Phytonutrients and Organic Produce
For optimal health and to really help reduce inflammation, you need lots and lots of phytonutrients from a mix of all sorts of different plant foods. Every single day.
Without a doubt if all of the fruits and vegetables you consumed were organic that would undoubtedly be best because organic produce has more of what your body needs (phytonutrients!) and less of what it doesn’t need (toxins!)
But what if you truly can’t afford organic produce? We will get to that in a bit, but first just a bit more about the importance of phytonutrients.
Table of Contents
Some of the Best Phytonutrients
Although each phytonutrient plays a special role in promoting health and slowing the aging process, some are more well-known and more thoroughly studied than others.
Here are some examples of just a few of the more well-known phytonutrients that exist, the foods they are found in, and what they can do for you:
CHLOROPHYLL: This is the green pigment abundant in green vegetables. Chlorophyll carries oxygen to our red blood cells, helping fight off disease. In cancer studies, it reduced carcinogens binding to DNA and diminished metastasis. It also has critical antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.
CAROTENOIDS:These are naturally occurring colorful compounds with potent antiaging properties. There are hundreds of different carotenoids but some of the more familiar ones are alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, lycopene, lutein, zeaxanthin, and cryptoxanthin. Carotenoids are found in a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, including those colored orange (carrots, apricots, squash, and sweet potatoes), green (spinach, kale, and collards) and pink-red (tomatoes, guava, and grapefruit).
CAPSAICIN: This is the active compound in chili peppers. Capsaicin has been widely studied for its pain-reducing effects and cardiovascular benefits. It has also been shown to assist with weight loss by increasing thermogenesis, the rate at which your body burns calories at the cellular level, and decreasing appetite.
FLAVONOIDS: This group of phytonutrients has potent antioxidant properties, helps prevent blood clotting, and offers protection against heart disease. They are also believed to protect veins and help prevent cataracts and even boost mood. Foods particularly rich in flavonoids are green tea, wine, apples, chocolate, and pomegranates.
GLUCOSINOLATES: These phytonutrients help activate enzymes that detoxify the liver. Glucosinolates are found in broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, and cauliflower.
ISOFLAVONES: These plant compounds are considered to be natural selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs) that partially inhibit the activity of excess human estrogens. Isoflavones are believed to play a role in protecting against hormone-sensitive cancers, such as breast cancer and prostate cancer, and also offer protection from osteoporosis. Isoflavones can be found in soy beans, peanuts, chickpeas, fava beans, alfalfa, and all members of the legume family.
LIGNANS: These are potent antioxidants that fight free-radical damage and offer protection against hormone-sensitive cancers such as breast, ovarian, uterine, prostate, and colon cancer. Flaxseeds are by far the richest source of lignans but these phytonutrients can also be found in sunflower seeds, cashews, sesame seeds, and peanuts.
Our Produce Is Not What It Used To Be…
Ninety-eight percent of Americans do not eat the recommended 7-13 servings a day of disease-fighting and anti-inflammatory phytonutrient-rich fruits and vegetables they should. Our Clean Cuisine Challenge addresses this issue and by the end of the 8-weeks we promise you will be among the two percent of people who eat more than the recommended amount. But unfortunately this still might not be enough to obtain maximum phytonutrient protection as our produce is not nearly as nutrient-rich as it used to be. A disturbing study published in the Journal of American College of Nutrition in 2004 looked at 43 different crops and showed a decline in the nutrient content of up to 38% over the last 50 years. (1)
Phytonutrient Supplements Fill the Nutrient Gap When Choosing Organic is Not Possible (or Not Affordable)
Although it is not essential to supplement as part of the Challenge, we highly recommend you consider taking a “whole food” based phytonutrient supplement every day, especially if you are not going to be eating all of your fruits and vegetables organic.
