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(HealthNewsDigest.com) – A number of recent research reports confirm, one more time, dump the supplements and eat more fruits and vegetables. Two major studies show no health benefits to routine vitamin and mineral supplement use for healthy people. The key here is “healthy.” Those with defined nutrient deficiencies can still benefit from supplementation. But, for those of who are healthy, your money would be better spent on another head of broccoli. Why is food better than supplements?
The components of food function like a symphony, each working with and playing off each other. When we isolate the substances, like a vitamin C supplement, the original benefits often don’t hold. And, in some cases, the vitamin or mineral might even have a negative effect. It’s very hard to overdose on a nutrient through food. You simply would have a hard time eating that much. But, it is easy to take megadoses in supplement form. Taking very large amounts of one nutrient can throw off the balance needed to effectively keep your body healthy.
Let’s take a look at some of the recent findings that say, once again, eating fruits and vegetables is the best and most effective route to good health.
As a dietitian, I often tell people to eat a colorful plate. Eating a wide array of colors helps to insure a wide intake of important nutrients. Red, is not only a vibrant color but a signal for a good food source of lycopene, a powerful antioxidant. Lycopene is unique in that it is more readily available in cooked and processed foods than in raw products, like tomatoes. Tomato sauce and ketchup are both well liked American foods. Using them regularly can actually help protect against heart disease.
A review article in the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine showed that tomatoes contain anti-clotting and anti-inflammatory functions. The researchers found a clear connection between eating tomatoes and tomato products, and a lowered risk for heart disease, osteoporosis, and ultraviolet skin damage. It needs to be noted that one of the researchers worked for ConAgra Foods which owns Hunt’s, a major producer of canned tomato products. But, even with this bias, the results of the review are impressive.
A Dutch study, published in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association, focused on white fleshed fruits and vegetables as protective against stroke. Their conclusion, eating an apple or pear each day can lower stroke incidence by 52%. White flesh fruits and vegetables have flavonoids, a beneficial phytochemical that appears to lower the risk of stroke. Eating just 25 grams a day (slightly less than 1 ounce) of white fruits and vegetables was associated with a 9% lower risk of stroke. One medium apple has approximately 120 grams of white edible flesh. So, an apple or pear a day may keep strokes away.
We are frequently told that you can change your environment but you can’t change your genes. That may no longer be true as we learn more about the human genome. A study published in PLoS Medicine showed that a diet rich in fruits and raw vegetables may alter a specific gene variant that puts some people at risk for heart disease. Studying more than 27,000 people in 5 countries, the researchers concluded that those with the high risk genotype for heart disease could lower their risk by eating raw vegetables, fruits and berries regularly. The recommendation was to eat 5 or more servings a day.
Many people believe that our modern agri-business is destroying the nutrient content of fruits and vegetables making them less beneficial. A recent research study published in Crop Science shows that nutrient values hold even when new plant varieties are developed. Scientists from the USDA evaluated broccoli varieties over the last 50 years. Broccoli, not widely consumed before 1960, has undergone wide hybridization to improve quality and consumer appeal, but the mineral content has remained unchanged. This shows that plant breeding does not seem to affect nutrient quality of produce. This is an important finding and needs to be looked at in a wider array of products.
Bottom line: Eat fruits and vegetables. Eat them daily. And, eat a wide selection of nature’s color palette.
© NRH Nutrition Consultants, Inc.
Jo-Ann Heslin, MA, RD, CDN is a registered dietitian and the author of the nutrition counter series for Pocket Books with 12 current titles and sales of more than 8.5 million books. The books are widely available at your local or on-line bookseller.
Current titles include:
The Diabetes Counter, 4th Ed., 2011
The Protein Counter, 3rd Ed., 2011
The Calorie Counter, 5th Ed., 2010
The Ultimate Carbohydrate Counter, 3rd Ed., 2010
The Complete Food Counter, 3rd ed., 2009
The Fat Counter, 7th ed., 2009
The Healthy Wholefoods Counter, 2008
The Cholesterol Counter, 7th Ed., 2008
For more information on Jo-Ann and her books, go to TheNutritionExperts
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