Food Quality & Health: The Carey Reams Approach
by Jon Frank
February 2006, Acres U.S.A.

   Foods vary tremendously in nutrient density and quality. This is easily confirmed by our body’s own internal refractometer; our sense of taste. We all like sweeter carrots, cherries, tomatoes, watermelons, etc. We instinctively prefer sweeter produce. This is significant because in addition to having higher carbohydrates (natural plant sugars), these foods also have higher mineral density and a greater spectrum of trace minerals. Lower-quality produce has poorer taste, lower carbohydrates and lower mineral density and spectrum. This explains why people eating low-quality foods have such a large appetite. The body is desperate for minerals and to satisfy its mineral requirement more food is consumed. This leads to the observation that such people are overfed and undernourished. High-quality foods produce a stronger sense of satisfaction or fullness after eating a smaller portion.
   Let’s begin with two basic questions:
   1. What is food?
   2. What is its function in the human body?
   These questions sound strange because they address issues so basic, we seldom give them much thought. Is food something that is just chewed and swallowed in order to relieve us of that gnawing pain in our stomachs? No, it is much, much more.
   Food is a complete package designed to provide the human body with a balance of minerals, carbohydrates, vitamins, proteins, enzymes and various other properties such as oils, phytonutrients and antioxidants. It takes all of these elements in foods — and many more, collectively called nutrition — to be in balance in order for the human body to be properly nourished.
   Food provides the nutrition our bodies need in order to live, grow, reproduce, and regain our health. Sadly, much of the food consumed today does not provide this balance of nutrition. When this happens health begins to falter and disease nips at the heels.
Some interesting research that came out of Europe during World War II supports this concept. Prior to the war, researchers were observing food purchasing habits of families and monitoring each family’s health. When the war hit Europe, the economy declined and food prices became much higher. The researchers assumed the families would buy lower-quality produce since it was cheaper. Instead, most families used whatever means they had to buy smaller quantities of the highest-quality foods they could find. The researchers were surprised to find that even though the families buying the highest-quality foods were clearly underfed, they remained in amazingly good health. The other families that had purchased lower- quality foods had sufficient to eat, but due to its poorer nutrition, suffered in the level of their health by the end of the war.
   This philosophy of eating the highest quality of fruits and vegetables is still practiced in some parts of Europe and Japan today. Would you believe that the very best quality fruit grown in America today is not even consumed in America? It is exported and eaten by Europeans and the Japanese.
   The quality of produce can be graded based upon its reading on a refractometer. The refractometer is a device that measures dissolved minerals and plant sugars, or “Total Dissolved Solids.” Credit for the concept of grading produce quality goes to Carey Reams. Arden Andersen further refined this concept to parallel the grading scale used by educational institutions. In Andersen’s scale, produce is categorized in grades A, B, C, D and E, with grade A being excellent and near-perfect and grade E being a total failure. The original chart compiled by Carey Reams, Dan Skow and Charles Walters only listed grades A-D. Let’s look at each grade in ascending order.

THE DROP OUT
   Produce graded in the E range is a complete failure. This type of produce confers no health benefit upon consumption. It is a net negative on the body’s health. This type of food is a major contributor to indigestion, completely lacks rare earths such as iodine, chromium, and vanadium and is tremendously calcium deficient. As a result of its calcium deficiency it is very susceptible to toxins from heavy metals and pesticides. Proteins are not properly formed in this food and as a result this produce is loaded with free nitrates.
   The nutritional quality of this food is so poor that it can only be brought to market by the heavy use of pesticides. Left to nature this type of food would rot and be consumed by insects long before it reached marketability. The E grade on produce relates to brix readings lower than Poor on the Brix Chart. Is this produce in our supermarkets today? All it takes is a refractometer and you can find out. (P.S. Don’t eat it!)

