Produce Power
The Los Angeles Times takes a good long look at the power of produce and how eating lots of it kicks cancer in the pants. More from Anna Gosline:
Fruits and vegetables are packed with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, fiber and scores of phytochemicals that scientists are just beginning to understand, and studies have shown that people who eat more fruits and vegetables have a lower risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes -- and some kinds of cancer.All you got to do is sift through DiseaseProof’s health food archive to see just how powerful fruits and veggies really are.
Since its inception in 1991, the 5 A Day campaign, led by the National Cancer Institute and Produce for Better Health Foundation, has upped its daily recommendation to as many as 13 servings under a new campaign name.
And in bestselling health books and the popular press, the talk of fruits and vegetables is sometimes breathless. Pomegranate juice is a "miracle medicine"! Blueberries are "the super berry"! Kale can keep you alive! Tomatoes for life everlasting!
Eat or drink this produce, we are told, and the powerful clout of super-antioxidants and tumor-fighting chemicals they contain will bash that cancer before it gets going.
In fact, the anti-cancer clout of fruits and vegetables is nuanced and complex, and a story still evolving in labs across the country. At times the science has proven to be murky. Small studies that rely on what people remember of their diets from years past often find a strong preventive effect of eating lots of fresh produce.
Good information !
In addition to vegetables and fruits, aren't beans, per Dr. Fuhrman, also an important part of a healthy diet ?
Keep up the good work.
Readers will be very interested in a new book, "The ABC's of Fruits and Vegetables and Beyond" - it helps change kid's attitudes toward these important foods. Recommended by nutritionists.