note on importance of eating fresh organic

Waiting to Eat Fresh Vegetables Means Loss of Nutrients

That bag of spinach that has been sitting in the fridge for a week looks OK. Not too many wilted pieces. Tastes fine too.

But guess what? It's missing a lot of the nutrients it had when picked.

According to research from Pennsylvania State University, a bag of spinach that has been stored at 39 degrees Fahrenheit for eight days has lost half of its folate and carotenoids, compounds known for their importance in preventing birth defects, fighting heart disease and preventing blindness and cancer.

And at higher temperatures, the breakdown was even faster. At 50 degrees it took only six days to reach about half of initial levels; at 68 degrees it took four.

What's a consumer to do?

"People should just eat (spinach) fast and not let it sit in their drawers," said Luke LaBorde, associate professor of food science at Pennsylvania State. "You have to accept the reality that it's a living plant, and you should eat it while it's fresh."

The research also underscores the importance of keeping fresh vegetables cold -- experts recommend a refrigerator temperature between 36 and 40 degrees Fahrenheit -- and eating them as soon as possible.

Eight days. And that count started from within 12 hours of the time the spinach was packaged. Commercial spinach must be transported from the field -- somewhere in the Southwest at this time of year -- to the processing plant and to the store.

Then it must sit on store shelves until it is purchased. This takes a few days at least, and the clock is ticking...

Read the rest of this article at the Life Extension Foundation website, www.lef.org.