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Increase the Vitamin Power of Fruits & Veggies
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Diabetes Focus Fourth Quarter 2006
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It’s certainly no news flash that fruits and vegetables are among the healthiest foods on the planet, and should be a huge part of anyone’s weight loss regimen, not to mention the core of an overall plan for living long and living well. Fruits and vegetables contain antioxidants, select vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals that help protect cells against aging and disease. Antioxidants are the dietary equivalent of a police force, fighting the crime of oxidation wherever it rears its ugly head. In addition, many of the phytochemicals found in fruits and vegetables have demonstrated anticancer activity, and most are powerful anti-inflammatories.
If antioxidants are the body’s police force, anti-inflammatories are the body’s fire department, quenching the inflammation that is a factor not only in heart disease but also in diabetes and obesity. Until now, however, it has been somewhat difficult to prove the superbenefits of eating these foods. Now we’re beginning to understand why. It turns out that some of these powerful compounds are fat soluble, meaning they require some fat for absorption. Eat them without fat and you’re not getting the full bang for your nutritional buck. Researchers at the University of Michigan decided to see how the benefits of boosting vegetable and fruit consumption might vary depending on levels of fat consumption. Some subjects kept dietary fat to 30 percent of their diet and others reduced fat to 16 percent. While blood levels of some important nutrients were not affected by fat reduction, the level of one particular form of vitamin E dropped by 50 percent! This doesn’t mean you should start scarfing down fried chicken. But it does mean you should not fear fat—especially fat that comes from healthy sources like fish, nuts, avocados and olive oil.
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