Keep in mind organic fruits and vegetables are not only richer in vitamins and minerals as compared to conventional produce, they also have more phytonutrients. If you were able to eat an abundance of organic fruits and vegetables then the phytonutrient supplement might not be so important. But, since we recognize that it is both extremely costly and often highly inconvenient to eat only organic fruits and vegetables we think a phytonutrient supplement is a good compromise as a cost-effective way to boost critically important phytonutrient intake. A good “whole food” based phytonutrient supplement should cost between $1.00 and $1.50 or so a day. (Note: Organic produce not only contains more phytonutrients but also less pesticides and toxins; later in the Challenge we will show you how to reduce your exposure to toxins as well as how certain phytonutrients strengthen your body’s natural detoxification capabilities.)
Unlike with vitamins and minerals, you cannot overdose on a “whole foods” based phytonutrient supplement made with the whole fruit or vegetable because these plant-based “supplements” are basically dehydrated fruit and vegetable powders and they contain the “whole” fruit or vegetable rather than isolated phytonutrients.
As we have discussed, phytonutrients play a critical role in reducing oxidative stress, slowing the aging process and reducing inflammation. So the more of them you can consume the better.
Again, please make special note we are not supportive of taking isolated phytonutrient supplements because you would never find just one single phytonutrient in any fruit, vegetable, herb or spice. Every plant food comes packaged with hundreds of different phytonutrients and these phytonutrients work synergistically to enhance your health and fight disease. You can’t simply isolate one individual phytonutrient and just take it in pill form. Nature doesn’t work like that.
Recommended Phytonutrient Supplements:
Many phytonutrient supplements exist, but Juice Plus+ is the only one we are aware of that has substantial clinical research to back it up. However, Barlean’s Greens, Green Vibrance, Amazing Grass Green Superfood and Nature Plus You Organic SuperGreens are all excellent choices also. (NOTE: Mixing lemon juice with your phytonutrient booster can help cut the taste of the greens.)
References:
1. Davis D, Epp M, Riordan H. Changes in USDA Food Composition Data for 43 Garden Crop, 1950-1999. Journal of American College of Nutrition. Vol. 23(6): 2004:669-682.
Hi Ivy! I currently use the Clean Cuisine supplement packs and probiotics but was considering adding one of the phytonutrient supplements you suggested. They each seem to be very different. Can you tell me which one you are currently using? Thank you!
Hi Angela! You are so right, each one has their own unique set of phytonutrients, so I actually jump around a bit and take different ones. Right now, this month, I am taking Amazing Grass ( goo.gl/GzbLSS ) –it’s a powder that you put in water, not bad tasting at all 😉
Hope this helps!
Thanks for the quick response! I’m going to give this one a try 🙂
Hiello,
Would the Bahamian Black bean soup be ok to have for lunch everyday ?
I made it for dinner last night and I could not believe how yummy it was .
Thanks for your time,
Amanda
Hi Amanda! So so happy to know you liked it =) And yes, you can absolutely eat it everyday. You can really eat any of the recipes everyday. We only give all those options just to keep from looking boring!
single best phytonutrient because these powerful substances work synergistically as team players.
Hi Ivy, I am new to following Clean Cuisine and love everything you post! Your article on phytonutrients was fascinating. As part of my personal journey to good health I began using Juice Plus, and find that it offers many benefits that you could never get through your diet. It is 30 whole fruits, vegetables, berries & 2 gluten free grains in a capsule or chewable formula. There are easy ways to order on line and the number of representatives are growing around the country. The cost is spread over a period of time so it makes the up front cost you mentioned much easier for folks to handle. Thank you for all you do and all you have shared! I would love to talk more with you about Juice Plus. My personal website is http://www.lisarudewiczjuiceplus.com. Anyone interested in finding out more about Juice Plus, I would love to hear from you!
Hi Lisa! Thank you so much for commenting and for sharing your Juice Plus+ website—the research behind Juice Plus+ is truly incredible and we really do think it is an outstanding product.
