Tag Archive for: CO2

Rising CO2 and Nutrition: The Bottom Line

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All of nature is a delicate balance; when any component changes, there will be some sort of effect—maybe good, maybe not. The mineral nutrient and trace element content composition of a plant, technically called the ionome, reflects a balance between carbon, obtained through CO2 in the air, and the remaining nutrients, obtained from the soil. If the CO2 increases in a disproportionate way to the nutrients available from the soil, it could create an ionomic imbalance. In other words, the balance of nutrients is disrupted. This imbalance in CO2 and soil nutrients could affect the nutrient content of the plant including the protein and micronutrients.

That’s exactly what scientists found in their research. Remember, they used a CO2 level in the FACE-field testing to mimic CO2 levels at the end of the 21st century. Most species of rice declined in protein, iron, and zinc, but that was expected based on prior research. But there were also consistent reductions in vitamins B1, B2, B5, and B9. On the upside, they did find an increase in vitamin E in some varieties of the rice.

Here’s the concern: rice is a staple for two billion people. In fact, it’s their primary source of nutrients because food is not plentiful in many of those countries. A 10% decline in protein could have a major impact on the growth and development of the people dependent on rice for their primary food source. The same is true for any of the other nutrients; they’re critical for the immune system and many other biochemical functions.

The Bottom Line—For Now

While this research is real, it’s most definitely not complete yet. The CO2 projections for the turn of the century may not be accurate; they could be lower or they could be even higher. What if they were higher? Let’s take it one step farther and consider the food supply in the U.S. and Canada right now. What if the current CO2 levels are having an impact on our food supply now, not just on rice, but in all the food that’s grown? What if our food is becoming less nutritious?

This raises two points. If there were ever a reason to complement your diet with dietary supplements, this would be it.

Take it a step further. I get more queries on what people can and cannot eat because they have issues with specific foods such as wheat. What if it’s not the gluten in wheat that’s the problem? What if it’s the changes in nutrient content that upsets the balance of amino acids? Or the B vitamins? That imbalance may be the actual culprit. Only more research will tell.

This one is far from over. I’ll keep watching to keep you informed.

What are you prepared to do today?

Dr. Chet

 

Reference: Science Advances: DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aaq1012.

 

How Researchers Determined the Effect of CO2 on Nutrition

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An international group of researchers wanted to know how higher CO2 levels would impact the nutrient content of a staple in the diet of over two billion people: rice. If the nutrient levels change substantially, that could have an impact on the nutritional status of many people who might already be undernourished.

Over several years the researchers grew 18 strains of rice that are raised throughout the world. They used an interesting technique called FACE, which stands for free-air CO2 enrichment. The technique uses tubing to emit CO2 near the plants. The amount emitted is dependent on the CO2 levels on the plot of land and controlled by sensors. That allows them to keep the CO2 levels constant just as they would be when grown in fields while the plants grow in a natural outdoors setting.

The researchers used the CO2 levels that are estimated to occur by the end of this century. True, none of us will likely be alive by then, but most of us know people who will be. The knowledge gives agricultural scientists time to develop plants that can grow with adequate nutrient content in those CO2 levels. CO2 may not increase as expected, but future generations can be prepared if they do.

What did they find? I’ll let you know on Saturday.

What are you prepared to do today?

Dr. Chet

 

Reference: Science Advances: DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aaq1012.

 

Does Carbon Dioxide Affect Nutrition?

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Carbon dioxide is a waste product of energy metabolism. When we burn the food we eat, the protein, carbohydrates, and fat will be eliminated as carbon dioxide and water. When we use the gasoline in our cars or lawnmowers, CO2 and water are also released during that form of metabolism (called combustion) as well. The benefit for us and our cars is that we get energy. The problem is that we’re producing too much CO2 from gasoline and other fossil fuels.

CO2 levels have risen and fallen over the millennia in response to global trends, but since the invention of the internal combustion engine, the atmospheric CO2 levels continue to rise. As the number of uses for engines has increased, so have CO2 levels; they’re now 100 ppm higher than the previous highest level.

What does this have to do with nutrition? After all, don’t plants need CO2 for photosynthesis? They combine CO2 and H2O together to make sugar, right? Correct. But what researchers wanted to know is whether the excess CO2 would affect the nutrient content of specific crops. Are we growing supercrops? That could have immense implications for global nutrition. I’ll talk about what they discovered on Thursday.

What are you prepared to do today?

Dr. Chet

 

Reference: https://go.nasa.gov/2zkpdjL.

 

CO2 and Plant Nutrients: Proceed with Caution

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The Memos this week have examined a potential problem with the nutrient content of the plants we eat due to increasing CO2 levels. What does the research show? Part of the problem that Dr. Loladze had was that no one was doing much research on the issue of CO2 and nutrient content. That’s going to change based on some of the research that has been published.
 

Mineral Content Has Decreased

In a study published in 2004, researchers examined the nutrient content—13 nutrients and water—of 43 garden crops as reported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 1950 and 1999 (1). They reported declines in six nutrients: protein, calcium, iron, phosphorus, riboflavin, and vitamin C. The reductions ranged from 6% for protein to 38% for riboflavin. The researchers concluded that the decline could be explained by changes in the types of cultivated plants. Okay. If we’re now planting crops that have lower nutrient content, maybe they’ve been selected for size or appearance or the ability to be transported long distances. Do we think that’s okay?

