What Is A Phytonutrient And Why Are They Important ?

Phytonutrient is a relatively new term being used and talked about a lot these days. Phytonutrients are found in plants, but are different from regular nutrients in that the body doesn't use them for energy or as building blocks. Instead , phytonutrients are considered non-nutritive plant chemicals. Instead of yielding energy and building blocks, their function is protecive, consisting mainly in disease fighting and preventing. In plants, they have the job of protecting the plants from diseases and injuries, bug dangers , drought, heat, sunlight, toxins, and contaminants in the air and the soil. Though plant life has a different type of immune system than the human body , they have an immune system nonetheless, and phytonutrients have a crucial role in plant immune systems.

In human beings, they have a similar role. Everyone has heard the term antioxidant. Antioxidants are specific phytonutrients, ones which help shield our DNA from free radical damage and other hazards . Antioxidants are strong protective phytonutrients that most every persons in modern society could stand to have more of in their diet . But how does a person get more phytonutrients into their diet? Phytonutrients, interestingly enough, generally are what give a fruit or vegetable its coloration. Beta-Carotene, for example , is found in vegetables like carrots and squash , and gives plants their orangish, yellowish coloration. Lycopene can be found in watermelons and tomatoes , and gives them their reddish color . Other fruits and vegetables have similar phytonutrients with different corresponding colors. Even the color white , like with onions, has a powerful corresponding phytonutrient.

But What does this mean? Well this has given rise to the idea of trying to eat a rainbow of colors each day . Since different important phytonutrients have been shown to have different corresponding colors, eating a wide range of different fruit and vegetable colors everyday can be one of the simplest ways to get a good spread of phytonutrients into your diet. The Standard American Diet is full of foods that are mostly colorless, unless they have had artificial colors added to them . But simple carbohydrates like starches have little to no color, and the majority of foods we consume are white or light tan. There are very few phytonutrients in any of the common foods in the Standard American Diet.

Another way to get a lot of phytonutrients into your diet is to make sure you eat the skin of your fruit and vegetables as often as you're able . The skin of an apple , for example , shields the inner meat of the apple from the environment around it. Just think how quickly an apple oxidizes and starts turning brown once you cut it open . That's because the skin is full of antioxidants that will not allow the oxygen in the environment to oxidize the tender inner flesh . So peeling off the skin of an apple, for instance , loses all of the phytonutrient benefits that come with eating an apple. On the other hand , the skin of many fruits and vegetables is not considered edible, but a large range of fruits and vegetables do come with edible skins. These are generally very loaded and rich in phytonutrients and can be a great way to get more antioxidants and other beneficial compounds into your diet.

Comments? Questions? Email Here

© HowtoAdvice.com

How to Advice .com