Dietary diversity is important because each plant family has a unique combination of phytonutrients that may bind to specific proteins within our body.
Specific Receptors for Specific Fruits and Vegetables
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According to a recent survey, the number of Americans who say they are eating “pretty much whatever they want” is at an all-time high, which unfortunately includes too few fruits and vegetables as well as too little variety. Half of fruit servings are taken up by just six foods: OJ, bananas, apple juice, apples, grapes and watermelons. And half of vegetables are made up of iceberg lettuce, frozen potatoes, fresh potatoes, potato chips, and canned tomatoes. Not only are we not eating enough period and missing out on the healthiest fruits—berries, and the healthiest vegetables—dark green leafies, the fruit and vegetable palette for our palate is sadly lacking.
Why does dietary diversity matter? Because different foods may affect different problems. Cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts are associated with lower risk of colon cancer in the middle and right side of our body, whereas risk of colon cancer further down on the left side of our body appears to be lowered by carrots, pumpkins, and apples. So, different fruits and vegetables may confer different risks for cancer of different parts of even the same organ.
Variety is the spice of life and may prolong it. Independent of quantity, variety in fruit and vegetable consumption may decrease lung cancer risk, meaning if two people eat the same number of fruits and vegetables, the one eating a greater variety of them may be at lower risk.
And it’s not just cancer. In a study of thousands of men and women, a greater quantity of vegetables and a greater variety may independently be beneficial for reducing the risk of type II diabetes. Even after removing the effects of quantity, each additional two items per week increase in variety of fruit and vegetable intake was associated with an 8% reduction in the incidence of diabetes. Why? Well, it may be attributable to individual or combined effects of the many different bioactive compounds contained in fruits and vegetables; thus, consuming a wide variety will increase the likelihood of consuming more of them.
All the vegetables may offer protection against chronic diseases, but each vegetable group contains a unique combination and amount of these phytonutrients, which distinguishes them from other groups and vegetables within their own group. Because each vegetable contains a unique combination, a great diversity of vegetables should be eaten to get all the health benefits.
Does it matter, though, if we get alpha-carotene or beta-carotene—isn’t an antioxidant an antioxidant? No, it’s been shown that phytochemicals bind to specific receptors and proteins in our bodies. For example, there’s a green tea receptor in our body, a receptor for EGCG, a key component of green tea. There are binding proteins for the phytonutrients in grapes, onions, and capers. I’ve talked about the broccoli receptor already. Recently, a cell surface receptor was identified for a nutrient concentrated in apple peels, and importantly these target proteins are considered indispensable for these plants foods to do what they do, but they can only do it if we eat them.
Just like it’s better to eat a whole orange than just take a vitamin C pill, because otherwise, we’d miss out on all the other wonderful things in oranges that aren’t in the pill, by also eating a different fruit, like an apple, we won’t miss out on all the wonderful things in apples that aren’t in the orange. When it comes to the unique phytonutrient profile of each fruit and vegetable, it’s like comparing apples to oranges.
To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring, watch the above video. This is just an approximation of the audio contributed by Katie Schloer.
Please consider volunteering to help out on the site.
- J S Dias. Nutritional Quality and Health Benefits of Vegetables: A Review. FNS Vol.3 No.10, October 2012.
- A J Cooper, S J Sharp, M A Lentjes, R N Luben, K T Khaw, N J Wareham, N G Forouhi. Diabetes Care. 2012 Jun;35(6):1293-300.
- N Annema, J S Heyworth, S A McNaughton, B Lacopetta, L Fritschi. Fruit and vegetable consumption and the risk of proximal colon, distal colon, and rectal cancers in a case-control study in Western Australia. J Am Diet Assoc. 2011 Oct;111(10):1479-90.
- A Murakami, K Ohnishi. Target molecules of food phytochemicals: Food science bound for the next dimension. Food Funct. 2012 May;3(5):462-76.
- F L Buchner, H B Bueno-de-Mesquita, M M Ros, K Overvad, C C Dahm, L Hansen, A Tjonneland, and more. Variety in fruit and vegetable consumption and the risk of lung cancer in the European prospective investigation into cancer and nutrition. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2010 Sep;19(9):2278-86.
- J Putnam, J Allshouse, L S Kantor. U.S. Per Capita Food Supply Trends: More Calories, Refined Carbohydrates, and Fats. FoodReview, Vol 25, Issue 3.
Images thanks to StockSnap via pixabay. Images have been modified.
