



		Your Path to Healthy Living and a Healthy Life

Clinical Pearls

Mom Was Right About Fruits And Vegetables

Over the years, researchers have acknowledged that people who ate diets high in fruits, vegetables, herbs, legumes, whole grains, nuts, and seeds were far less susceptible to degenerative disease. Is it the vitamins, minerals, and enzymes in these foods that confer protection from disease? Yes, but it is much, much more.

Plants have developed certain compounds that protect them from the damage of sunlight, bacteria, viruses, insects, and diseases. These compounds have come to be called phytonutrients.

You may have heard of some of them: carotenes (beta-carotene, lycopene, lutein, etc.), bioflavonoids (rutin, hesperidin, naringinin, anthocyanidins, etc.), polyphenols, and so on.

To date, only about 1,000 of these phytonutrients have been discovered and about 100 have been isolated and tested. Scientists believe that there may be up to 30,000 to 50,000 of these compounds found in nature. Wow!

When we eat plant foods, we concentrate these phytonutrients in our bodies and acquire protection for our cells, tissues, and organs. What kind of protection? Well, phytonutrients give us antioxidant protection against the damage of free radicals, many of these nutrients have antiviral, antibacterial, anticancer, and antifungal effects, they enhance our immune function, they stimulate detoxification of toxins, decrease inflammation, protect against radiation, and so much more.

In spite of all these known benefits, most of us do not get the recommended servings of fruits and vegetables each day. The Canada Food Guide suggest 6 or more servings of vegetables and 2 servings of fruits are a minimum. Are you getting yours? Only 9% of Canadians eat the recommended minimum each day!

Most of us are sadly missing out on the incredible health benefits offered by fresh produce. Even as a naturopathic physician, I should know better, yet there are days when I eat no fruit at all and only a few servings of vegetables. Those of you with good intentions, but a very busy lifestyle understand how difficult it can be to eat as well as you know you should.

I have found a simple solution that is helping me and it will help all of you as well. Recently I found out about this phenomenal product called Greens First. It contains 49 superfoods, extracts and concentrates of super greens, vegetables, fruits, healthy bacteria, fibers, herbs, spices, enzymes, and so on. In other words it is jam packed with phytonutrients. In fact, one small scoop provides the antioxidant protection of 10 servings of fruits and vegetables. It is easy to mix into water, juice, or your protein smoothie, and it really tastes good.