Dr. Mom Was Right -- And Wrong -- About Washing Fruits And Vegetables

Once again ending what could save lives.

The radiation fear is a red herring.

But just because "radioactive" food is not a legitimate concern doesn't mean that irradiating food is a good idea.

What's strong enough to kill harmful bacteria is also strong enough to alter many of the more interesting nutrients in the food. Sure, the resulting so-called food doesn't rot anymore, but it's lifeless food -- missing vital nutrients.

If you eat that junk (or most of what's aisles of the modern day supermarket these days, except along the perimeter) then you will begin to suffer from the usual modern day ailments that are making so many people sick, such as diabetes, coronary diseases, over weight, high blood pressure, and sundry cancers.

That’s an interesting point. I talked the physics professor running the operation while I was working there (There were biology people working on it too, but I never got to meet any of them) and the topic of nutrition came up, if I recall he said that most (98% if I recall correctly) of the nutrients remains after irradiation, I found that surprising. However, they were irradiating hamburger meat, not fresh vegetables and hamburger meat probably isn’t the best source of nutrition to begin with. Given that I was a physics major at the time I was more interested in the equipment than the food. These days, I am much more interested in nutrition than I was then. Personally, I’d rather not eat irradiated veggies, but if I was going to eat a burger cooked medium-rare I just might give it a shot.

if I recall he said that most (98% if I recall correctly) of the nutrients remains after irradiation

That doesn't surprise me that someone, even a competent scientist, would say this.

The question is 98% of which nutrients.

The basic vitamins and minerals such as are listed on your typical one-a-day multivitamin are simple, robust compounds. They will survive most anything.

The more interesting issue is all the more delicate probiotics, enzymes, phytonutrients and such, which we have hardly even begun to catalog.

For instance, would you expect a bottle of really fine wine to hold up, with no damage to the bouquet? I wouldn't. Our nose is a better detector of such varied compounds than our test tubes.

So, in short, I presume that it was 98% of the nutrients for which common tests existed that survived. Whoop-dee-doo.

There is a reasonable article on phytonutrients at alive.com: Phytonutrients by author Sam Graci.

This article begins:

Phytonutrients

by author Sam Graci

For many years, researchers have recognized that diets high in fruits, vegetables, herbs, grains, seeds, nuts and legumes prevent diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, cancer and high blood pressure. They once believed that it was the vitamin, mineral, fibre and enzyme contents of these plant-derived foods that were preventing malnutrition and disease.

However, in the 1990s, phytochemical compounds were discovered and modern science began acknowledging that nature, in its infinite wisdom, had designed plants to manufacture biodynamic disease-protective elements as successful defence from strong sunlight, oxidation, viruses, bacteria, insects, disease and background radiation. Garlic and onions, for instance, contain potent sulphur compounds that act as bug repellents to keep the vegetables healthy. Likewise, carrots and apricots contain alpha- and beta-carotene, vibrantly colourful plant pigments that protect them from potentially destructive, strong sunlight. It’s an amazing system, and we are the beneficiaries.

When we eat plants, these very same biodynamic disease-protective elements, which are now called phytonutrients or nutraceuticals, protect the bloodstream, cells, tissues, membranes, mitochondria, skin, organs and immune functions from the onslaught of synthetic chemicals, toxins, automobile or factory emissions, chemical intruders, bacteria, pesticides, viruses, fungi, yeast, microbes, mutagens, food additives, free radicals and carcinogens. This has brought the plant-disease prevention connection to the forefront of serious worldwide nutritional research.

Researchers presently estimate that there are 30,000 to 50,000 of these phytonutrients, although only about 1,000 have been isolated so far. Of these, a mere 100 have been analyzed and tested. Phytonutrients from the Greek word phyto (meaning "from plants") are neither vitamins nor minerals. It is now believed that they are what defend and protect our 100 trillion cells from excessive wear and tear and the onslaught of degenerative diseases.
Even more remarkable is the number of phytonutrients within a single, unprocessed, plant-derived food. The simple soybean, blueberry or brussels sprout, for example, is a miracle of complexity far more intricate than the latest version of Microsoft Windows or any other sophisticated computer program.

Protecting Cell Membranes
You can use the phytonutrients in bioenergetic whole foods to control the most fundamental aspects of your body’s basic chemistry, including the integrity of every one of your 100 trillion cell walls. Each cell contains fragile strands of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), the genetic message system that directs all of our body’s biochemical activities. One small nick in our DNA (from a free radical) can destroy a cell or make a cell lose control and begin multiplying unusually, causing cancer.

Cell membranes are what give our body tissue its shape to hold everything together. A cell without a healthy membrane is like a ripe blueberry without its skin; it is fragile and decays quickly. Bioenergetic whole foods contain phytonutrients and antioxidants that get into the cell membrane and protect it from attack and degradation by corrosive free radicals.

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