Joerg Gruenwald, Ph.D.
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 Lamer-Zarawska E, phytochemical studies on flavonoids and other compounds of juniper fruits (Juniperus communsi L.). In: Pol J Chem 54(2):213-219. 1980.
Mascolo N et al., (1987) Phytother Res 1(1):28.
Ramie S, Murko D, Chemical composition of fruit of Juniperus species. In: Archiv Farm 33(l):15-20. 1983.
Schilcher H, Emmrich D, Koehler C, Gaschromatographischer Vergleich von atherischen Wacholderdlen und deren toxikologische Bedeutung. In: PZW 138(3/4)85. 1993.
Schilcher H, Heil BM, Nierentoxizitat von Wacholderbeerzubereitungen. In: ZPT 15(4):205-213. 1994. |
Stephanie Beling
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 Medical anthropologist John Heinerman, in his Encyclopedia of Fruits, Vegetables, and Herbs, lists ten foods and two herbs that have been shown to be effective against diabetes—from blueberries, rich in the phytochemical called myrillin, to garlic and onions, so rich in infection-fighting substances called organosulfurs that they are seemingly omnipotent healing foods.* Traditional Chinese medicine also prescribes mushrooms, carrots, wheat bran, corn, and a tea made from dried guava leaves—in addition to garlic and onions—as diabetes fighters. |
| This process reduces the sugar content of the commercial jam or jelly by half, and it adds the nutrients and phytochemical benefits of the fresh fruit—the best of both worlds. Some of my particular favorites are: fresh apricots combined with store-bought ginger marmalade; fresh rhubarb with strawberry jam; and fresh red currants with red currant jelly.
The number of red, yellow, and orange fruits is considerable, their variety is wide-ranging, and the possibilities for different uses are almost limitless. |
Elaine Magee
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 To learn more, I asked several phytochemical experts in the United States to share their perspectives on what we've learned in the past 10 years of research and what lessons they think the next 10 years might bring. "There are tens of thousands of compounds in plants that may not have nutrient value but may have a significant impact on reducing risk for chronic disease and/or optimizing health," answers Clare Hasler, PhD, executive director of the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science at the University of California, Davis. |
| One Harvard Medical School study that examined estrogen-dependent human breast cancer progression in female mice found that the combination of soy phytochemical concentrate with green tea synergistically reduced breast tumor growth by 72 percent, whereas the concentrate alone reduced tumor growth by 23 percent and tea alone by 56 percent. Green tea proved to be more potent than black in anti-breast tumor activity.
But soy is an equal opportunity synergist! |
| To maximize the phytochemical content of extra-virgin olive oil, store it away from light and heat. You can even store olive oil in the refrigerator; it will thicken slightly and become cloudy, but it will thin and clear up again after about 15 minutes at room temperature. ages 20 to 86, researchers examining individual components of the Mediterranean diet have found no significant decrease in death associated with any one type of food—even olive oil. |
| Whole grains are rich in a myriad of vitamins, minerals, and phytochemical compounds that alone or in combination are likely to have significant health benefits beyond those from dietary fiber," notes Simin Liu, MD, ScD, researcher and professor of epidemiology at UCLA.
Want to lower your risk of developing type 2 diabetes? Want to lower blood levels of insulin and glucose after a meal? Want to improve your serum lipid levels? Want to lower oxidative stress? Then get ready to switch to whole grains. Whole grain foods have recently been linked to smaller after-meal glucose and insulin levels. |
| Beta-carotene, the phytochemical supplement once thought to reduce the risk of cancer, was found to actually increase the risk of lung cancer in smokers. The results from large, controlled trials of beta-carotene supplementation provide striking evidence of adverse effects in smokers (more lung cancer than expected, as well as overall mortality). But the harm may be in taking large amounts of beta-carotene all by itself, via supplements; numerous past studies indicated that people who eat the most vegetables and fruit and foods rich in carotenoids have the lowest risk of lung cancer. |
James F. Balch, M.D. and Mark Stengler, N.D.
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 Tomatoes are an excellent source of lycopene, a phytochemical that has an important protective effect on the prostate. This book usually recommends fresh food, but when it comes to lycopene, there's an important exception: cooked tomato products are actually a more potent source of this phytochemical than fresh ones are. Incorporate both into your meals daily.
Pumpkin seeds are a traditional remedy for prostate problems, and for good reason. They're full of zinc, a nutrient that's necessary for good prostate health. |
Thomson Healthcare, Inc.
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| Lamer-Zarawska E. phytochemical studies on flavonoids and other compounds of Juniper fruits (Juniperus communsi L.). In: Pol J Chem 54(2):213-219. 1980.
Markkanen T. Antiherpetic agent(s) from Juniper tree (Juniperus communis) preliminary communication. Drugs Expti Clin Res; 7(l):69-74. 1981.
