Why the Life Force Diet & Planning for Success
Most people know that we need adequate amounts of oxygen, water, vitamins, minerals, amino acids, fatty acids, and good carbs for great health. What they don’t realize is that a group of micronutrients, also called phytonutrients, can help prevent disease and restore health and vitality. Phytonutrient- and enzyme-rich foods (I’ll discuss enzymes in more detail in my next article) are essential to vibrant health and wellbeing, yet they are almost completely ignored by other diet plans.
There are about 2000 known phytonutrients and many others are being discovered all the time. And, you guessed it, they’re found in fruit, vegetables, herbs, spices, nuts, sprouts, and seeds. A single fruit or vegetable may contain more than 100 types of healing phytonutrients that basically make up the immune system of the plant. Once eaten, they impart their incredible healing abilities inside your body. The thousands of phytonutrients are categorized into families, including carotenoids, catechins, flavonoids, lipoic acid, phytoestrogens, polyphenols, sulfurophane, and others. Let’s explore the phytonutrient families and find out how you can include more of them in your diet.
And, don’t worry: it’s not necessary to memorize all the names of the phytonutrients or the foods in which they’re found to participate in The Life Force Diet. Over the next several weeks, I’ll be teaching you simple ways to get more phytonutrients in your diet. But for now, let me tell you about some of the main groups of phytonutrients to help you understand why you’d want to eat a diet that’s supercharged with them.
Anthocyanins
These natural, health-boosting substances give certain fruits their purple to reddish colour. Not only does research show that anthocyanins have the capacity to boost short-term memory by 100 percent in just eight weeks, they also stimulate the burning of stored fat in the body to be used as fuel.
Up your intake: Anthocyanins are found in dark purple or red grapes, cherries, and berries, including blueberries, blackberries , raspberries, and strawberries.
Carotenoids
Not only do Cartenoids help strengthen your eyesight and boost your immunity to disease, they are powerful antioxidants that, in some studies, reduced the risk of cancer and protected against the effects of aging.
Up your intake:Carotenoids are the yellow, orange, and red pigments found in foods like carrots, sweet potatoes, apricots, mangoes, pumpkin, tomatoes, papaya, peaches, and other similarly coloured foods as well as dark green vegetables like broccoli and leafy greens.
Catechins
Want to lose weight? Be sure to add catechins to your diet since they activate fat-burning genes in abdominal fat cells to assist with weight loss, and belly fat loss in particular. According to research at Tufts University, catechins increase abdominal fat loss by 77 percent and double total weight loss.
Up your intake:Catechins are mainly found in green and black tea , as well as apples.
Flavonoids
Flavonoids are the miracle nutrients we keep hearing about in the media lately; they interfere with the stages of the development of cancer cells. Resveratrol, a particular flavonoid found predominantly in grapes, has demonstrated its ability to protect the brain from damage.
Up your intake:Flavonoids are found in berries, cherries, currants, pomegranates, red and purple grapes, red onions, tomatoes, bell peppers, apple (skin), and walnuts.
Now you can understand why phytonutrients play such a critical role in your diet. In the coming weeks, you’ll learn more about the disease-preventing and even reversing powers of phytonutrients and how to get more of them in your diet.
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Michelle Schoffro Cook, DNM, DAc, CNC, is a six-time and best-selling book author whose works include: The Life Force Diet, The Ultimate pH Solution, and The 4-Week Ultimate Body Detox Plan. She is a doctor of natural medicine, holistic nutritionist, and holistic life coach®. Visit: www.TheLifeForceDiet.com to learn more.
Week 1: Why the Life Force Diet & Planning for Success
I always wanted to relate food color with health benefits and here it is.
Excellent Michelle! Explained in a easy way to auto remember.
Love
Rajesh
http://rajeshmsharma.blogspot.com
Thanks Rajesh! I'm glad it was helpful. Enjoy the rest of the series and my new book The Life Force Diet.
I can't believe vegetables and fruits could be so fascinating and simple. Rajesh is right, thanks for breaking this down so well. I eat pumpkin for breakfast 4-5 times per week and lots of tomatoes. I always try to have some blueberries or strawberries at home to take to work for lunch too.
My concern is that I eat too much fruit. Is this a legitimate concern? What would the pitfalls be of doing so? Thanks, Michelle!
Thanks Balanchine. Yes, it is possible to eat too much fruit, but it's not a real concern for most people who don't eat nearly enough fresh fruit. Fruit's pitfall is its sugar content so it is important to make sure you eat other foods like nuts and beans to help maintain healthy blood sugar levels. And eat frequently throughout the day. I'll be discussing the benefits of snacking in an upcoming Life Force Diet post. And, for anyone trying to lose weight or suffering from an infection, keep your fruit consumption to 2 or 3 pieces/servings a day. Overall though, it's great that you're eating blueberries and strawberries. They're nutritional powerhouses. Keep up the great work.
Just tuning in and I had a similar question to Balanchine's. Fruit is so portable, that I find myself eating 3 or more servings at work on a pretty daily basis. Thanks for the great info, Michelle.