the present—declines up to 99% in one case!—in protein, calcium, phosphorus, iron, potassium, copper, magnesium, riboflavin, vitamin C, and vitamin A, while data on other nutrients like zinc, vitamin B6 and vitamin E weren’t collected until more recently, so no comparisons could be made.Why is nutrient content declining? Partly it’s due to traditional breeding techniques, in which fruits and vegetables are bred for better appearance, sweetness, faster growth, or ease of transport, often at the expense of nutritional quality. But a much larger re…

Widespread magnesium deficiency has been implicated in a host of chronic diseases, including obesity. How would healthy levels of magnesium in our cells help us to attain and maintain a healthy weight, and how does magnesium deficiency sabotage those goals? Fatigue. The number one complaint patients bring to doctors is “feeling tired.” Being unable to lose weight probably ranks a close second.  The two concerns are related: It’s hard to eat less and exercise more when you’re already feeling tired all the time. Fatigue is one of the first signs of magnesium deficiency. Magnesium and the B vitamins are our main energy nutrients, involved in almost every step of energy creation in the cells’ energy factories, the mitochondria. Nutrient Deficiency. Magnesium and the B's activate enzymes that control digestion, absorption and utilization of all three macronutrients—fats, proteins, and carbohydrates—making the vitamins and minerals they contain available for our bodies to use.…