Phytochemicals

Our diet more than ever before contains fatty processed foods and less natural plant based foods. The effects of this growing trend can be seen in the awful statistics on Alzheimer's Disease, cancer, Atherosclerosis, Diabetes, Parkinson's Disease, heart disease, stroke and many other degenerative diseases.

Consumption of high fat foods obviously brings with it many problems, but the high intake of protein and simple carbohydrates creates an inadequate consumption of plant-based foods which have many health giving benefits.

Plant based foods provide Phytochemicals.

Most people know that eating plant based foods provide the all essential fiber, vitamins and minerals to the diet but what is not known so well is the many benefits of the phytochemicals that these plants can provide.

Phytochemicals come in several forms and different vegetables have higher concentrations of a particular phytochemical than others. Some of the main phytochemicals include:

Flavonoids - citrus fruits, onions, cabbage, cucumber, parsley, tomatoes, broccoli, carrots, soybeans and berries.

Isoflavones - Found in soy, peas, beans and legumes.

Lignans - Found in walnuts, flaxseeds, pumpkin seeds and many other nuts and seeds.

Carotenoids - Found in leafy greens, broccoli, carrots, pumpkin, squash, sweet potato and yams.

Indioles - Found in brussels sprouts, cauliflower, turnips, bok choy, broccoli, cabbage and kale.

Omega 3 Fatty Acids - Found in walnuts and flaxseeds.

Plant Sterols - Found in squash, soybeans, peppers, tomatoes, cucumber and broccoli.

The list above is only a small segment of the entire phytochemical family which encompasses a very large and extensive range of nutrients.

What are the Benefits of Phytochemicals?

Phytochemicals act in many ways to help your body in combating disease and health problems such as:

1) Protecting the cells by blocking carcinogens that try to enter the cell walls.

2) Fighting the malignant changes within cells that have already been penetrated by carcinogens.

3) Boosting enzyme activity to increase the benefits of the various protective enzymes consumed within the diet.

4) Combining with numerous vitamins to boost antioxidants activity to scavenge free radicals before they can cause damage within the body.

Of course it is not necessary to know the names and benefits of the large range of phytochemicals that exist, what is important is to understand that maintaining a diet that contains a variety of fruits and vegetables will combine the benefits of the phytochemicals and vitamins to help you achieve optimal health.

In addition to proper diet, it is essential to take a good vitamin and mineral supplement that uses extracts of fruits and vegetables, that way you can make sure that you are getting the necessary Phytochemicals everyday.

By reducing your high fat/processed food intake, increasing your intake of fruits and vegetables and taking a good whole food extract vitamin and mineral supplement you will greatly reduce your chances of falling victim to the ever-growing list of degenerative diseases which plague the general population today as a result of following a typical western diet.

It is not only the damaging effects of high fat, high sugar foods in the western diet that allow cancer, heart disease etc to develop, but the absence of the protective phytochemicals that are only found in plant foods.

So eat plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, stay away from high fat processed foods and take a whole food extract vitamin product. You will then be armed wiht a host of phytochemicals to fight the damaging effects of free radicals and carcinogens that will give you a level of health that most people will envy.