Food as A Disease Fighter

Eating to stay healthy may not be as easy as it seems. Indeed, a study in the July 16, 1999, issue of Science says that even people living in the United States and other industrialized nations often fail to obtain recommended daily minimums of micronutrients (vitamins and minerals), despite meals containing plenty of calories and a nearly endless variety of food.

Even more alarming, the subsistence diets of many developing countries fail to provide the adequate macronutrients ¡X carbohydrates, fats and proteins ¡X as well as micronutrients needed to meet basic nutritional requirements, the study says.

Besides macronutrients and the 13 vitamins and 17 minerals essential to human health, naturally occurring compounds (called phytochemicals) in plants are receiving increasing attention from researchers looking into the connection between diet and disease.

Phytochemicals (from the Greek word phyto, meaning plant) are unlike vitamins and minerals in that they have no known nutritional value. Some phytochemicals, such as digitalis (extracted from the foxglove) and quinine, have been used for hundreds of years as medicines to treat diseases. Others function as antioxidants, which protect cells from the effects of oxidation and free radicals within the body. They have been recognized only recently as potentially powerful agents that may offer protection from diseases and conditions ranging from some cancers to aging.

"We've known for a long time that the right food choices can improve health and decrease our risks for certain diseases," says Jennifer K. Nelson, a registered dietitian at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn., and associate editor for nutrition at Oasis. "This is especially true for plant foods. What's exciting is that we're realizing these foods are abundant in health-enhancing compounds, and we're discovering how they're used at the cellular level.This brings new meaning to the statement: 'You are what you eat.'"

from mayohealth.org