Why do we need vitamins and supplements? I am asked this question many times in the course of a week. The answer is so simple. The soil is depleted. If traditional farming methods are used, the same crop is planted in the same field, season after season. Along with overuse and not rotating crops, we use chemicals to kill weeds and bugs. These same chemicals kill the necessary microbes that form the beneficial nutrients that are taken up by the plants roots and transferred to the crop. What we eat then becomes an “empty harvest”, void of the life giving nutrients the plants were meant to provide. Even organic produce does not guarantee soil richness and quality.
The sun is just as important as the soil. Greenhouses may utilize artificial light to make the plants grow. Only real sunlight can create photosynthesis. You can taste the difference in a home grown tomato versus a hot house one. And taste is not the only deficiency. The nutrients are deficient as well. Buying organic, although very important, does not mean that your produce was picked at its peak of nutritional value. If you look on the label. Many organic produce comes from California or Mexico, where it was picked well before its peak in order to survive the long trip from its home to yours. Produce picked before its time is deficient in nutrients.
To maximize the amounts of nutrients in your produce, buy local and buy in season. When buying strawberries in January, be mindful of where they came from. In the winter, look for crops that survive cooler temperatures to be the freshest. This includes root vegetables like squash and sweet potatoes.