Lester A. Mitscher and Victoria Toews See book keywords and concepts |
Even though researchers are actively investigating phytonutrients, some authorities estimate that 99 percent of phytonutrients have yet to be discovered! Fortunately, the phytonutrients in green tea are among those already documented as potent healers.
Because phytonutrients are a formidably large category, scientists divide them into several smaller classes to make them easier to understand. One of these classes is the polyphenols. Polyphenols are present in tea, and in apples, onions, red wine, and many other foods as well. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger See article keywords and concepts |
All fruits contain natural medicines called "phytonutrients," and cherries contain well over a hundred different phytonutrients. The most potent phytonutrients are found in the skin of the cherries, and that's why drinking cherry concentrates made with cherry skins can be so powerful in creating positive health effects.
The scientific literature on cherries is very clear that cherries contain very powerful natural anti-inflammatory medicines. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger See article keywords and concepts |
Some of the common classes of phytonutrients include:
Carotenoids
Flavonoids (Polyphenols) including Isoflavones (Phytoestrogens)
Inositol Phosphates (Phytates)
Lignans (Phytoestrogens)
Isothiocyanates and Indoles
Phenols and Cyclic Compounds
Saponins
Sulfides and Thiols
Terpenes
About Carotenoids
Of all the phytonutrients, we probably know the most about carotenoids, the red, orange and yellow pigments in fruits and vegetables. The carotenoids most commonly found in vegetables (and in plasma) are listed below along with common sources of these compounds. |
Lester A. Mitscher and Victoria Toews See book keywords and concepts |
Without phytonutrients, plants would not be able to protect themselves from free radicals, parasites, bacteria, viruses, insects, and injuries. Lucky for us, many of these benefits are transferred when we consume the plant or plant extract. Although phytonutrients are not nutrients in the traditional sense—that is, they don't provide energy or elements essential to the metabolic process—they have just as much effect on health as any vitamin or mineral.
By the 1950s, scientists thought that they had discovered all of the important elements in food. They were wrong. |
Jonny Bowden, Ph.D., C.N.S. See book keywords and concepts |
She points out that cranberry juice is a rich source of phytonutrients such as anthocyanins, catechins, lutein (the new superstar of eye nutrition), and quercetin (one of the most powerful natural anti-inflammatories in the plant kingdom). These phytonutrients act as antioxidants and, according to Gittleman, provide nutritional support for the detoxification pathways in the body.
The rich phytonutrient content of both cranberries and cranberry juice has been borne out by research and may have an awful lot of benefits that go beyond relief from urinary tract infection. |
Lester A. Mitscher and Victoria Toews See book keywords and concepts |
Fortunately, the phytonutrients in green tea are among those already documented as potent healers.
Because phytonutrients are a formidably large category, scientists divide them into several smaller classes to make them easier to understand. One of these classes is the polyphenols. Polyphenols are present in tea, and in apples, onions, red wine, and many other foods as well. Polyphenols are best known for being effective antioxidants, and the polyphenols in green tea are no exception. |
Hyla Cass See book keywords and concepts |
Plant chemicals known as phytonutrients, which are rich in antioxidant power, come in a great variety of colors. Picture a cornucopia of fruits and vegetables: crunchy orange carrots; deep purple eggplants; bright red plump tomatoes; shiny green peppers; luscious purple grapes; abundant green leaves of lettuce, kale, and spinach; yellow and green squash; large juicy peaches. These are nature's gifts, filled with an incredible array of vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients that nourish and heal us. The deeper the color, the more antioxidants and other beneficial phytochemicals you 're getting. |
Lester A. Mitscher and Victoria Toews See book keywords and concepts |
This category of substances is known to researchers as phytonutrients.
Perhaps you've already heard about phytonutrients, or know them by another name, such as nutriceuticals, phytochemicals, phytomedicines, or functional food factors. Regardless of their label, they're all the same thing: naturally occurring compounds found in plants (phyto is the Greek word for plant) that protect against disease and promote good health.
Plants use these compounds for their own survival. Many act in the plant as hormones, enzymes, pigments, or growth regulators. Others provide color, odor, and taste. |
Wendy Bazilian, DRPH, MA, RD, Steven Pratt, MD, Kathy Matthews See book keywords and concepts |
These phytonutrients (from the Greek word "phyto" for plant) are nonvitamin, nonmineral, and noncaloric components of plants foods that provide significant benefits to your health. In spinach, just as one example, the somewhat amazing array of phytonutrients includes the carotenoids lutein, zeaxanthin, and beta-carotene among many others.
We mentioned the concept of synergy earlier. Spinach is an excellent example of synergy in a particular SuperFood. It's the power of all the nutrients working in concert that makes spinach and the other SuperFoods such standouts in the world of nutrition. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger See article keywords and concepts |
The following are commonly proposed mechanisms by which phytonutrients may protect human health. More research is needed to firmly establish the mechanisms of action of the various phytochemicals.