Markkanen T, Makinen ML, Nikoskelainen J et al. Antiherpetic agent from Juniper tree (Juniperus communis), its purification, identification, and testing in primary human amnion cell cultures. Drugs Exptl Clin Res; 7(5):691-697. 1981.
Mascolo N et al. Phytother Res 1(1):28. 1987. |
Ann M. Coulston and Carol J. Boushey
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 Although individual supplements have not proven to be strongly effective, diets high in fruit and vegetables, and their attendant antioxidant and phytochemical combinations, generally may have been shown to be somewhat protective [72]. Of course, diets high in fruits and vegetables may indirectly reduce the risk of CVD by promoting healthy body weight, decreasing the risk of developing conditions contributing to CVD such as hyperlipidemia and type 2 diabetes. |
Elaine Magee
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| Vitamins E and C have also been observed as having synergy with a particular phytochemical found in almond skins, possibly protecting LDL cholesterol from oxidation, according to a recent lab study from Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts.
BETA-CAROTENE-RICH FRUITS AND VEGGIES ALSO RICH IN E AND C
An impressive number of fruits and vegetables contribute a good or great amount of beta-carotene. Since there is a suspected synergy between beta-carotene and vitamins E and C, these values are also listed in the table below. |
Stephanie Beling
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| It's full of iron, and its phytochemical content includes coumarins, flavonoids, terpenes, and the carotenoids. Parsley is a good diuretic, is helpful against the symptoms of premenstrual syndrome, and works as an antiaging agent. Its uses as a garnish and in salads and soups are well known; try parsley in yogurt as a dip, as the base for pesto, or in salsa. Or do as the Italians do: Discard the stems and saute whole handfuls of parsley in olive oh and minced garlic, and eat as a vegetable.
Dandelion greens are coming into their own these days; in fact, they're becoming downright trendy. |
Dr. Steven R. Gundry
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 Red grapes produce a phytochemical called resveratrol, which protects them from ultraviolet radiation, fungus infections, and other stressors. Resveratrol activates anti-aging genes that stimulate the production of proteins that circulate in your body, throwing overboard cells that aren't pulling their weight and rejuvenating cells damaged by advanced glycation end-products (AGEs). But don't rush out to the health food store to buy resveratrol capsules, which are generally worthless because resveratrol is inactivated by exposure to oxygen. |
| As you eat more vegetables, your body will adjust to their high micronutrient and phytochemical content. Continue to eat your nut or seed snacks twice a day and steer clear of
Protein in Nonmeat Source*
Nuts, seeds, vegetables, and even fruits all contain protein, as this partial list of foods reveals.
FRUIT (RAW)
Grams of protein per serving
Serving Size Protein (grams)
Avocado
1 medium
4g
Banana
1
2g
Blackberries
1 cup
2g
Casaba melon
1 cup
2g
Currants
1 cup
2g
Mulberries
1 cup
2g
MEAT SUBSTITUTES
Grams of protein per serving
Boca Burger 2.5 oz. |
Jonny Bowden, Ph.D., C.N.S.
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 According to research from the Department of Urology at Stanford University published in Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention, sulforaphane is the most potent inducer of phase-2 enzymes of any phytochemical known to date.
A Nutritional Powerhouse
Even apart from its demonstrated cancer-fighting ability, broccoli is a nutritional powerhouse. |
| According to research from the Department of Urology at Stanford University published in Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention, sulforaphane is the most potent inducer of phase-2 enzymes of any phytochemical known to date. And in a review article from the 11th Annual Research Conference on Diet, Nutrition, and Cancer from the American Institute of Cancer Research, the authors stated that "isothiocyanates are well-known protectors against carcinogenesis. |
| According to research from the Department of Urology at Stanford University published in Cancel- Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention, sulforaphane is the most potent inducer of phase-2 enzymes of any phytochemical known to date. And in a review article from the 11th Annual Research Conference on Diet, Nutrition, and Cancer from the American Institute for Cancer Research, the authors stated that "isothiocyanates are well-known protectors against carcinogenesis. |
| Alfalfa sprouts are a source of another important class of phytochemical, saponins. Saponins are a kind of "natural detergent" found in a wide variety of plant life, especially beans. Saponins bind with cholesterol, preventing it from being reabsorbed into the system. Recent studies at the University of Toronto department of nutritional science indicate that dietary sources of saponins like alfalfa and alfalfa sprouts can be part of a chemopreventive strategy and may lower the risk of human cancers. |
| The Mysore variety contains higher levels of limonene, a valuable phytochemical that boosts the body's synthesis of an enzyme that has antioxidant properties and helps detoxify chemicals. (Limonene is also found in citrus fruit peels, cherries, celery, and fennel.)
WORTH KNOWING
Health professionals often recommend not using cardamom in the presence of gallstones, as it could precipitate an attack.
