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Nutrients loss, you are getting less from your fresh veg than you think.

Updated: Mar 29, 2020

Nourishing Hub can help you get the nutrients you need with every meal.


When vegetables are harvested they start to decay - this is a natural and unavoidable process. The decay causes loss of nutrients and the longer it takes to get the veg to your plate (field-to-fork) the less nutritious the meal is.


It is with this knowledge that we at Nourishing Hub have spent years to perfect our growing operation so that we can provide our customers with the freshest, most nutrient-dense vegetables possible.


We grow, you harvest - you simply can not get any fresher!


A very insightful read.

 

Nutrient loss as a result of harvesting vegetables is unavoidable. Farmers slow this process by cooling the produce as quickly as possible, but can never eliminate loss of nutrients.


What causes loss of nutrients?

  • Store - the longer we or the grocer keep vegetables before they are consumed the more nutrients vanish

  • Cut/Harvest - as soon as vegetables are cut it releases enzymes that destroy its own nutrients.

  • Cook - boiling causes nutrient to leach into the water

  • Juice - juicing breaks vegetables into tiny parts that promote nutrient loss. after 24 hours very little nutrients are left in the juice.

  • Freeze - Frozen food is pre-cooked to inactivate the enzymes; this makes it even more susceptible to overcooking once it gets into your pot. Vitamin C appears to be particularly vulnerable to freezing.


How much nutritional value is lost after harvest?

  • Field-to-Fork (time from harvest until you eat the vegetables) is a critical factor when it comes to nutrient loss, the more time spent in transit the fewer nutrients you get.

  • Transit time for fresh veg is on average a week (7 days) and is then sitting on the shop shelf for another 3-4 days before it is sold - in total, about 10 days elapsed since harvest. Many products spend a lot more time in transit depending on the where these goods are imported from.

Examples of how much nutrients are lost:

  • Spinach can lose 90% of its vitamin C content within 24 hours of harvest, and 50% of its folate and carotenoids within a week.

  • Broccoli could lose up to 70% of its vitamin C and beta-carotene and 50% of its antioxidant activity in just six days


Additional nutrient loss during food preparation

Vitamins are especially vulnerable to cooking when looking at the below table.

The table below shows the percentage of nutrients lost after you bough it from the store.

*Nutrient loss due to reheating is in addition to losses as a result of any of the other 4 prepping methods. Example: if you cooked your veg and then reheat those veg, your Vitamin loss would be 62%


Nutrient loss in perspective

The below detail illustrates the loss of nutrients as a result of field-to-fork times (5 days transit and 3 days on the shop shelf) combined with preparing (cooking) your meal.


Broccoli still growing will have 100% Nutrients


After harvest, in transit for 4 days and on the store shelf for 2 days before being sold. Veg spend much longer in transit and on the shop shelf before we buy it.

With only 6 days' delay, we lose a minimum of 50% nutrients.


Cooking destroys another 50% of the nutrients left after transit which means you only get 25% of the nutrients in your broccoli.



We are missing out on a staggering 75% of the nutrients from our diets. Any vegetables taking longer to get from field-to-fork has even fewer nutrients.

 

Nourishing Hub to the rescue


At Nourishing Hub we have addressed and solved both challenges, freshness and nutrient-dense veg, to provide our customers with the best quality greens possible.


1) Providing the freshest food possible

  • We asked ourselves: What are the freshest possible vegetables our customers could get?

  • The answer: Vegetables that our customers harvest themselves.

We have spent a few years to crack this one but have done so and you, our customers now benefit from this innovation.

  • When you buy our vegetables it is still growing.

  • We don't harvest your veg, you do. Your veg is practically still growing when you eat it.

  • You can now store our greens for much longer than any veg bought in any store or other online veg retailers without loss of nutrients. It is almost like having your own farm - in your kitchen.

  • We have eliminated the harvest-to-shelf time and by doing so,

  • Nourishing Hub has, at a minimum, doubled the nutrient content available to our customers. The only nutrient loss now is due to cooking.

2) Providing nutrient-dense food

  • We wanted to ensure you get 100% of the nutritional value of our veg onto your dinner, lunch or breakfast plate.

  • The only way for people to get 100% of the nutritional value from greens is by eating it raw - not a very appetising idea for many customers.

The answer: microgreens


Microgreens are young seedlings of edible vegetables and herbs ready for harvesting in less than 14-21 days after germination.

  • Microgreens are packed with nutrients.

  • On average microgreens contain 9 times more vitamins and minerals than their mature plants and in many cases, the nutrient content can be as much as 40 times higher than the mature plants.

  • Microgreens are not cooked and are served raw and in addition to being nutrient-dense are extremely flavourful and one of the main reasons they are served raw.

  • Due to their small size, they are very versatile and are used to garnish a variety of meals like salads, soups, pizzas, bolognese, burgers and many more.


Nutrient density in perspective

  • 22 grams of broccoli microgreens have the same nutrient value as 200 grams of raw broccoli

  • 22 grams of broccoli microgreens have the same nutrient value as 800 grams of cooked broccoli.



Our vegetables are:

  1. Unsurpassed in freshness: Our greens are still growing in your kitchen, you harvest when you prepare your meal.

  2. Nutrient-dense: our microgreens offer you the opportunity to get maximum nutrition from every meal.

  3. A 100% natural food supplement source. Microgreens can be added to any meal to supplement all your nutritional needs.


EAT - with confidence knowing our food is nutrient-dense.

 

Together we can make huge a difference by eliminating these harmful chemicals from the environment.

The food industry is changing, Nourishing Hub is leading the way.

We grow sustainably and do business responsibly so you can support positive change when you buy from us.

Join us on this journey of positive change - support the drive to sensible, sustainable, and responsible agriculture and business.

 

Join us on this journey of positive change and order your favourite microgreens.


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