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The
Body's
Best Weapons
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 The
anti-oxidants (e.g. beta carotene, vitamin C, selenium and vitamin
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 for their nutritional worth. Numerous studies have
extolled the virtues of lycopene (the carotenoid that makes
tomatoes red) in preventing prostate cancer. One such study
at Harvard University found that men who include tomato products
in their meals twice a week could reduce their risk of developing
prostate cancer by one third compared with men who never touch
tomatoes. While other lycopene-rich foods, such as watermelon,
red grapefruit, and guava, are now also stimulating the interest
of researchers.
The International Food Information Council has linked anti-oxidants
to reduced risk of heart disease, strokes, cataracts, some forms
of cancer, as well as a slowing of the ageing process. Foods
rich in anti-oxidants include whole grains, fruit, vegetables,
legumes and soya.
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 What
is currently known about these different disease- fighting foods?
Preventing cancer is a compelling reason to load your trolley
at the fruit and veg section. Scientists have recently estimated
that approximately 30 to 40 percent of all cancers could be
averted if people ate more fruits, vegetables, and plant-based
foods and minimised high-fat, high-kilojoule edibles that have
little nutritional value. Up to 70 percent of cancers might
be eliminated if people also stopped smoking, exercised regularly,
and controlled their weight.
In the past, researchers had linked fat consumption with the
development of cancers, but they currently believe that eating
fruits, vegetables, and grains may be more important in preventing
the disease than not eating fat. Scientists are beginning to
close in on the healthful constituents of plant-based foods.
In particular, they're looking closely at two components
- anti-oxidants and phytonutrients.
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By Megan Pentz-Kluyts RD (SA),
registered dietitian
With remarkable consistency, recent research
has found that a diet high in plant-based foods - fruits, vegetables,
dried peas and beans and whole-grains - is the body's best
weapon in thwarting many healthrelated problems.
These foods
work against so many diseases that the same healthy ingredients
you might use to protect your heart or ward off cancer will
also benefit your intestinal tract and bones.
The phytonutrients
present in fruits and vegetables protect the body by stunting
the growth of cancer cells.
Phytonutrients, naturally occurring
substances, include, for example, indoles in cabbage or cauliflower,
hesperidin in citrus fruits, and isoflavones in soya milk and
tofu. Research shows that you can get a basketful of anti-cancer
nutrients by mixing and matching at least five to nine servings
of fruits and vegetables a day, with six or more starchy or
protein-rich plant foods such as grains, peas and beans, and
potatoes.
A combination of plant-based foods and phytonutrient
supplements can help you get some of the benefits of these substances
and help protect you from many serious diseases.
The American Institute for Cancer Research
reports that some phytonutrients may
actually appear to stop a cell's conversion from healthy to cancerous.
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Time Defiance™ 3D 
