Phytonutrients and Antioxidants In Whole Foods

What Exactly Are Phytonutrients, and How Can They Contribute to My Optimum Health?

Phytonutrients are components of foods, such as fruits, vegetables and grains, in their whole and unprocessed forms. They exist to protect plants from environmental threats such as bacteria, insects and fungi. How these phytonutrients transfer over to help us is an active and fascinating field of scientific research.

One thing that we know for certain is that these beneficial nutrients are depleted when a plant-sourced food is processed. For example, the rind, pith and pulp of an orange contains carotenoids; phytonutrients that can help us humans with their anti-cancer and immune-strengthening properties. However, when an orange is processed into juice, these important elements are no longer present. Conversely, when we eat the whole orange, the phytonutrients are intact, and the pith and pulp can work to protect our health very much the same way they protect the health of the plant.

We hear a lot about the antioxidant power of plants and how they can help fight free-radicals in the body. Consumers fall for it, but do we really know what it means? To understand antioxidants, we also need to know what free-radicals are. On a very basic level, free-radicals are molecules that can get into our systems in a variety of ways: harmful foods, damaging elements in the environment, and cigarette smoke are just a few examples. Free-radicals are responsible for degenerative damage to our bodies at the cellular level. Think: cancer and aging.

Antioxidants, on the other hand, are the elements that combat free-radicals. That’s why vitamins, such as  E and C, get so much hype; they are potent antioxidants. And that’s why antioxidant-rich phytonutrients are such buzzwords; the health-promoting substances they provide to plants seem to be able to help us, too. Some people think it is just the deep color, such as the purple of a berry or grape, that indicates the presence of phytonutrients in a plant, but it can be so much more than that. It can be the strong smell of an onion, or the heat from a chili pepper. So we see that it is not just the color, but any characteristic of the plant – flavor, smell or texture – that can promote good health.

Some examples of phytonutrients du jour, which are currently being studied for their health benefits, are detailed below, but really…the list is endless.

Resveratrol – obtained from the skin of red grapes (and found in wine), is an antioxidant that curbs tumor growth, lowers cholesterol and promotes heart health.

Capsaicinoids or Capsacin – obtained from chili peppers, are antioxidants that prevent blood clotting.

Lycopene – best known as the carotenoid found in tomatoes, it is also prevalent in red peppers, pink grapefruit, guava and watermelon. Lycopene helps to lower the risk of prostate and other cancers.

Flavanols, Flavanoids and Catechins – antioxidants found in green tea that may lower cholesterol and reduce the risk of various cancers.

Quercetin – found in tea (both green and black), apples, red onions, red grapes and berries, as well as some types of honey. Quercitin has anti-inflammatory properties.

The inherent phytonutrients in whole foods are in addition to the abundance of vitamins, minerals and fiber. It is important to eat these foods in their natural, whole, and unprocessed formulations. So, if you haven’t caught on by now, you really should be eating your fruits and vegetables – not to mention whole grains – as a major part of your plant-based diet.