Harvest Moon 64’s Vegetable Festival was Educational!

This is a legacy article and was originally published December 3rd, 2019.

When playing Harvest Moon: 64, did you ever feel like you might be learning something? You were right. The examples below shows a handful of lines that contain an educational element for nutrition, and they occur at the Vegetable Festival. 

The question is: are these actual facts?

Ann: Carrots are full of nutrients. Carotene, B, B1, C, Iron and Calcium! A real energizer! 

Are carrots full of nutrients? Yes, most definitely. Carrots have Vitamin C (6%), Iron (1%), and Calcium (2%). Ann doesn’t mention they contain several other Vitamin B nutrients, such as Vitamin B-6 (5%). Carotene, the first nutrient she listed, is actually beta carotene, which the human body transforms into Vitamin A. All of these, especially the B Vitamins, are excellent for energy.

Maria: Cabbage has lots of vitamins, including vitamin U, which they say is good for ulcers. 

At first glance, Maria’s Vitamin U made me wonder if it actually existed. Unfortunately, Vitamin U isn’t well-recognized in the nutrition community and has failed to make it to the true vitamin list, so it falls to the wayside of obscure vitamins. There’s a few academic studies regarding this vitamin and its effects when eaten in raw form. It does help promote healing with peptic ulcers, apparently. Leave it to Maria to find the obscure nutrition facts.

Elli: The amount of vitamins in a vegetable varies depending on how you cook them. 

Does cooking really affect the amount of vitamins in vegetables? The answer is yes. In fact, you can lose nutrients in vegetables when you’re doing something as simple as cutting and washing them. Vitamin B and C are lost in preparation that involves soaking or boiling, as the nutrients are leached out into the surrounding water. It’s advised to cook vegetables in the least amount of water possible to retain their nutritional effects. This is probably why in the Japanese version of Harvest Moon: 64, Elli advises you to stir-fry your vegetables, because they retain more nutrients that way.

Karen: Tomatoes taste great and are nutritious. They say Vitamin M promotes blood formation. 

What is Vitamin M? Well, the reason you probably haven’t heard of it is because it’s evolved in the past few years into Folic Acid/Folate (technically vitamin B9), both terms that are more frequently used. Tomatoes are full of naturally occurring folate, so Karen is right- even if her verbiage is outdated.

Popuri: They say eggplants cool down the body and lower blood pressure. Elli knows all about those kinds of things. 

For years, eggplants have been rumored to lower blood pressure and there isn’t much research into the phenomenon. There have been studies however that show they contain nutrients that act similarly to blood pressure medications.

In conclusion, while you were playing Harvest Moon: 64 to satisfy your farming simulator cravings, it was simultaneously teaching you nutrition facts. 

(This article was submitted via DM from one of our Discord members who wished to remain anonymous)