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C. Leigh Broadhurst, Ph.D., is, quite simply, on the short list of the smartest people I know. |
Stephanie Beling
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| There are also fruit compotes and fruit shakes (what we might call processed fresh fruits) that taste sensational and offer, in an altered state, equivalent phytochemical strength.
Fruit spreads are a wonderful low-fat alternative to butter, cheese, and margarine. Here's a quick and easy way to get more fresh fruit into your homemade fruit spreads without added sugar, without pectin, without mason jars, without paraffin, without a lot of trouble. You want fresh, ripe fruits or berries—anything from the ordinary apricot, for example, to the more exotic quince, currants, and gooseberries. |
| In fact, just as the intense colors of fruits and vegetables give evidence of heightened phytochemical power, the stronger the smell of garlic and its relatives, the more effective their healing powers.
Garlic and company, as I like to think of the allium family, are the quintessential folk remedies of history and legend. Evidence of garlic as both food and health potion goes back at least as far as the Sumerian civilization of the fourth millennium B.C. Garlic accompanied Egypt's
King Tutankhamen to his tomb back around 1400 B.C. |
Ann M. Coulston and Carol J. Boushey
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| In addition, dithiocarba-mates (conversion products of isothiocyanates and their metabolites) can be quantified readily in urine, following extraction and measurement by high-performance liquid
TABLE 2 phytochemical Content of Plant Food Families and Select Plant Foods*
Plant Foods
Flavonoids
Isoflavones Lignans
Carotenoids
Organosulfides
Isothiocyanates
Terpenes
Phytates
Cruciferae6
/
/
/
/
/
Rutaceaec
/
? |
Mike Adams
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 The exact mechanism of action is not yet known for every single phytochemical identified to date. However, there are many observations and theories about them. Most of the compounds with some confirmed activity are anticancer (preventing or fixing cell malignancy through various mechanisms), heart protective, anti-aging or antioxidant (blocking or repairing oxidative damage to cells), or anti-inflammatory.
Some of the cancer-preventive and -healing compounds seem to be quite sophisticated and wide-ranging in their actions. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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 This herb has been used safely for thousands of years, and yet the FDA banned it as an isolated phytochemical even though the very same compound remains perfectly legal in the over-the-counter medicine called Sudafed.
The FDA claims to have banned Ephedra, but that's not what actually happened. All it did was ban the Ephedra herb, not the Ephedra molecule. Apparently, if you work at the FDA, all herbs are dangerous, while all over-the-counter drugs are perfectly safe, even if those two contain the exact same molecule. That's right: one has been banned, the other remains perfectly legal. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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 They're never going to be able to research every single phytochemical, every phytonutrient in the world. Even if they did somehow manage to catalog everything that they knew about, there would be a whole new discovery of energetic elements.
The homeopathy of plants
There's something I call the homeopathy of plants. Homeopathic medicine is something that has now been proven to be scientifically verifiable. Water has memory, and if you consume water that has been energized with the right elements, it can have a physiological effect on your body. |
| Astaxanthin is harvested from microalgae, and is a pigment phytochemical that alga produce when they become stressed and think that their environment is changing for the worse.
It's the same pigment that makes shrimp or salmon look red, and when it is extracted from microalgae and encapsulated, it becomes an extremely potent antioxidant with tremendous health benefits. In some of the research I've done on astaxanthin, I've already seen how the nutritional supplement is practically eliminating arthritis pain in users. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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 It makes sure that we don't get too much of one particular phytonutrient, mineral or phytochemical while simultaneously we get a broad spectrum of everything we need. That's balanced. We don't have to be precise about every phytonutrient. We just have to trust in nature and trust in the fact that we are supposed to eat berries, roots, vegetables, nuts and seeds. All we have to do is trust in the process of being a human being that developed in harmony with nature. |
Dr. Mary Dan Eades
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 Stephen Felice, director of New York's Foundation for Innovation in Medicine, to describe specific chemical compounds found in foods that may prevent disease. phytochemical is the term now used when discussing the plant source of most of these protective compounds. Right now, these compounds have a "quasi-nutrient" status, so perhaps phytonutrients is a more accurate term. But the more common term remains phytochemicals.
In the past, phytochemicals were classified as vitamins: Flavonoids were known as vitamin P, indoles and glucosi-nolates were called vitamin U, and so on. |
The Editors of FC&A
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| Men with the most of this phytochemical in their bloodstream, according to a Yale University study, were 35 percent less likely to get prostate cancer than those with the least.
This amazing nutrient may protect you from five other cancers, colon, stomach, lung, esophagus, and throat, as well.
You can get smaller amounts of lycopene from fresh tomatoes, watermelon, and pink grapefruit. But keep an eye out for red autumn olive berries, which recent tests show have 17 percent more lycopene than tomatoes. Although they are mainly fed to birds, people can eat them, too.
Citrus fruits. |
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