Phytonutrients may: serve as antioxidants enhance immune response enhance cell-to-cell communication alter estrogen metabolism convert to vitamin A (beta-carotene is metabolized to vitamin A) cause cancer cells to die (apoptosis) repair DNA damage caused by smoking and other toxic exposures detoxify carcinogens through the activation of the cytocrome P450 and Phase II enzyme systems
4. |
However, media and consumer interest in phytonutrients and functional foods is far ahead of established proof that documents the health benefits of these foods or food components for humans. phytonutrients research is experiencing remarkable growth. Hopefully, more specific information on phytonutrient consumption and human health will be forthcoming in the near future. For now, it appears that an effective strategy for reducing risk of cancer and heart disease is to increase consumption of phytonutrient-rich foods including fruits, vegetables, grains and teas. |
Hyla Cass, M.D. See book keywords and concepts |
Plant chemicals known as phytonutrients, which are rich in antioxidant power, come in a great variety of colors. Picture a cornucopia of fruits and vegetables: crunchy orange carrots; deep purple eggplants; bright red plump tomatoes; shiny green peppers; luscious purple grapes; abundant green leaves of lettuce, kale, and spinach; yellow and green squash; large juicy peaches. These are nature's gifts, filled with an incredible array of vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients that nourish and heal us. The deeper the color, the more antioxidants and other beneficial phytochemicals you're getting. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger See article keywords and concepts |
It's a system that delivers thousands of healing phytonutrients (plant medicines) to the body's cells on a daily basis. New scientific research shows that these phytonutrients destroy cancer cells, stabilize blood sugar and reverse type-2 diabetes, eliminate symptoms of heart disease, rapidly drop excess body weight and support the body's crucial organs: liver, pancreas, heart brain, kidneys, bladder and more.
The six-CD audio course features a live presentation by David Rain and Mike Adams, who discuss the "why" and "how" of Juice Feasting. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger See article keywords and concepts |
In addition, you need to supplement numerous phytonutrients, which means the medicine that comes from plants. Those include various carotenoids like beta keratin or zeaxanthin, lutein, anthocyanidins, Proanthocyanidins like those found in grape seeds or even Resveratrol found in grape skin.
There are hundreds, actually thousands, of different phytonutrients found in foods and nutritional supplements. These are also very important to get into your body when you follow an intense physical exercise program. Eating raw nuts and seeds, I think, is also extremely important. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger See article keywords and concepts |
The best way to protect children from infectious disease is not to inject them with chemicals, but to boost their immune system function with healing foods that are rich in phytonutrients. Changing the diets of children will save an enormous number of lives and protect those children from cancer, heart disease, diabetes, obesity, depression, asthma and numerous other diseases. Children don't need MORE chemicals in their bodies, they need honest, wholesome food and healing, plant-based medicines that protect them from chemicals and other environmental threats! |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger See article keywords and concepts |
Every single food item contained in these gift baskets contains numerous disease-fighting phytonutrients. The white mulberries, for example, which are found in the Bliss Mix product, contain powerful disease-fighting anthocyanins. Raw cacao is loaded with brain-boosting and liver-supporting nutrients, and pistachios and macadamia nuts are fantastic sources of heart-healthy oils that reduce the risk of heart disease.
Eating the food items from these gift baskets is not only delicious: It's great medicine! |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger See article keywords and concepts |
Juice Feasting, in contrast, allows you to greatly exceed the minimum daily consumption guidelines, achieving an intake of 300% more healing phytonutrients than the majority of Americans.
Why is this important? Because a tidal wave of new research published in the last three years is pointing to the astonishing reality that plant medicines prevent, reverse and CURE chronic degenerative disease. Just last week, the American Association for Cancer Research published astonishing research on the anti-cancer effects of eating RAW cruciferous vegetables. |
Plus, it delivers literally thousands of disease reversing phytonutrients, including many that are well documented to reverse cancers, diabetes, heart disease, obesity, arthritis and many other conditions.
On top of this, you can of course continue to consume superfood supplements or high-grade nutritional supplements targeted to your specific health needs. Juice Feasting doesn't replace your supplements; it replaces your unhealthy cooked food with nature's most delicious, drinkable food!
