Historical changes in the mineral content of fruit and vegetables in the UK from 1940 to 2019: a concern for human nutrition and agriculture

Mayer, Anne‐Marie; Trenchard, Liz; Rayns, Francis

doi:10.1080/09637486.2021.1981831

Cited by 24 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…The magnesium in the environment is able to affect human health through foods and water [25,27,30,31]. As the magnesium concentration of the soil can influence the magnesium content in plants, especially when large amounts of potash fertilizer are used [32][33][34], the population living in low-magnesium areas are faced with lower magnesium concentrations in their daily drinking water and foods. Considering many studies have indicated the potential impact of magnesium in the environment and in daily diets to many human diseases [24,28,[35][36][37][38], it is reasonable to speculate that environmental magnesium might play a similar role in COVID-19 and our findings demonstrate this possibility (as summarized in Figure 3).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Populations in Low-Magnesium Areas Were Associated with Higher Risk of Infection in COVID-19’s Early Transmission: A Nationwide Retrospective Cohort Study in the United States

Tang

et al. 2022

Nutrients

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Many studies have confirmed the important roles of nutritional status and micronutrients in the COVID-19 pandemic. Magnesium is a vital essential trace element that is involved in oxidative stress, inflammation, and many other immunological functions and has been shown to be associated with the outcome of COVID-19 infection. Here, we conducted a nationwide retrospective cohort study in the United States involving 1150 counties, 287,326,503 individuals, and 5,401,483 COVID-19 confirmed cases as of 30 September 2020 to reveal the infection risk of the populations distributed in low-magnesium areas in the early transmission of COVID-19. Our results indicate that the average county-level COVID-19 cumulative incidence in low-magnesium areas was significantly higher than in the control areas. Additionally, a significant negative nonlinear association was found between environmental magnesium concentration and the county-level COVID-19 cumulative incidence. Furthermore, the populations distributed in low environmental magnesium areas faced a higher COVID-19 infection risk (RR: 1.066; CI: 1.063–1.068), among which females (RR: 1.07; CI: 1.067–1.073), the 0–17 years subgroup (RR: 1.125; CI: 1.117–1.134), the 65+ years subgroup (RR: 1.093; CI: 1.087–1.098), black people (RR: 1.975; CI: 1.963–1.986), populations outside metro areas, and counties with a smaller population experienced higher risk of infection by COVID-19 than other subgroups. Considering that the magnesium intake of about half the population of the United States is below the daily required dose, our study will contribute to the creation of long-term public health strategies to help protect against COVID-19.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Populations in Low-Magnesium Areas Were Associated with Higher Risk of Infection in COVID-19’s Early Transmission: A Nationwide Retrospective Cohort Study in the United States

Tang

et al. 2022

Nutrients

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“…Limited ability to absorb, store, and metabolize these nutrients due to environmental or soil impacts, socioeconomic conditions, and health status may further lead to the development of multiple mineral inadequacies in the susceptible populations [ 121 ]. While food fortification strategies certainly help with most commonly identified deficiencies (iron, zinc, iodine), important opportunities for tackling multiple mineral malnutrition are missed by targeting single foods for single nutrients [ 21 ].…”

Section: Changes In the Mineral Content Of Foodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For a few selected minerals such as phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, zinc, copper and manganese, the older data from British households suggested that total plant foods and fruits & vegetables contributed to daily diets 37% and 14% phosphorus, 60% and 45% potassium, 65% and 28% magnesium, 36% and 11% zinc, 61% and 24% copper, and 93% and 27% manganese, respectively [ 127 ]. These numbers, however, are significantly affected by systematic declines in the mineral content of fruits and vegetables as shown for the UK (sodium, calcium, magnesium, copper, and iron between 1940 and 2019), USA (calcium, phosphorus, copper and iron between 1950–2009), Finland (potassium, manganese, zinc and copper between 1970–2000s), Australia (iron and zinc between 1980–2000s) as summarized recently [ 21 ] ( Table 2 ).…”

Section: Changes In the Mineral Content Of Foodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Mineral malnutrition is especially widespread but difficult to quantify. Reduced consumption of organ meats, changes in geographical origin of foods, new varieties, agroecological methods of farming and preserving soils, and widespread environmental changes are in part responsible for the observed reductions [ 21 ]. The important role of minerals as a part of healthy diet as it applies to metabolic and immune health has stimulated research into altered cellular metabolism, often driven by mitochondrial dysfunction to produce metabolic disparity, which in turn influences inflammation and energy balance.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Essential Minerals and Metabolic Adaptation of Immune Cells

2022

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Modern lifestyles deviated considerably from the ancestral routines towards major shifts in diets and increased sedentarism. The trace elements status of the human body is no longer adequately supported by micronutrient-inferior farmed meats and crop commodities produced by the existing agricultural food systems. This is particular evident in the increased obesogenic adipogenesis and low-grade inflammation that fails to resolve with time. The metabolically restrictive environment of the inflamed tissues drives activation and proliferation of transient and resident populations of immune cells in favor of pro-inflammatory phenotypes, as well as a part of the enhanced autoimmune response. As different stages of the immune activation and resolution depend on the availability of specific minerals to maintain the structural integrity of skin and mucus membranes, activation and migration of immune cells, activation of the complement system, and the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines, this review discusses recent advances in our understanding of the contribution of select minerals in optimizing the responses of innate and adaptive immune outcomes. An abbreviated view on the absorption, transport, and delivery of minerals to the body tissues as related to metabolic adaptation is considered.

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“…On the other hand, the quality of the food did not. Specifically, there has been a decrease in several minerals in foods over the last five decades, most notably zinc, copper, and iron [ 3 , 4 , 5 ]. Such an occurrence is mirrored in the worldwide spread of “hidden hunger”, defined as a prolonged lack of vitamins or minerals (collectively referred to as micronutrients) intake [ 6 , 7 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Minerals and Cancer: Overview of the Possible Diagnostic Value

Venturelli

Leischner

Helling

et al. 2022

Cancers

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Cancer is the second leading cause of death worldwide and is expected to increase by one-third over the next two decades, in parallel with the growing proportion of the elderly population. Treatment and control of cancer incidence is a global issue. Since there is no clear way to prevent or cure this deadly malignancy, diagnostic, predictive, and prognostic markers for oncological diseases are of great therapeutic value. Minerals and trace elements are important micronutrients for normal physiological function of the body. They are abundant in natural food sources and are regularly included in dietary supplements whereas highly processed industrial food often contains reduced or altered amounts of them. In modern society, the daily intake, storage pools, and homeostasis of these micronutrients are dependent on certain dietary habits and can be thrown out of balance by malignancies. The current work summarizes the data on minerals and trace elements associated with abnormal accumulation or depletion states in tumor patients and discusses their value as potential tumor-associated biomarkers that could be introduced into cancer therapy.

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Historical changes in the mineral content of fruit and vegetables in the UK from 1940 to 2019: a concern for human nutrition and agriculture

Cited by 24 publications

References 34 publications

Populations in Low-Magnesium Areas Were Associated with Higher Risk of Infection in COVID-19’s Early Transmission: A Nationwide Retrospective Cohort Study in the United States

Populations in Low-Magnesium Areas Were Associated with Higher Risk of Infection in COVID-19’s Early Transmission: A Nationwide Retrospective Cohort Study in the United States

Essential Minerals and Metabolic Adaptation of Immune Cells

Minerals and Cancer: Overview of the Possible Diagnostic Value

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