Are We Starving Ourselves of Essential Nutrients?
by CP Staff
Although there is still a great deal of disagreement regarding the type of diet that is considered ideal (e.g., high protein, low carbohydrate vs. high complex carbohydrates, low fat, etc.), most nutrition and health care researchers/professionals tend to agree about the importance of fruit and vegetables as part of a healthy diet. In fact, nutrition recommendations from the United States Department of Agriculture indicate that adult men and women should make half their plate fruit and vegetables.1 Nevertheless, according to the State Indicator Report on Fruits and Vegetables, 2009, as reported by the Centers for Disease Control, only 14 percent of U.S. adults and 9.5 percent of adolescents consume two servings of fruit and three servings of vegetables daily.2 Clearly, Americans are falling short of the dietary mark in consumption of fruit and vegetables.
Winter Months and Holidays
If this weren’t bad enough, other research shows that the intake of fruit and vegetables tends to drop in the winter months, as evidenced by an Australian study in women showing a 12 percent decrease in fruit and vegetable intake in the winter compared to summer.3 This may be further exacerbated around holiday times during which overeating patterns are well-established,4 and are commonly seen to involve protein foods, starchy foods and desserts instead of fruit and vegetables.
The Importance of Adequate Fruit and Vegetable Intake
The results of numerous epidemiological studies and recent clinical trials provide consistent evidence that diets rich in fruit and vegetables can promote various aspects of human health.5 Fruit and vegetables contain a plethora of phytochemicals that are likely to interact in a number of ways to promote health.6 For example, fruit and vegetables are rich in antioxidants, which help protect the body from oxidative damage induced by pro-oxidants such as free radicals. Apparently, the U.S. government agrees about the importance of fruit and vegetables. One of the recommendations of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010,7 is to increase fruit and vegetable intake. The three reasons given for this recommendation are as follows.
First, fruit and vegetables are major contributors of many nutrients that are not currently consumed in adequate amounts in the United States. These include folate (folic acid), magnesium, potassium, dietary fiber and vitamins A, C and K. The inadequate intake of dietary fiber and potassium are of public health concern, as is the inadequate intake of folic acid for women who are capable of becoming pregnant.7
Second, consumption of fruit and vegetables promote specific aspects of human health.7 For example:
- Research indicates that consuming a high intake of fruit and vegetables promotes healthy cardiovascular function, including healthy circulation in the heart and brain.8-10
- Research shows that fruit and vegetables help promote healthy blood pressure functions.11 Some vegetables and fruit may also help promote normal, healthy cell division and replication in various areas of the body.12-14
- At least five servings of fruit and vegetables daily may help support healthy blood glucose levels already within normal ranges.15
- Several cross-sectional studies have also reported that higher intakes of fruit and vegetables are associated with healthy bone density in men and women.16-19
- Diets rich in fruit and vegetables, especially carotenoid and vitamin C-rich fruit and vegetables, enhance healthy vision.20-26
- The results of several epidemiological studies suggest beneficial associations between vegetable intakes—and, more strongly—with fruit intakes and healthy lung function.27
Third, most fruit and vegetables are low in calories. Consuming them in favor of higher calorie foods can help adults and children achieve and maintain a healthy weight.7
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010 also makes the point that despite the fact that healthy eating patterns around the world are diverse, a common thread that exists is that they are all abundant in vegetables and fruit.
Addressing the Problem
The problem is clear: Americans do not consume adequate fruit and vegetables. The solution would seem to be equally clear. Americans should change their dietary patterns. The problem is that, for the most part, this doesn’t seem to be happening. In fact, women report that children and male partners are often obstructive to their attempts to integrate more fruit and vegetables into the family diet.28
People get used to a certain way of eating and tend to require powerful motivation and/or some life-changing event in order to institute a change. For example, colorectal cancer survivors and individuals affected by those survivors increased their intake of fruit and vegetables when included as part of an educational program involving tailored print communication and telephone motivational interviews.29 Clearly, waiting for such life-changing events to institute healthy dietary changes is not the ideal approach. But what can be done to institute changes in diets when there is such resistance to making dietary changes?
While there is no substitute for including an adequate amount of fruit and vegetables into the daily diet, supplementation with fruit and vegetable concentrates can provide some level of antioxidant and phytochemical support. This approach seems consistent with the position of the American Dietetic Association that “functional foods that include whole foods and fortified, enriched, or enhanced foods have a potentially beneficial effect on health when consumed as part of a varied diet on a regular basis, at effective levels.”30 NanoGreens10™ and Liquid Superfruit Antioxidant are two products that can help to accomplish this.
NanoGreens10
NanoGreens10 is a concentrated, phytochemical and antioxidant rich blend of brightly colored fruit and vegetables, herbal extracts, green foods, special fibers and enzymes. It contains a proprietary blend of 12 vegetables and 15 fruits, and a blend of 4 green foods (barley grass juice, spirulina, chlorella and atlantic kelp).
Of particular interest is pomegranate in the fruit blend, which provides 90 percent ellagic acid. Ellagic acid is a major active component in pomegranate,31 and has been shown to have potent antioxidant properties, including a supportive effect against the oxidation of LDL cholesterol.32 In addition, an antioxidant blend in NanoGreens10 provides resveratrol, a powerful antioxidant also found in red wine. Human clinical research has shown that resveratrol may help to support a normal, healthy inflammatory response in the midst of a variety of negative lifestyle factors.33 Other research has shown that resveratrol may also help promote healthy blood flow to the brain.34
Additional items of interest in NanoGreens10 are marigold extract with 5 percent lutein and milk thistle with 20 percent silymarin—both of which are found in the phytonutrient blend. Lutein is a major carotenoid pigment in the human macula and retina.35-36 It is thought to function as an antioxidant and blue light filter, protecting underlying ocular tissues from photodamage. Silymarin is the major active component in milk thistle, and plays a significant role in the health of the liver and its ability to provide detoxification functions for the body. Its benefits include protecting against glutathione depletion37 and increasing glutathione status,38 promoting the phase 2 glutathione conjugation pathway,39 and promoting the production of bile,40 which acts a vehicle to excrete toxins into the colon once they have completed phase 2 conjugation.
Liquid Superfruit Antioxidant
Liquid Superfruit Antioxidant is a blend of 14 antioxidant-rich whole fruit concentrates and extracts. This includes high-ORAC fruit. ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity) tests are considered to be an accurate laboratory measurement of antioxidant capacity, as validated by published scientific literature.41-44 The fruit with some of the highest ORAC values found in Liquid Superfruit Antioxidant include acai, cranberries, black currants, raspberries, pomegranate, blueberries, goji and mangosteen.
While each of these fruits has a combination of polyphenols and antioxidants unique to them, the combination found in Liquid Superfruit Antioxidant is designed to enhance the additive and synergistic properties of these compounds, delivering a broader range of beneficial antioxidant compounds. In addition to having significant antioxidant capacity, these beneficial compounds support the health of a wide range of systems, including cardiovascular, brain and immune health.45-47
Conclusion
Americans are not currently consuming an adequate number of servings of fruit and vegetables on a daily basis. Hence, “supplemental” fruit and vegetable nutritional drinks are a simple way to supplement one’s dietary deficits. This is especially true during the winter months and holiday times. The result is a gap in American diets since fruit and vegetables provide nutrients, antioxidants and phytochemicals that play a variety of important roles in human health. While the correct solution to the problem is for Americans to eat more fruit and vegetables, many are resistant to do so. To help compensate, the use of NanoGreens10 and Liquid Superfruit Antioxidant can provide some level of antioxidant and phytochemical support.
References
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