You can learn more about how Juice Feasting works by visiting David Rain's website, www.JuiceFeasting. |
I'm drinking five quarts of juice a day, which means I'm drinking thousands of phytonutrients from about five pounds of fresh produce every single day. That means I'm bathing my body's cells in the most powerful disease reversing medicine in the universe. While the USDA recommends that Americans get 3 servings a day of vegetables (and that can include dead, cooked or pasteurized vegetables), I'm getting an incredible TEN servings a day (at least!) of RAW, fresh vegetables. And on top of that, I'm getting at least FIVE servings a day of raw, fresh berries and disease-reversing fruits. |
Wendy Bazilian, DRPH, MA, RD, Steven Pratt, MD, Kathy Matthews See book keywords and concepts |
Spinach is a nutrition powerhouse that has been the subject of countless studies and has proven its worth as one of the best sources for a long list of vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients. Tomatoes are a versatile and delicious source of lycopene, the carotenoid that is a powerful cancer fighter and friend to a healthy heart. Berries, broccoli, spinach, and tomatoes all provide antioxidants that are closely associated with preventing cardiovascular disease, diabetes, certain cancers, and degenerative eye diseases like cataracts and macular degeneration. |
Jonny Bowden, Ph.D., C.N.S. See book keywords and concepts |
Researchers looked at data from a study examining the health benefits of foods that are high in flavonoids and phytonutrients with antioxidant benefits. Although some of the flavonoids were obtained from fruits and vegetables, 70 percent came from black tea. The study looked at 552 men over a fifteen-year period. Researchers concluded that the flavonoids in black tea helped reduce the production of LDL —the "bad" cholesterol that can lead to stroke and heart attacks. |
Because of their rich array of disease-fighting antioxidants and phytonutrients, they are often prescribed in yoga nutritional therapy to help fight cancer and heart disease," he says.
Kiwis Have Twice the Vitamin C of Oranges
I'm not surprised. A study conducted at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey, evaluated the nutritional value of twenty-seven different fruits to determine, ounce for ounce, which provides the most nutrition. The results? Kiwifruit, with an index of 16, was found to be the most nutrient dense of all fruits. |
Unsweetened cranberry juice: Rich source of phytonutrients such as phenol-based antioxidants that are so helpful in supporting cardiovascular health and preventing urinary tract infections. Mix in a 1:2 ratio with water!
3. Lemons: High in limonene, they're an old-time remedy for thinning the bile and enhancing digestion.
4. Whey: Undenatured, unheated whey protein provides the aminos from which the body makes glutathione, the body's premier antioxidant.
5. |
Broccoli: Contains two classes of anticancer phytonutrients: isothiocyanates and glucosinolates. The sulforaphane in broccoli activates detoxifying enzymes in the body, preventing the formation of cancer-forming substances. Eat it raw or lightly steam it. Boiling causes it to lose vitamin C and other nutrients. The sprouts contain thirty to fifty times the concentration of nutrients found in the mature broccoli plant.
3. Blueberries: One of nature's antiaging superstars. They contain a mega supply of antioxidants known as anthocyanins, as well as fiber and vitamins. |
Mehmet C. Oz., M.D. and Michael F. Roizen, M.D. See book keywords and concepts |
The "extra virgin" kind contains lots of healthy phytonutrients as well as monounsaturated fats, which help raise your good HDL cholesterol. Aim for 25 percent of your diet to come from healthy fats like those found in olive oil. That will reduce your RealAge by more than six years.
ž Omega-3 fatty acids. These fatty acids (found in fish or the plants fish eat, like certain algae) are the handymen of your arterial system, because they can do a whole lot of fixing up. |
The Life Extension Editorial Staff See book keywords and concepts |
Storage and processing by the suppliet or overcooking in the home contributes to loss of phytonutrients. Often, only half the phytonutrients in any serving of raw vegetables ultimately becomes available for absorption—the other half is quickly eliminated from the body. Concentrated vegetables (particularly those with the water content temoved and which are ground to the consistency of powdered sugar) are more digestible. In this form, it is estimated that 90 to 100% of phytonutrients, and all of their cancer-fighting properties, become available for absorption into the body (Mowatt 1998). |
David W. Grotto, RD, LDN See book keywords and concepts |
Cranberries are rich in fiber and are an excellent source of vitamin C and phytonutrients, such as flavonoids and proanthocyanidins (PAC). They contain more phenolic antioxidants than nineteen of the most popular consumed fruits according to a study published in the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry.
Home Remedies
A lot of the initial work with cranberries, especially with its role in fighting urinary tract infections (UTIs), was anecdotal. It was mom's advice and she knew it worked. Now research is finding that mothers were right all along! |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger See article keywords and concepts |
These juices contain phytonutrients that destroy cancer tumors, cure type-2 diabetes, reverse heart disease, eliminate arthritis and asthma, end depression and much more," Adams added.
And recent research is backing him up. New research revealed by the American Association for Cancer Research (http://www.aacr.org/home/public--media/news-releases.aspx?d=945) recently revealed that just three servings a month of raw cruciferous vegetables (like cabbage or broccoli) slashes bladder cancer risk by 73 percent in non-smokers. |
Wendy Bazilian, DRPH, MA, RD, Steven Pratt, MD, Kathy Matthews See book keywords and concepts |
In spinach, just as one example, the somewhat amazing array of phytonutrients includes the carotenoids lutein, zeaxanthin, and beta-carotene among many others.
We mentioned the concept of synergy earlier. Spinach is an excellent example of synergy in a particular SuperFood. It's the power of all the nutrients working in concert that makes spinach and the other SuperFoods such standouts in the world of nutrition. |