What can we learn from the past to address modern problems in food quality and nutrition?
This is the question posed by Dr Frits Heinrich [of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel], who together with colleagues is assessing the nutritional composition of ancient crops. “We are doing this with the help of a unique collection of perfectly preserved, desiccated… plant remains from the Greco-Roman town of Karanis in Egypt, “he explained.
Although results are preliminary, Dr. Heinrich told delegates the team has already made ‘interesting observations.’
“The most important one is that ancient crops on average have a far greater mineral content than their modern counterparts.”
Moving forward, the researchers plan to investigate the micronutrient profiles of crops from different periods and regions, as well as expand their nutritional parameters to include vitamins, amino acids, gluten and anti-nutrients such as phytate to build a ‘more complex’ nutritional profile of these crops.
At the same time, Dr Heinrich and his team are working with biotechnologists to investigate the benefits of ancient food preparation and processing practices, such as extensive mixing, to examine their potential for modern applications.
