Specific Receptors for Specific Fruits and Vegetables
Dietary diversity is important because each plant family has a unique combination of phytonutrients that may bind to specific proteins within our body.
Dietary diversity is important because each plant family has a unique combination of phytonutrients that may bind to specific proteins within our body.
If the uric acid crystals that trigger gout come from the breakdown of purines, should gout patients avoid even healthy, purine-rich foods, such as beans, mushrooms, and cauliflower?
Certain foods are linked not only to increased happiness, but also to greater “eudaemonic” well-being—feelings of engagement, creativity, meaning, and purpose in life.
What can we conclude about the role of IV vitamin C after 33 years of trials involving at least 1,600 patients?
If studies from the 1970s showed cancer patients treated with vitamin C lived 4 times longer and sometimes even 20 times longer, why isn’t it standard practice today?
Studies in the 1970s with terminal cancer patients appeared to show an extraordinary survival gain with vitamin C, a simple and relatively nontoxic therapy.
What is the optimal timing and dose of nitrate-containing vegetables, such as beets and spinach, for improving athletic performance?
Based on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which foods best supply shortfall nutrients while avoiding disease-promoting components?
Smoothies (and blended soups and sauces) offer a convenient way to boost both the quantity and quality of fruit and vegetable intake by reducing food particle size to help maximize nutrient absorption.
Causes of dry eye disease include LASIK laser eye surgery, but there are dietary approaches to prevention and treatment.
Diet and exercise synergize to improve endothelial function, the ability of our arteries to relax normally.
The parable of the tiny parachute explains the study that found no relationship between dietary fiber intake and diverticulosis.
Heme iron, the type found predominantly in blood and muscle, is absorbed better than the non-heme iron that predominates in plants, but may increase the risk of cancer, stroke, heart disease, and metabolic syndrome.
Which foods should we eat and avoid to prevent and treat acid reflux before it can place us at risk for Barrett’s esophagus and cancer?
Neither antioxidant or folic acid supplements seem to help with mood, but the consumption of antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables and folate-rich beans and greens may lower the risk for depression.
Plant-based diets appear to protect against renal cell carcinoma both directly and indirectly.
The ongoing global drop in male fertility may be associated with saturated fat intake and lack of sufficient fruits and vegetables.
Within hours the blood of those fed walnuts is able to suppress the growth of breast cancer cells in a petri dish. Which nut might work best, though—almonds, Brazil nuts, cashews, hazelnuts, macadamias, peanuts, pecans, pine nuts, pistachios, or walnuts?
Nutritional quality indices show plant-based diets are the healthiest, but do vegetarians and vegans reach the recommended daily intake of protein?
Four simple health behaviors may cut our risk of chronic disease by nearly 80%, potentially dropping our risk of dying equivalent to that of being 14 years younger.
The association between cancer and the consumption of deep-fried foods may be due to carcinogens formed at high temperatures in animal foods (heterocyclic amines and polycyclic hydrocarbons) and plant foods (acrylamide).
Whole fruits and vegetables were compared to both antioxidant pills, as well as supplements containing fruits and vegetable extracts, for their ability to treat seasonal allergies, improve lung function, and control asthma.
A study involving more than a million kids suggests the striking worldwide variation in childhood rates of allergies, asthma, and eczema is related to diet.
The consumption of blueberries and strawberries is associated with delayed cognitive aging by as much as 2.5 years—thought to be because of brain-localizing anthocyanin phytonutrients, as shown on functional MRI scans.
How many antioxidant-rich foods do we need to eat every day just to stay out of oxidative debt?
Americans eating meat-free diets average higher intakes of nearly every nutrient, while maintaining a lower body weight—perhaps due, in part, to their higher resting metabolic rates.
Might the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of plant-based diets undermine some of the benefits of exercise?
Those eating a more plant-based diet may naturally have an enhanced antioxidant defense system to counter the DNA damage caused by free radicals produced by high-intensity exercise.
Phytonutrients in citrus, such as hesperidin, may increase blood flow sufficient to warm the hands and feet of those with cold sensitivity.
Based on studies of atomic bomb survivors, Chernobyl victims, and airline pilots exposed to more cosmic rays at high altitudes, it appears that fruits and vegetables may decrease radiation-induced chromosome damage.
A more plant-based diet may help prevent vaginal infections, one of the most common gynecological problems of young women.
Drug companies and supplement manufacturers have yet to isolate the components of cranberries that suppress cancer cell growth.
The ability of eleven common fruits to suppress cancer cell growth in vitro was compared. Which was most effective—apples, bananas, cranberries, grapefruits, grapes, lemons, oranges, peaches, pears, pineapples, or strawberries?
Inadequate fiber intake appears to be a risk factor for breast cancer, which can explain why women eating plant-based diets may be at lower risk.
Why the spike in antioxidant levels in our bloodstream after drinking apple juice might not be a good thing.
An evolutionary argument for a plant-based diet is presented, in contrast to “Paleo” fad diets.
Iron is a double-edged sword. If we don’t absorb enough, we risk anemia; but if absorb too much, we may increase our risk of cancer, heart disease, and a number of inflammatory conditions. Because the human body has no mechanism to rid itself of excess iron, one should choose plant-based (non-heme) sources, over which our body has some control.
People taking dietary supplements may, in some cases, be paying to make themselves sick. This video covers folic acid, beta carotene, and green tea supplements.
In addition to quantity and quality, the variety of fruits and vegetables consumed matters, as many phytonutrients are not evenly distributed among the various families and parts of plants.
Can you name a fruit whose processed juice is healthier than just eating the fruit itself?