Phytonutrients Nourish & Protect Us
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Phytonutrients Nourish & Protect Us
According to Michael Murray and Joseph Pizzorno in their book, The Encyclopedia of Healing Foods, phytonutrients are beneficial compounds in plant foods that support our health. They occur in an array of colors in the roots, stalks, bark, sap, leaves, flowers, seeds, and berries. A vast number of phytonutrients have anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial, and anti-cancer properties. Particularly plentiful is the phytonutrient chlorophyll in leafy green vegetables. With a molecular structure similar to the heme portion of hemoglobin, chlorophyll assists in the production of red blood cells.
Carotenes are abundant in edible plants, and they span the color spectrum from red to violet. Orange foods, such as apricots, carrots, and pumpkins, are high in the beta carotenes which our body converts to vitamin A, supporting the development of bones and teeth, vision, and immune function. Flavonoids are another major group of phytonutrients. The blue and purple flavonoid, anthocyanidin, for example, is found in blueberries, blackberries, and grapes. Flavonoids aid in the metabolism of collagen, which safeguards the integrity of our tendons, ligaments, and cartilage and have antiviral properties (Murray, M. & J. Pizzorno, 2005, p. 138 – 143).
Patrick Quillin, Ph.D., R.D., C.N.S., F.A.C.N., in his recent book, Beating Cancer with Nutrition, points out that with the phytonutrients in whole foods, especially fruits and vegetables, nature has been solving the dilemma of how to destroy cancer cells effectively for thousands of years. Dr. Quillin identifies certain phytonutrients (ellagic acid in berries, glutathione in green leafy vegetables, lycopene in tomatoes, and S-allyl cysteine in garlic) as “. . . the new scientifically-validated cancer fighters of the 21st century.” (Quillin, 2020, p. 23).
According to Michael Murray and Joseph Pizzorno in their book, The Encyclopedia of Healing Foods, phytonutrients are beneficial compounds in plant foods that support our health. They occur in an array of colors in the roots, stalks, bark, sap, leaves, flowers, seeds, and berries. A vast number of phytonutrients have anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial, and anti-cancer properties. Particularly plentiful is the phytonutrient chlorophyll in leafy green vegetables. With a molecular structure similar to the heme portion of hemoglobin, chlorophyll assists in the production of red blood cells.
Carotenes are abundant in edible plants, and they span the color spectrum from red to violet. Orange foods, such as apricots, carrots, and pumpkins, are high in the beta carotenes which our body converts to vitamin A, supporting the development of bones and teeth, vision, and immune function. Flavonoids are another major group of phytonutrients. The blue and purple flavonoid, anthocyanidin, for example, is found in blueberries, blackberries, and grapes. Flavonoids aid in the metabolism of collagen, which safeguards the integrity of our tendons, ligaments, and cartilage and have antiviral properties (Murray, M. & J. Pizzorno, 2005, p. 138 – 143).
Patrick Quillin, Ph.D., R.D., C.N.S., F.A.C.N., in his recent book, Beating Cancer with Nutrition, points out that with the phytonutrients in whole foods, especially fruits and vegetables, nature has been solving the dilemma of how to destroy cancer cells effectively for thousands of years. Dr. Quillin identifies certain phytonutrients (ellagic acid in berries, glutathione in green leafy vegetables, lycopene in tomatoes, and S-allyl cysteine in garlic) as “. . . the new scientifically-validated cancer fighters of the 21st century.” (Quillin, 2020, p. 23).
References
Murray, M. & J. Pizzorno. (2005). The Encyclopedia of Healing Foods. New York: NY: Atria Books.
Quillin, P. (2020). Beating Cancer with Nutrition. Carlsbad, CA: Nutrition Times Press, Inc.
Murray, M. & J. Pizzorno. (2005). The Encyclopedia of Healing Foods. New York: NY: Atria Books.
Quillin, P. (2020). Beating Cancer with Nutrition. Carlsbad, CA: Nutrition Times Press, Inc.
Amy Wing, Holistic Health Educator,
Nature’s Hearth
Website: www.naturesheart.net
Email: ajw.habitat@gmail.com
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