In a study published in 2014, researchers used a creative approach to test the affect of increased CO2 on grains and legumes (2). They mimicked the predicted CO2 levels expected in the middle of this century in grains and legumes grown under field conditions. They set up an outdoor system that allowed more CO2 to be released on the plants. They found that grains and legumes had decreased levels of zinc and iron and grains had lower levels of protein.

Dr. Loladze also published an article on mineral loss in plants. He examined every research paper that examined atmospheric CO2 on plants that we eat as well as trees and grasses. Remember that he is a mathematician; he used some very sophisticated techniques that are beyond me. However, to put it simply, the better the study was designed, the more the plants showed a decline in mineral content, averaging about 8% (3).
 

Far From Complete

The research in this area is really just beginning; scientists are just becoming aware of this nutrient decline. Perhaps that will attract research dollars. Dr. Loladze was never able to get significant funding for his work. Still, he persevered.

Here are two issues that I’d like explained or examined. First, why would an increase in carbohydrate content affect the mineral and protein content? If the minerals are in the soil, it would seem they would end up in the plant. That was never explained very well.

Another issue they raised was the protein content of goldenrod pollen. The researchers were able to examine it over the decades because samples are saved at the Smithsonian Institution. The protein content of goldenrod pollen has decreased by a third over the decades. They suggested that was important to bees; they need the pollen for the hive to survive. Is the lack of nutrients contributing to the collapse of bee colonies? Obviously, more specific research needs to be done before we really know the implications, if any. It’s going to be years until there’s enough research to make definitive statements about this.
 

Proceed with Caution

There is still every reason to eat your vegetables, fruits, and whole grains, even if the vitamin, mineral, and protein contents have declined somewhat—if anything, this a reason to eat even more to make sure you get your phytonutrients. Water and fiber are two more good reasons.

This also reinforces the need to do one more thing: take a multivitamin-multimineral that contains plant concentrates every day. If the nutrient content of plants is declining, that’s an excellent way to prevent nutrient deficits in your own body. It’s the simplest way to proceed with caution until the science catches up.

What are you prepared to do today?

Dr. Chet

 

References:
1. J Am Coll Nutr. 2004 Dec;23(6):669-82.
2. Nature 510, 139–142. doi:10.1038/nature13179.
3. Loladze. eLife 2014;3:e02245. DOI: 10.7554/eLife.02245

 

Does More CO2 Create More Carbohydrates?

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Why do you eat broccoli? Why do you eat blueberries? How about sweet potatoes? While you might simply like them, an important reason we eat them in modern countries is for the nutrients they have, such as vitamin C, beta-carotene, and of course those phytonutrients. They’re a source of calories, for sure, but also minerals. But what if the increasing levels of CO2 reduced the amount of those nutrients?

If you remember your high school biology, plants use CO2 and water (H2O) to make sugars and starches in a process known as photosynthesis. As the H2O is broken down for use in making sugars, the oxygen is released into the atmosphere. Then photosynthesis continues, with CO2 and the remaining ions combining with energy from the sun to make sugar.

Here’s the issue. When CO2 levels increase, as they have since the Industrial Revolution, the plants can convert more CO2 to sugar. Why is that a problem? Because it may be at the expense of other nutrients such as minerals. In addition, the protein content of the plants may also be reduced. Plants provide protein for most of the earth’s population, so if the protein content of plants is reduced and the carbs increase, people may get plenty of a grain such as rice but little nutrition other than calories.

But is it true? Does the research support the hypothesis? That’s what Dr. Loladze and others attempted to find out for the past 20 years. I’ll cover the research on Saturday.

What are you prepared to do today?

Dr. Chet

 

Reference: www.politico.com. The Great Nutrient Collapse. 09-13-2017.

 

Does Rising CO2 Harm Plants?

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What do algae, a mathematician, and carbon dioxide have in common? A 20-year quest to see if CO2 changes are affecting the nutrient content of our plants.

The Memos for the past two weeks were about eating more vegetables and fruit because they have the vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients we can’t get from animal products. But what if there are fewer nutrients in those plants? That’s what a recent article entitled “The Great Nutrient Collapse” in Politico examined.

The mathematician is Dr. Irakli Loladze. While a graduate student, a biologist shared an observation with a group of biology students: exposing a specific type of algae to more light caused them to multiply faster. That increased the food supply for the plankton that ate the algae. The problem is that instead of thriving, the plankton began to die. How could that be? The algae grew faster but contained fewer nutrients, thus causing the plankton to starve.

Dr. Loladze spent the next 20 years wondering and researching whether that’s happening in our food supply as well. While the amount of sunlight has remained fairly stable, atmospheric CO2 levels have increased. Could that be impacting the nutrient content of our food supply? We’ll take a look at the science this week.

What are you prepared to do today?

Dr. Chet

 

Reference: www.politico.com. The Great Nutrient Collapse. 09-13-2017.