Nutrition and Vegetables

By Alec Burton, M.Sc., D.O., D.C.

How much of these foods should you eat? I usually recommend 7 to 9 different vegetables a day and this is not difficult to achieve if one has a large vegetable salad every day, exclusively raw. Some cooked vegetables may be taken also but as an addition, not instead of. The vegetables that may be important in securing and maintaining high level health — Brussels spouts, spinach, silver beet, parsley, mustard cress are high in dietary fiber.

A diverse group of chemicals which science classifies as fiber are further sub-classified according to different properties; common is the property of solubility. They are soluble or insoluble. All fruits and vegetables contain fiber. Fruits and vegetables which contain fairly significant quantities of fiber are apples, blackberries, grapefruits, oranges, raspberries and broccoli.

Good nutrition is more than just eating a collection of nutrients. There are phytochemicals (chemicals found in all plants, including fruit and vegetables), which are an important adjunct to the nutrients. They include isothiocyanates and thiocyanates found in Brussels sprouts, flavonoids found in berries, coumarins in citrus fruits, phenols found in most fruits and vegetables, protease inhibitors found in legumes, plant sterols found in vegetables, isoflavones, saponins and inositol, hexaphosphate found in soya beans, allium compounds present in garlic, limonene found in the oils of citrus fruit and resveratrol found in grapes. Although not labeled as nutrients, they represent important catalysts, but certainly as they are so widespread in foods, they are valuable considerations in nutrition. All of these chemicals are currently being subjected to scientific investigation and will enhance our knowledge and practical application of nutrition in the care of the well and sick.

Cancer Inhibitors in Foods

The way in which fruits and vegetables may reduce the risk of cancer is thought to be associated with some of the following mechanisms:

1. Stimulate cell differentiation and inhibit cell division.

2. Function as antioxidants. Free radicals damage cells. These free radicals are often free molecules of oxygen or singlet oxygen which exist in intercellular fluid or within cells. The normal metabolic activities of the cell produce free radicals, anti-oxidants that are available to us in our diet, especially if we consume an abundance of natural foods, absorb the free radicals.

3. Facilitate the activity of detoxifying enzymes. Sometimes cells are exposed to carcinogens, cancer causing compounds. The body employs enzymes to render these chemicals harmless, in other words, to detoxify them. An enzyme is a protein produced by the cell that facilitates chemical reactions in the body without being permanently changed itself. Some chemicals in fruits and vegetables (for example, dithiolthiones in broccoli) have been demonstrated to increase the activity of detoxifying enzymes in the body.

4. Enhance immune function. One of the reasons we employ fasting is because it potentiates immune function. The consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables may strengthen the immune system, which we all recognize is the body’s major defense against disease, including cancer.

5. Modify estrogen levels. Estrogen is normally broken down into different forms within the organism. Fruits and vegetables contain such things as glucosimolates (found in broccoli), which cause the breakdown of estrogen to weaker forms of the hormone. It has been observed that women who do not have breast cancer possess increased levels of these weaker forms of estrogen than do women with breast cancer. Therefore, the breakdown of the weaker forms of this hormone could be extremely beneficial. A person may ask, “What about supplements? Do dietary supplements fulfill the same function as foods that contain them?” It is true that several studies have revealed the decrease in the risk of breast cancer associated with the consumption of particular vitamins and carotenoids. But these were based on an analysis of the vitamin content of particular foods; they were not based on supplements. In some studies researchers have reported that the intake of specific vitamin supplements or multivitamin supplements had no influence whatsoever on the risk of breast cancer. It is evident that currently unidentified components of fruits and vegetables are responsible for the reduced risk of breast cancer and that the real consequences of fruits and vegetables probably requires the natural combination of nutrients with the phytochemicals found in these foods.

Finally, let us discuss the best way to add more fruits and vegetables to the diet. Fortunately fruits and vegetables are foods that are convenient, can be prepared in many different ways or they can be eaten as is, raw and unprepared. Always have fruits and vegetables easily available. If you feel like a snack have a piece of fruit, or a vegetable. Fruit is especially palatable and vegetables are certainly not unpalatable. Substitute dark green leafy vegetables for iceberg lettuce in a salad, eat sweet potato rather than white potato. First, it has a lower glycemic index; second, it is rich in beta carotenes. If you are thirsty, water is the best drink. If you wish for fruit or vegetable juice, make sure it is freshly prepared. Grate carrots or capsicum and add to meals. Eating plenty of fruits and vegetables may end up saving your life.