Usana

[Robert Heltman]

Check Rodale Press' Organic Gardening magazine.  Ask for their recent letter
to the Secy. of the USDA on soil fertility decline.

Also, some years ago, Reader's Digest Magazine sponsored the famous Dr.
Firman Bear study.  This was before the organic era, and showed nutritional
differences in "same" crops, caused by the different the soils of about 10
different states.

Dr. V. Worthington did a study of 10 Animal Studies comparing organic and
conventional feed, finding organic more nutritious...sponsored by the
Price-Pottenger Nutrition Foundation.

Doctor's Data Lab, 1993, did a study showing that organic produce had twice
the nutritional element content of regular supermarket produce.

You might also subscribe to ACRES USA.

Whether USANA or other sources, there is little doubt that plant nutritional
content depends on soil fertility, nor that soil fertility has declined.
Another interesting aspect of NPK fertilizing is what is called nitrogen
crowding.  I.e., hypernitrogonization crowds out trace element uptake.
Human health problems in large measure come from eating too much of the
wrong and nutritionally hollow foods.

Some sites you might check out... www.living-foods.com, www.hacres.com,
www.gerson.org, www.drday.com.

Good luck in your research.

-----Original Message-----
From: PHNUTR-L-owner at u.washington.edu
[mailto:PHNUTR-L-owner at u.washington.edu]On Behalf Of Forbes-Ewan, Chris
Sent: Monday, January 10, 2000 1:31 AM
To: Public Health Nutrition Discussion and Information Group
Subject: Usana


I recently received (unsolicited) a video and some literature about Usana.
Much of the supporting literature seemed to me to be an exaggeration of
current trends in nutrition (eg, that antioxidants are the only potential
saviours of people who live in chemical-polluted societies, that the soil is

depleted of trace metals, that we are 'slowly starving to death' and so on.
However, there were some specific claims made about the food supply
that can be checked.

According to a cardiologist who spoke on the video, fruits and vegetables
sold commercially now have about 30% less nutritional value than 15 years
ago. Does anyone know if there is any evidence to support or refute this
claim, please?

The Usana literature also states that 'NPK fertilisers contain only
nitrogen,
potassium and phosphorus; they do not contain selenium, chromium, calcium,
magnesium, iron, copper, iodine, molybdenum, zinc, cobalt, boron, and
vanadium'. Hence NPK mixes grow 'fine-looking crops with abundant yields',
but they do not contain the essential trace metals and minerals needed by
the human body. 'For example, in 1948, a bowl of spinach used to contain
about 150 mg of iron. But today, that same bowl of spinach contains only
about 2 mg!' Can anyone confirm or deny this (with supporting evidence),
please?


Chris Forbes-Ewan

Senior Nutritionist
Defence Nutrition Research Centre
76 George St
Scottsdale  Tas  7260
Australia

Phone:	Int + 61 3 6352 6607	(03 6352 6607 within Australia)
Fax: 	Int + 61 3 6352 3044	(03 6352 3044 within Australia)

E-mail:	chris.forbes-ewan at dsto.defence.gov.au