DAILY BREAD “FANCIFICATION”

Many everyday foods such as cereals, milk products, oils/fats, baby food and beverages are fortified with vitamins. What’s up with that – is it good or just a marketing plot? Let’s see…
A one-sided diet of too much corn, sugar and refined starches like white flour caused a spike in neural-tube birth defects already in the early 19 hundreds. In 1998 the government made it mandatory to add folic acid to bread. A study sponsored by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention indicated that the addition of folic acid was at least partially responsible for a 25% drop in neural tube defect. That’s why many mommies-to-be consume rather high doses of folic acid during pregnancy nowadays or you can get your daily dose on lentils, broccoli or leafy greens such as kale.

(not re-fined Swiss chard bunches from a farmer's market) 


Vitamin D, a fat-soluble vitamin, is often added to vegetable oils, cereals and dairy products. It is developed in our bodies by sun exposure and is often hard to come by – think of winter or someone who doesn’t do much outdoor activity! Luckily these days bone deformations due to vitamin D deficiency are a rather rare occurrence due to fortification.

(vitamins added A,D,B12 & calcium) 

(iodine in common sea salt) 

Iodine is a salt enrichment and is the most effective way of preventing mental deficiencies and aids in learning abilities. Find a better way to say learning abilities” it sounds awkward. A huge number of people worldwide still suffer from iodine deficiency and a tragically high number of babies are born with brain damage because of that. Deficiencies are clearly not the only reason why all those vitamin buzz words are highlighted on every foods - lots of sales language is involved here. All that enhanced food is not as impressive as the label might suggest and little research supports the health claims particularly when compared to wholesome, fresh cooked foods consumed in a balanced way.

Pick from the fortified menu…
Below find a few examples of how to build your daily menu fortified or natural.

A 2-tablespoon portion of peanut butter fortified with 100 mg of omega-3 fatty acids. Or what’s the point if you can get your dose by eating a 6-ounce portion of fresh salmon for dinner (~ 3000 mg omega-3 fatty acid) unless of course you are a vegetarian then you can eat vegetables such as cauliflower with mustard seeds and/or cabbage with a touch of cloves prepared with canola oil, sprinkle some oregano and pecans over that then you are in omega-3 heaven (all these veggies, spices, nuts and oils are particularly high in omega-3).




Kids are clearly happy with their ultra-pasteurized chocolate milk which is often vitamin D fortified and thickened with a touch of refined starch to make the texture more velvety. But don't overlook the sugar content, which is much higher than the vitamin content and hence not great for health. Instead consider organic milk thickened with carrageenan (a seaweed which thickens liquids/foods) and find your vitamin D from the sun or a natural product that is fortified like Rice or Soy Milk, with far less sugar.

We’ve all been there after a tough workout….you can chug a well known orange colored energy drink with the daily suggested dose of vitamin C (citrus flavor) and a long list of minerals added, sweetened with sugar (3-5 grams/fluid ounce) or saccharine. Or you can have orange juice, freshly pressed ideally or even a banana, which is loaded with potassium, so essential after or before exercise.

Ain’t nothing like the real thing
The refining and processing steps in food production destroys valuable vitamins and nutrients. Fortifying foods in some synthesized form is mostly a marketing tool and a quick fix to get your nutrients when you don’t have a choice, you’re in a rush or you’re in the middle of a marathon and they are offering that orange laboratory juice on the spot. It is not a way to build a healthy, sustainable diet and as the song goes “Ain’t nothing like the real thing.” Marvin Gaye said it before the soda company fortified the slogan.