Vegetable of The  Month: Heirloom Tomatoes (Lycopersicon esculentum)

Heirloom tomatoes are probably the  vegetable most associated with the local foodie movement. But what exactly makes a tomato an Heirloom? An Heirloom vegetable is generally considered to be a variety that's

 been passed down, through several generations of a family because of it's valued characteristics. Tomato experts, Craig LeHoullier and Carolyn Male, have classified  heirlooms into four categories:

 1.Commercial Heirlooms: Open-pollinated varieties introduced before 1940, or tomato varieties more than 50 years in circulation.

  2.Family Heirlooms: Seeds that have been passed down for several generations through a family.

  3. Created Heirlooms: Crossing two known parents (either two heirlooms or an heirloom and a hybrid) and dehybridizing the resulting seeds for to eliminate the undesirable characteristics and stabilize the desired characteristics. 

 4. Mystery Heirlooms: Varieties that are a product of natural cross-pollination of other heirloom varieties.

You are what you eat?

     Last month I presented a correlation between the increase in large scale commercial farms that rely on pesticides over the past 40-50 years to the disturbing and steady increase in children with learning and developmental conditions.  The exact cause of these conditions are unknown but environmental toxins are highly suspect as evidence against pesticides continues to mount.  Although DDT was banned in the US as highlighted in February's newsletter, organophosphate pesticides (OP) continue to be the most commonly used pesticides with over 32 types heavily applied to our food supply.  OP works by impairing an enzyme that is critical to the breakdown of acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter that is essential to the central nervous system.   By disrupting enzyme function, acetylcholine builds up in the nervous system and causes sustained stimulation and suppression and is what renders it lethal to pests...its effect on humans is in question and it appears that we are experimenting once again on our most vulnerable population. 

     Infants have a higher respiratory rate than adults and therefore exposure to pesticide vapors is much greater; children also eat and drink more relative to their body weight than adults. The Environmental Protection Agency have documented that environmental chemicals are 10 times more toxic to children than adults.  This is a sobering reality that should not be ignored given what is at stake;  Studies by Kofman et al have connected OP pesticides with delays in learning as well as negative effects on children's physical coordination and behavioral health,  Several recent studies from agricultural areas reflect a reported rise in developmental disorders that include autism and Asperger's syndrome.  One of the most recent and significant studies was conducted by Bouchard et al making media headlines (finally).  They reported their health statistics findings of over 1000 children between the ages of 8-15 during the period of 2000-2004: Children with the highest levels of OP metabolites in their urine had the greatest risk in the expression of ADHD.  At this point the study can only demonstrate an association versus a cause of exposure to OP and the risk of ADHD.  What made this study different however than most studies to date is that it highlighted how even the smallest exposure to these pesticides might affect neurotransmitters and future neuro-behavioral health such as inattention, learning difficulties and hyperactivity. Certainly what we know for sure is that it is lethal to insects...clearly the doses that we ingest is not acutely lethal to us but what it does to human brains is starting to get the attention it deserves.    

     We've all heard how eating healthy does a body good or how eating this (or not) is good for your heart health (or not) or your eyes or your liver or your risk of cancer...  You get the picture; But what about the brain?  Providing nutrition care for preterm babies in a neonatal intensive care unit for many years, I've observed a dramatic shift in the nature of studies concerning the youngest and smallest of our population; The research focus had been primarily on respiratory, visual or long term developmental outcome.  Nutrition and growth of these babies and how it affects their future neurological health is only recently taking center stage (or at least sharing it) I have also noticed similar shifts in the study of nutrition as it applies to our more mature population.  It was as if the brain was disconnected from our body.  Fortunately studies are learning about and finding connections with how what we eat (or not) is good (or not) for our brain. The adage "you are what you eat" might not be such a stretch when it comes to ingesting neuro-toxins.  Something to 'think' about...