According to a recent survey, the number of Americans who say they are eating “pretty much whatever they want” is at an all-time high, which unfortunately includes too few fruits and vegetables as well as too little variety. Half of fruit servings are taken up by just six foods: OJ, bananas, apple juice, apples, grapes and watermelons. And half of vegetables are made up of iceberg lettuce, frozen potatoes, fresh potatoes, potato chips, and canned tomatoes. Not only are we not eating enough period and missing out on the healthiest fruits—berries, and the healthiest vegetables—dark green leafies, the fruit and vegetable palette for our palate is sadly lacking.
Why does dietary diversity matter? Because different foods may affect different problems. Cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts are associated with lower risk of colon cancer in the middle and right side of our body, whereas risk of colon cancer further down on the left side of our body appears to be lowered by carrots, pumpkins, and apples. So, different fruits and vegetables may confer different risks for cancer of different parts of even the same organ.
Variety is the spice of life and may prolong it. Independent of quantity, variety in fruit and vegetable consumption may decrease lung cancer risk, meaning if two people eat the same number of fruits and vegetables, the one eating a greater variety of them may be at lower risk.
And it’s not just cancer. In a study of thousands of men and women, a greater quantity of vegetables and a greater variety may independently be beneficial for reducing the risk of type II diabetes. Even after removing the effects of quantity, each additional two items per week increase in variety of fruit and vegetable intake was associated with an 8% reduction in the incidence of diabetes. Why? Well, it may be attributable to individual or combined effects of the many different bioactive compounds contained in fruits and vegetables; thus, consuming a wide variety will increase the likelihood of consuming more of them.
All the vegetables may offer protection against chronic diseases, but each vegetable group contains a unique combination and amount of these phytonutrients, which distinguishes them from other groups and vegetables within their own group. Because each vegetable contains a unique combination, a great diversity of vegetables should be eaten to get all the health benefits.
Does it matter, though, if we get alpha-carotene or beta-carotene—isn’t an antioxidant an antioxidant? No, it’s been shown that phytochemicals bind to specific receptors and proteins in our bodies. For example, there’s a green tea receptor in our body, a receptor for EGCG, a key component of green tea. There are binding proteins for the phytonutrients in grapes, onions, and capers. I’ve talked about the broccoli receptor already. Recently, a cell surface receptor was identified for a nutrient concentrated in apple peels, and importantly these target proteins are considered indispensable for these plants foods to do what they do, but they can only do it if we eat them.
Just like it’s better to eat a whole orange than just take a vitamin C pill, because otherwise, we’d miss out on all the other wonderful things in oranges that aren’t in the pill, by also eating a different fruit, like an apple, we won’t miss out on all the wonderful things in apples that aren’t in the orange. When it comes to the unique phytonutrient profile of each fruit and vegetable, it’s like comparing apples to oranges.
To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring, watch the above video. This is just an approximation of the audio contributed by Katie Schloer.
Please consider volunteering to help out on the site.
- J S Dias. Nutritional Quality and Health Benefits of Vegetables: A Review. FNS Vol.3 No.10, October 2012.
- A J Cooper, S J Sharp, M A Lentjes, R N Luben, K T Khaw, N J Wareham, N G Forouhi. Diabetes Care. 2012 Jun;35(6):1293-300.
- N Annema, J S Heyworth, S A McNaughton, B Lacopetta, L Fritschi. Fruit and vegetable consumption and the risk of proximal colon, distal colon, and rectal cancers in a case-control study in Western Australia. J Am Diet Assoc. 2011 Oct;111(10):1479-90.
- A Murakami, K Ohnishi. Target molecules of food phytochemicals: Food science bound for the next dimension. Food Funct. 2012 May;3(5):462-76.
- F L Buchner, H B Bueno-de-Mesquita, M M Ros, K Overvad, C C Dahm, L Hansen, A Tjonneland, and more. Variety in fruit and vegetable consumption and the risk of lung cancer in the European prospective investigation into cancer and nutrition. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2010 Sep;19(9):2278-86.
- J Putnam, J Allshouse, L S Kantor. U.S. Per Capita Food Supply Trends: More Calories, Refined Carbohydrates, and Fats. FoodReview, Vol 25, Issue 3.
Images thanks to StockSnap via pixabay. Images have been modified.
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Specific Receptors for Specific Fruits and Vegetables
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Content URLDoctor's Note
This is one of the reasons I developed my Daily Dozen checklist of foods to incorporate into one’s routine. Download the free iPhone and Android apps, and be sure to watch my video Dr. Greger’s Daily Dozen Checklist.
I discuss how produce variety—not just quality and quantity—may be important in Apples and Oranges: Dietary Diversity and Garden Variety Anti-Inflammation, so I hope you’ll check them out. You can also learn more about why combining certain foods together may be more beneficial than eating them separately in Food Synergy.
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