Disease fighting foods
The food you eat doesn’t just provide you with energy it can have a powerful impact on your body’s ability to fight off heart disease, cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke, and weak bones. Study after study has shown that a diet high in plant-based foods — fruits, vegetables, beans and grains — is the body’s best form of defence against poor health. Here’s a round up of what research has to tell us about the disease-fighting power of food.
The cancer fighters
Study after study has consistently shown that approximately 30 to 40 percent of all cancers could be avoided if people ate more fruits, vegetables, and plant-based foods and minimized high-fat, high-calorie foods with little or no nutritional value. Although researchers are still not completely sure they’re beginning to focus their attention in particular on two components –antioxidants and phytochemicals.
The antioxidants (carotenoids, such as beta carotene and lycopene, and vitamins C and E) found in fruits, vegetables, and other plant-based foods fight free radicals, which are compounds in the body that attack and destroy cell membranes. The uncontrolled activity of free radicals is believed to cause many cancers. The carotenoids, in particular, which give fruits and vegetables their bright yellow, orange, and red colours, are now gaining recognition as cancer fighting super stars and numerous studies have also extolled the virtues of lycopene (the carotenoid that makes tomatoes red and also found in such foods as watermelon and red grapefruit) in preventing cancer.
The phytochemicals present in fruits and vegetables protect the body by stunting the growth of malignant cells. Phytochemicals, naturally occurring substances, include indoles in cabbage or cauliflower, saponins in peas and beans, and isoflavones in soy milk and tofu. Investigators aren’t really sure how phytochemicals work but they do believe that you can get enough anti-cancer nutrients by eating at least five servings a day of fruits and vegetables with seven or more starchy or protein-rich plant foods such as grains, peas and beans.
Note: Supplements can help you get some of the benefits of these substances, but they are no replacement for real food. This is because when you take a supplement, you’re getting specific vitamins and minerals, but not the thousands of potentially life saving phytochemicals that might be present in fruits and vegetables.
Heart savers
What you eat, and choose not to eat, can have a dramatic effect on your risk for high cholesterol, high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke. Saturated fat, found mostly in meat and full-fat dairy products, is the major culprit in raising blood cholesterol, the main ingredient of artery-clogging plaque. Overindulging in these foods raises the risk of developing heart disease. But you can lower this risk by shifting the emphasis so that nutrient- and fibre rich foods such as fruits, vegetables, and grains make up approximately two-thirds of what you eat each day.
Plant-based foods contain very little fat and provide complex carbohydrates as well as vitamins and minerals. Because they’re rich in indigestible fibre, they take up space in the intestines, which can help you control your appetite, your weight and, most important of all, your risk of heart disease.
Fibre comes in two forms, soluble and insoluble. Soluble fibre, found in fruits, vegetables, brown rice, oats, and barley, lowers blood cholesterol levels (and your risk of heart disease) and slows the entry of glucose into the bloodstream, an important factor in preventing or controlling diabetes.
Insoluble fibre, found mainly in whole grains, fruit and vegetable peels, keeps your digestive tract in order by soaking up water and adding the bulk that pushes possible cancer-causing substances (carcinogens) out of the intestine.
Studies show that simply adding two servings a day of oats or other cereals high in soluble fibre can reduce cholesterol levels by almost 3 to 4 percent. Although the reasons aren’t entirely clear, it may be that soluble fibre combines with intestinal fluids to form a gel that binds to fat or prevents it from being absorbed into the bloodstream.
The bone builders
Research has shown that a diet low in calcium can increase the risk of osteoporosis. Leafy green vegetables and seeds like sesame are excellent sources of calcium, the mineral that keeps your bones strong. Your body uses calcium for more than keeping your bones strong. Calcium permits cells to divide, regulates muscle contraction and relaxation, and plays an important role in the movement of protein and nutrients inside cells.
If you have a more acidic diet, your body’s demand for calcium will be high as your body will have to take calcium from your bones to neutralise the acid. So by eating a more alkaline diet with fruit and vegetables and less animal protein, especially red meat and cheese, you are not only giving yourself more antioxidants but also protecting your bones. (For more information on acid/alkaline balance for bone health see my book ‘Osteoporosis — the silent epidemic’).