The Next "Superfood"?
Life on earth may start to resemble the Jetsons, and soon. A new procedure, currently being developed for the military, specializes in extracting chemical nutrients from fruits and vegetables and concentrating them in a versatile form. Nutrients are extracted from produce like kale and muscadine grapes, and blended with soy or hemp-based flours and protein powders to create a supercharged ingredient.
With all the science involved in manipulating these foods, those dedicated to traditions, or Paleo diets for that matter, may be wary at the very least.
The goal is to use these hyper-nutritious, shelf-stable substances to replace traditional flour in food products, thereby multiplying their nutritional values. The new flours are extremely durable and can be transported long distances to deliver nutrition where it is sorely needed.
The possibilities do not end with the military, however, but could extend to humanitarian efforts worldwide. Once the technology is fully developed, the lightweight and nutrient-rich flours could aid not only troops mired in battle, but also people in famines, droughts, or extreme poverty who don't have access to the fresh produce their bodies need.
Unfortunately, when the fruits and vegetables are stripped of sugars, water, and fats during the nutrient concentration process, most of the flavor we know and love vanishes too. You may be missing that berry blast in your smoothie, but isn't scientific discovery the sweetest taste there is?