Hello, I'm Monica Reinagel, and this is the Nutrition Diva podcast, a show where we take

a closer look at nutrition research, trends, and claims to help you make sense of the

often conflicting and confusing information that's out there.

And today's topic is one that I first covered over 10 years ago, and it's the common

claim that today's fruits and vegetables are less nutritious than they were in previous

generations, specifically due to nutrient depletion of the soil that they're grown in.

So I debunked this notion back in 2010, but it's still making the rounds.

And since that original episode, there is some newer research to share.

If you've been listening to this podcast for any length of time, you probably know that

I believe you're better off getting your nutrition from real food than from dietary supplements

whenever possible.

There are, of course, some cases where supplements do make sense, but for the most part, if you're

eating a healthy diet, you really shouldn't need to take a handful of vitamins as well.

However, those who sell supplements or profit some other way from promoting the notion

that we need them, they sometimes suggest that we all need to take supplements just to

make up for the fact that fruits and vegetables are less nutritious than they used to be.

They argue that modern agriculture has depleted the soil of nutrients and rendered our

food supply nutritionally bankrupt.

It is true that growing crops removes nutrients from the soil.

And over time, soil that's farmed intensively and constantly can become depleted of certain

nutrients.

That's not just a feature of modern industrial agriculture.

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