by Fay Epps, MS CHHC
“Phytonutrient” means literally a plant-based nutrient. Mother Nature provides us with an abundance of disease-fighting, tasty, and colorful foods, all of which pack a powerful punch of flavor and health benefits. The phytonutrients in plants work to protect them against insects, bacteria, ultraviolet light, and extreme weather. In much the same way they protect plants, phytonutrients protect you.
One class of phytochemical, known as polyphenols, has been touted as a powerful antioxidant. Antioxidants destroy free radicals—components in the body that destroy healthy cells and can lead to disease. The American Cancer Society even promotes the consumption of antioxidant-rich foods, stating that one type of polyphenol (flavonoids) acts “as antioxidants and may protect against some cancers and heart disease.”
Get Colorful!
The basic rule of thumb when choosing your fruits and vegetables? Select from a rainbow of colors! The deep colors give fruits and vegetables their antioxidant and disease-fighting powers, and different colors contain different benefits. You simply can’t go wrong if you eat a variety of citrus fruits, cruciferous vegetables, allium vegetables, and purple, red, and green produce.
Four Categories of Phytos:
Eating a diet rich in colorful produce means incorporating the following varieties of phytonutrients:
- Anthocyanins – found in deep purple or red-colored fruits such as cherries, blueberries, strawberries, red grapes, and blackberries. These have been shown to boost metabolism and short-term memory.
- Carotenoids – found in yellow and orange-colored fruits and vegetables such as sweet potatoes, peaches, carrots, and pumpkin. These are powerful immune system boosters and can also improve eyesight. The antioxidant value of carotenoids makes them impressive disease-fighters.
- Catechins – found in apples and green or black tea. Catechins help to burn abdominal fat (the dangerous type of fat) and aid in weight loss.
- Flavonoids – found in berries, pomegranates, red onions, the skin of apples and red grapes. These have been increasingly linked to slowing the growth of cancer cells.
The evidence supporting the consumption of phytonutrient-rich produce is impressive. Tap into the power of whole, organic food to reveal anti-aging and disease-fighting properties. Unfortunately, our food today is not as rich in phytonutrients as food was hundreds of years ago before industrial farming and not even close to the nutrient value of food thousands of years ago before farming. Take into account the idea that our genetic make up is programmed for the nutrient value of the food our hunter-gatherer ancestors ate for hundreds of generations and you can see why we need supplementation to make up for the deficiency in our modern day diets.
Author’s content used under license, © Sprouted Content, LLC
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Related Links
Eat to Defeat Cancer: http://www.eattodefeat.org/
Natural News – “The Health Benefits of Phytochemicals”: http://www.naturalnews.com/032463_phytochemicals_health_benefits.html