Hi Ivy,
I’m really surprised to hear of the problem people are having. All they need is the website of a reps and they can order online or call the rep and she/he will do it for them. The Juice Plus+ Company ships four months at a time to save the customer shipping cost but the customer only pays for it one month at a time. If a person had to pay shipping every month Juice Plus+ would cost much more. Most people spend more than $1.50 a day on snacks that are not good for them. If a person would just give up even just one of them a day they could have Juice Plus+ easily. If we make our health our priority Juice Plus+ would fit into the budget. For me spending that money on Juice Plus+ or to doctors and meds Juice Plus+ wins every time. There is a 100% guarantee so if someone is not pleased the company will do what they can to please the customer. I heard you webinar at a Juice Plus+ conference and I loved it. I wish I still had a copy of it. I hear your MS is gone or in remission and I’m so happy for you!
You are absolutely right Linda, I am in 100% agreement about preferring to spend my money on prevention rather than on medications and doctors (no offense of course to my hubby lol!) And yes, my MS has been in remission now for over 15 years (knock on wood!!) Also, if you have a Juice Plus+ website where people can order direct, feel free to leave it in the comments. And thank you again for getting in touch.
I thought you would have recommended Juice Plus as a whole food supplement. I heard you speak at our conference a few years ago.
Hi Molly, Oh we still love Juice Plus+! Please see below what I wrote to Tricia & Keli:
Hi Tricia, we LOVE Juice Plus+! I just left a comment for Keli below saying this: “We took it for years and we were even speakers at one of their conferences. We used to always recommend it because we are very familiar with the clinical research behind Juice Plus+ and we absolutely think it is a high quality product. The only problem we had in recommending it to our online readers was that because of the way Juice Plus+ is sold it wasn’t always easy for people to buy it online and we just had too many emails from frustrated readers saying they had a problem ordering it. But, maybe they have changed things now? If you have a link to provide where people can buy it online please do leave the link in the comments section. Thanks so much!” —I should have added that the other major complaint we got was that Juice Plus+ had to be purchased in a rather large quantity and so even though the cost of taking Juice Plus+ on a daily basis was not very much, the cost of buying it upfront was a hardship for some people. But we still stand by the fact that the product itself is GREAT!
I thought you recommended Juice Plus+ as the best phytonutrient supplement?
Hi Tricia, we LOVE Juice Plus+! I just left a comment for Keli below saying this: “We took it for years and we were even speakers at one of their conferences. We used to always recommend it because we are very familiar with the clinical research behind Juice Plus+ and we absolutely think it is a high quality product. The only problem we had in recommending it to our online readers was that because of the way Juice Plus+ is sold it wasn’t always easy for people to buy it online and we just had too many emails from frustrated readers saying they had a problem ordering it. But, maybe they have changed things now? If you have a link to provide where people can buy it online please do leave the link in the comments section. Thanks so much!” —I should have added that the other major complaint we got was that Juice Plus+ had to be purchased in a rather large quantity and so even though the cost of taking Juice Plus+ on a daily basis was not very much, the cost of buying it upfront was a hardship for some people. But we still stand by the fact that the product itself is GREAT!
Hi Ivy,
I completely agree and that is why my family takes Juice Plus! It is 30 whole foods in capsule or chewable form and so affordable for many! Kids even get it free with an adult order. I wonder if you have heard of it or tried it before? I love that it has a food label and not a supplement and is therefore regulated as well as has more than 30 research studies published supporting its health benefits. This post is a great explanation for why isolated vitamins or phytonutrients don’t work well in our bodies. Thanks! and I would love to tell you more about juice plus if you’d like- just email me or check out keli.juiceplus.com
Oh Keli we LOVE Juice Plus+! In fact, we took it for years and we were even speakers at one of their conferences. We used to always recommend it because we are very familiar with the clinical research behind Juice Plus+ and we absolutely think it is a high quality product. The only problem we had in recommending it to our online readers was that because of the way Juice Plus+ is sold it wasn’t always easy for people to buy it online and we just had too many emails from frustrated readers saying they had a problem ordering it. But, maybe they have changed things now? If you have a link to provide where people can buy it online please do leave the link in the comments section. Thanks so much!