Worldwide research has demonstrated that a diet rich in phytonutrients (available in the full color range of fruits and vegetables) is essential to optimum health.
About Vegetable Intake To get all you need, you should be eating fruits and vegetables from 5 different color categories. The link below is a fun way to gauge your daily intake of fruits and vegetables, give it a try:
Phytonutrients:
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serve as antioxidants
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enhance immune response
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enhance cell-to-cell communication
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alter estrogen metabolism
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convert to vitamin A (beta-carotene is metabolized to vitamin A)
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cause cancer cells to die (apoptosis)
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repair DNA damage caused by smoking and other toxic exposures
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detoxify carcinogens through the activation of the cytocrome P450 and Phase II enzyme systems
Fruits and vegetables that are high in carotenoids appear to protect humans against certain cancers, heart disease and age related macular degeneration.
Carotenoid | Common Food Source |
alpha-carotene | carrots |
beta-carotene | leafy green and yellow vegetables (eg broccoli, sweet potato, pumpkin, carrots) |
beta-cryptoxanthin | citrus, peaches, apricots |
lutein | leafy greens such as kale, spinach, turnip greens |
lycopene | tomato products, pink grapefruit, watermelon, guava |
zeaxanthin | green vegetables, eggs, citrus |
Food sources rich in polyphenols include onion, apple, tea, red wine, red grapes, grape juice, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, cranberries, and certain nuts.
Nonflavonoids |
Sources |
ellagic acid | strawberries, blueberries, raspberries |
coumarins |
|
Flavonoids |
Sources |
anthocyanins | fruits |
catechins | tea, wine |
flavanones | citrus |
flavones | fruits and vegetables |
flavonols | fruits, vegetables, tea, wine |
isoflavones | soybean |
Fruit and vegetable consumption has been linked to decreased risk of stroke -- both hemorrhagic and ischemic stroke. Each increment of three daily servings of fruits and vegetables equated to a 22% decrease in risk of stroke, including transient ischemic attack (Gillman et al. Journal of the American Medical Association. 1995;273;1113).
Elderly men whose intake of dark green and deep yellow vegetable put them in the highest quartile for consumption of these vegetables had about a 46% decrease in risk of heart disease relative to men who ranked in the lowest quartile.
Men in the highest quintile had about a 70% lower risk of cancer than did their counterparts in the lowest quintile. Men in the highest quartile or quintile consumed more than two (>2.05 and >2.2) servings of dark green or deep yellow vegetable a day; those in the lowest quartile or quintile consumed less than one serving daily (<0.8 and <0.7). Suggesting that small, consistent changes in vegetable consumption can make important changes in health outcomes.
Consumption of tomato products has been linked to decreased risk of prostate cancer. Men in the highest quintile for consumption of tomato products (10 or more servings a week) had about a 35% decrease in risk of prostate cancer compared to counterparts whose consumption put them in the lowest quintile (1.5 or fewer servings of tomato products a week.
People in the highest quintile for consumption of spinach or collard greens, plants high in the carotenoid lutein, had a 46% decrease in risk of age-related macular degeneration compared to those in the lowest quintile who consumed these vegetables less than once per month.
About Vegetable Intake To get all you need, you should be eating fruits and vegetables from 5 different color categories. The link below is a fun way to gauge your daily intake of fruits and vegetables, give it a try:
Of course, you should eat whole fresh fruits and vegetables from the 5 color categories whenever possible, but how often is it possible to eat the full range? I highly recommend NUTRILITE® supplements specifically to provide you with a wide array of phytonutrients to fill the gap between the fruits and veggies you should eat and what you actually eat.
You can find out more about NutriLite at: http://www.amway.com/en/nutrition-wellness
Blessed for your highest good!
><> Sherry Perkins
Personal Fitness Training and Certified Raindrop Therapy Practitioner
Empowered Fitness and Holistic Health
Website: www.EmpoweredHealthFitness.com
Website: www.raindroptherapy.net
PH: 734-646-5582
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