THE FUNCTIONAL FAILURE
   Food graded in the D range represents a small step up. This type of food is typical of what is commonly found in most supermarkets. It sustains life but not health. It rots easily and is void of rare earth minerals, antioxidants and vitamins. Foods in the D range have poorly formed proteins, excess nitrates and poor enzyme levels. This type of food must have crop protection to make it to the market.
   Like grade E, this food is calcium deficient and thus susceptible to picking up toxins from heavy metals and pesticides. Foods in this level can easily lead to indigestion for people with weak digestion. Foods with this level of nutrition should not be eaten. Produce graded as a D relate to the brix readings from Poor to the beginning of Average.

THE MEDIOCRE
   Produce graded in the C range represents a substantial increase in quality. This type of food sustains life and can even benefit someone consistently eating foods in the D to E range. Foods in this grade can be eaten with less indigestion than grades D and E.
   In the bigger picture this level of produce quality still falls far short of ideal and is unacceptable. This is the food quality Dr. Charles Northern so adamantly rejected in 1936. To many people who have become used to eating food in the D and E grades, this food represents such an improvement in taste that it is thought to be good quality — it is not. This level of food still has excess nitrates even though the protein quality is better.
   Laboratory analysis on C grade produce will show some trace and rare earth minerals along with some antioxidants, vitamins and enzymes. Calcium levels will be higher than in grades D and E, as well. Unfortunately these nutrients do not translate very well into increased health. Arden Andersen illustrates it this way: These nutrients are like employees who show up for work but only goof off all day — they are not productive. Produce graded in the C level corresponds to brix readings from “Average” to the beginning of “Good.”

THE RISING STAR
    Food graded in the B range can have a great impact on most people’s health. This type of produce has good nutritional density and carbohydrate levels, which facilitates proper digestion. With good nutrition and digestion, the body enjoys greater energy levels and a stronger immune system. Calcium levels in these foods are much better than the lower grades, with less susceptibility to taking on toxic substances.
   Raw foods in the B range will contain good levels of enzymes, taste great, and produce a strong sense of satisfaction when eaten. B-range foods supply good levels of vitamins, antioxidants, oils and trace minerals. They also supply acceptable levels of rare earth minerals such as selenium, iodine, chromium and vanadium. Foods in the B range do not cause indigestion. This food level is the lowest quality that we should buy or eat, with an ever-increasing desire to get all of our foods from the A grade. B-range foods correspond to brix readings on the chart from “Good” to the beginning of “Excellent.”

THE MOTHER LODE!
    Top-quality produce in the A grade is the crown jewel of foods. These foods taste so good, they can only be described as heavenly. The nutrition offered by these foods is as good as the taste — outstanding. These foods have virtually no free nitrates, do not cause indigestion, and have properly formed proteins. A-grade foods have very high levels of vitamins, carbohydrates, minerals, enzymes, antioxidants and trace minerals. As a result, they have the greatest impact on improving health and providing nutrition against disease. Calcium is abundantly supplied by these foods, and rare earth nutrients such as selenium, chromium, iodine, vanadium and cobalt are well supplied by A-grade foods.
   Foods in the A grade are the very antithesis of everything in the E range. A regular diet of A-grade foods leads to the greatest development of mental acuity and our genetic potential physically. A-grade produce relates to the brix chart with refractometer readings in the “Excellent” column. These numbers indicate only the beginning of “Excellent,” so many readings can go beyond this. A-grade foods are quite rare at present, but this is changing.

OTHER FOODS
     The grading scale discussed here works well for checking fresh produce, but what about other types of foods such as grains and animal products? The intrinsic nutritional qualities of these foods are not as easy to measure, thus other factors must be taken into account. For grains, it becomes very important to know the condition of the soil in which they are grown. Grains with a higher test weight will contain greater mineral density and are preferred over lighter-weight grains.
   For animal products it is important to know the feed quality of what the animals are consuming as well as the soil conditions on which they are grown. Cultural practices such as access to grass and fresh air are other important considerations when selecting animal products.
    Thus we have the basics of food quality from a Reams-inspired perspective. Next month, we’ll follow up with a closer look at how food quality impacts the digestive process.

    Jon C. Frank can be contacted at International Ag Labs, P.O. Box 788, Fairmont, Minnesota 56031, phone (507) 235-6909, fax (507) 235-9155, website <www.aglabs.com>, or visit <www.highbrixgardens.com>.