Whole foods diet

Just what are some of the potential benefits for maintaining health and lowering the risk of diseases provided by a whole-food diet involving superfruits The complete picture has not been filled in yet, but active scientific research on the twenty superfruits shows progress for minimizing the risk of certain diseases, as shown in the accompanying list. 

Results of experimental and clinical studies indicate that eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables decreases the risk of developing various types of cancer, particularly those of the lungs and digestive tract. Experimentally, evidence for the anticancer effect of a whole-food diet has come from research previously discussed and from studies of freeze-dried black raspberries, a species of raspberry especially rich in anthocyanins shown to inhibit cancer in the rat esophagus by 30 to 60 percent and in the rat colon by nearly 80 percent. Black raspberries are a practical... 

Emphasized throughout this book is a whole-food diet that includes superfruits to simplify and optimize nutrient content in formats enjoyable to eat. An outline of such a Mediterranean-like dietary plan looks like this ... 

Diet plays an important role in most of the chronic diseases that are the largest causes of morbidity and mortality in the developed world. In a reductionist approach, scientists have often made the role of individual nutrients in the maintenance of health the focus of their research. This approach, and in particular the discovery of essential nutrients and their roles in disease prevention, has been instrumental in the elimination of deficiency diseases in large parts of the world. However, nutrients are not consumed in isolation, but as components of whole foods and in an infinite number of combinations. In addition, foods contain a myriad of chemicals (or non-nutrients) which either serve no role in human metabolism or for which the role has not yet been elucidated. This introduces a significant level of complexity, which may be difficult to unravel. 

Phytochemicals have been the subject of many studies evaluating their effects in relation to common chronic human illnesses such as cancer and cardiovascular diseases. These studies encounter difficulties in using this information to influence the dietary patterns of consumers because in the past they have used models or experiments with animals. However, in the last decade, researchers have moved away from animal studies in favour of human cell models or human intervention studies. Scientists still need to determine the likely incidence of illness from exposure to known amounts of a given natural compound in the diet and specifically in relation to the complex matrices of whole foods. Therefore, it is inevitable that some animal studies have to be continued for toxicological studies. 

Acidosis induced by salt feeding to humans influenced urinary calcium loss as effectively as feeding whole foods. Martin and Jones (25), for example, fed adult subjects a diet supplemented with ammonium chloride which resulted in marked hypercalciuria and an acidified urine. In a follow-up trial, feeding alkali as sodium bicarbonate, they also demonstrated that human hypercalciuria could be prevented by adding an alkaline supplement to the diet. 

The emphasis on the negative effects of saturated fat represents a focus of research that has a long history and substantial research investment. It may also imply that any saturated fat in the diet is problematic. Like calories, however, some saturated fat is desirable, but keeping the level down with the current food supply in Western societies is the challenge. It should also be remembered that there may be other food components of equal interest where the effects may be positive, and indeed the focus on whole food may take the issue further to focus on the best foods to deliver saturated fat in the diet. 

His call inspired Lady Eve Balfour (Fig. 1.1) to undertake the Haughley experiment. At the age of 12, in 1910, she had already decided to become a farmer. By 1919, armed with an Agricultural Diploma from the University of Reading, she and her elder sister were farming at Haughley, in Suffolk. In 1938 she met Sir Albert Howard and was deeply influenced by his ideas. Her interest went beyond the health of the soil, incorporating nutritional ideas of healthy diet based on whole foods grown in healthy soil. 

In our first study described above (2), a negative balance of -0.02 mg Mn was found on a dietary level of 0.11 mg/day. This figure is small considering levels reported from past studies. However, the diet fed to the subjects was semi-purified, not whole foods. It is believed that retention of the mineral was enhanced by increased physiological needs caused by a manganese depletion from consumption of such a low dietary level. Furthermore, the diet did not contain any phytates and limited amounts of fiber. 

We often see in consumer news and advertisements that blueberries are nature s number one antioxidant fruit or are an antiaging food. Although blueberries are wonderful whole foods, we need to maintain a scientifically sound perspective of them in reference to our diets and health expectations. Describing a fruit as antioxidant-rich implies a health benefit that has not yet been scientifically proved. In fact, polyphenol antioxidant research in humans has not even reached step 3 in the health claims research pyramid, and such proof is more than ten years away. 

And what is their special interest as super fruits A combination of exceptional nutrient value, phytochemical complexity, and research promise for health benefits from your diet. Think of them as nature s convenient high-nutrient packages that happen to be delicious, inexpensive, portable, and under study by scientists looking for the next breakthroughs in promoting health through whole foods. 

What we need to cover next is how to shop for them and make these wonderful whole foods regular parts of your diet. 

Tree nuts are widely consumed in both raw and processed forms. Unlike groundnuts and seeds, which are used predominantly for oil, tree nuts are consumed primarily as whole foods, as ingredients in foods, or in medicinal preparations. For example, in several Asian cultures, almonds play a significant role in Ayurvedic preparations, a philosophy that for thousands of years has promoted the interrelationship of nutrition and diet with healing, prevention, and longevity. 

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