So many people today have a sweet tooth. You might often hear someone say statements like” I just have to have that chocolate chip cookie!” like they cannot live without it. I used to be such a person. Many factors cause these cravings, both physical and psychological. One virtually unheard of factor is nutrient deficient crops.

The higher the sugar content of produce, the higher the mineral content and nutritional value [1] . Experience tells me a high brix reading on the refractometer generally goes hand and in hand with more sweetness in whatever you test. Have you tasted celery or broccoli grown in healthy fertile soil that is sweet like an orange? I have found people gravitate toward such superior foods when they can get them. These foods, in turn, satisfy their sweet tooth. I am not referring to any one vegetable or fruit but plant and animal foods as groups. It seems to me that cravings for sweets in part indicate the body wants something good but simply cannot find it.

From a Reams agronomy standpoint, several minerals play key roles in making a plant sweet in flavor. (1) Phosphate controls the sugar content of crops and many foods don’t have it in the optimal amount thanks to lack of knowledge on the part of the farmer. Most crops don’t have the colloidal phosphate they need as part of the recipe for crops with superior nutrition. (2) Calcium levels affect the acidity levels of a plant. The higher the acid level, the more sour the taste, and the lower the calcium content. Calcium buffers acid formations. The higher the calcium content, the sweeter the plant. Suppose you have two bunches of spinach with the same brix reading. The sweeter one has a higher calcium level [2]. As I mentioned in a previous post, a nutrient dense farmer strives to make calcium levels higher than both potassium and phosphorus. See http://highbrixnutrientdensefoods.com/2012/05/08/the-benefits-of-high-brix-nutrient-dense-foods-part-2/. (3) Too much potassium creates bitterness. Remember those bitter greens from the store or farmer’s market? Reams agronomy says that the ratio of phosphorus to potassium should be 2 to 1 [3]. If you glance at the USDA database, you will find that most foods don’t come anywhere near to meeting these ratios.

This post is linked to Party Wave Wednesday at HolisticSquid.com

References:
1. Nourishment Home Grown, p.33
2. Nourishment Home Grown, p. 131.
3. See the first footnote.