More Reasons to Eat Your Vegetables

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http://www.mercola.com/2004/aug/25/vegetables.htm

 

More Reasons to Eat Your Vegetables

 

 

Nutritionists are beginning to understand, long after

ancient cultures did, many vegetables and fruits

contain elements that can fight disease and generally

improve our health in many ways. Until recently, how

and why has been the $64,000 question. But the answers

are slowly emerging, thanks to a growing body of work

by a variety of researchers.

 

For example, plant chemicals called phytochemicals can

reduce inflammation and eliminate carcinogens while

others regulate the rate at which cells reproduce, get

rid of old cells and maintain DNA. Although recent

research has found fruits and vegetables don’t provide

as much protection from cancer as experts once

believed, the body needs some of the 25,000

phytochemicals to stay healthy.

 

Rather than focus on “power foods,” nutritionists

advocate plant-based diets that combine to offer the

best benefits and bolster their protective powers.

 

Over time, people have evolved to eat a diverse diet

of some 800 plant foods. In fact, the evolutionary

process has much to do with why people grew to depend

on plant foods for their nutrients and why they are

vulnerable to disease if they avoid them.

Unfortunately, according to one expert, most eat

three: French fries, ketchup and iceberg lettuce. But

some of the best foods, ginseng, turmeric and Reishi

mushrooms, are so exotic they never make it to the

average American dinner table.

 

Experts suggest people select their servings of fruits

and vegetables from seven color groups, such as purple

grapes or yellow squash, whose colors are produced by

disease-fighting chemicals called carotenoids.

 

Don’t Miss Out!

 

They also point out that those wanting to skip fruits

and vegetables for a dietary supplement could likely

miss out on all the advantages by not eating the real

thing as well as those researchers haven’t discovered

yet. To that end, the American Heart Association

recently issued a warning that antioxidant supplements

don’t prevent heart disease. In fact, some supplements

with beta carotene increase one’s cancer risk.

 

But antioxidants already in vegetables neutralize free

radicals, dangerous molecules produced by the body as

well as external sources including smoking and

radiation. Unchecked, free radicals attack healthy

cells that can lead to arterial problems and

Alzheimer’s disease as well as damage to DNA that

promotes cancer.

 

Plant-rich diets can improve health and can slow down

or prevent some ailments. The following are some of

the combinations of nutrients and foods along with

potential problems or benefits they may prevent that

have been discovered by various researchers:

 

*

 

Consuming vitamin C and carotenoids through food

and supplements enabled seniors to reach higher scores

in reasoning tests. Other foods rich in vitamin C,

carotenoids and folic acid--spinach and

broccoli--heightened one’s cognitive abilities

*

 

The beta carotene in sweet potatoes and vitamin

E in almonds protects cells from damage

*

 

High potassium fruits and vegetables can help

control blood pressure

*

 

Inflammation may be interrupted by the use of

antioxidants

*

 

Kale, red cabbage and Brussels sprouts, rich in

phytochemicals, activate enzymes that break down

carcinogens that can cause cancer

*

 

Levels of homocysteine, which has been linked to

heart attacks, hardening arteries, strokes and

dementia, can be lowered with vitamin B6 found in

bananas and folic acid in broccoli and leafy greens

*

 

Links are being investigated between

angiogenesis (a process in which tumors secure sources

of blood to help them spread and grow) and chemicals

found in licorice, blueberries and garlic

 

USA Today August 11, 2004

 

Dr. Mercola's Comment:

 

It’s good to see a growing consensus among physicians,

nutritionists and researchers in the world of

conventional medicine are finally beginning to notice

that what you eat and don’t can do far more for you

nutritionally and chemically to bolster your whole

health and that of your family than ever before.

 

Along those lines, I recommend buying as much organic

produce as you can afford. By doing so, you’ll enjoy

delicious foods that haven’t been sprayed with

synthetic herbicides and pesticides. Besides, organic

produce typically has more antioxidants and nutrients

too.

 

If you’re just getting started on your journey toward

total wellness, eating vegetables and fruits alone

won’t necessarily do the trick. First you’ll need to

learn about your personal metabolic type so you can

eat the best vegetables for your body type. For

example, I’m a protein metabolic type and broccoli

pushes my biochemistry in an unhealthy direction. So

knowing what type I am helps me to avoid certain

vegetables but allows me to find other cruciferous

vegetables like cauliflower that are good for me and

other protein types.

 

One of the major benefits of vegetables for your

metabolic type is that they provide raw bioenergetic

fields and normalization of one's pH. Those fields and

pH capacities are only slightly modified if the

vegetables are non-organic.