Vegetables not as good for you as they used to be

According to the February issue of the Journal of HortScience, produce has been losing its nutritional value over the years, most notably due to the "Dilution Effect" and "Industrialization" of agriculture.

Apparently produce in the U.S. not only tastes worse than it did in your grandparents' days, it also contains fewer nutrients -- at least according to Donald R. Davis, a former research associate with the Biochemical Institute at the University of Texas, Austin. Davis claims the average vegetable found in today's supermarket is anywhere from 5% to 40% lower in minerals (including magnesium, iron, calcium and zinc) than those harvested just 50 years ago.

Fruits seem to be less affected by genetic and environmental dilution, but there's no clear answer on how to deal with nutritionally bankrupt vegetables. Supplementing them is problematic, too, since recent research indicates vitamin pills aren't very helpful either.