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Issue 23, July 26, 2006
Vegetables and Fruits, Two Wonders of the Food Pyramid
We have included two short articles on the
benefits of meeting your nutritional dietary needs and
want to remind you that
Green Latte is a quick
and easy way to fulfill one of your vegetable
or fruit servings.
Especially as a busy college student, we
know how tough it is to eat vegetables and fruits.
Eat Your Fruits And Veggies
by Mindy Poehl
Most people know that eating their fruits and
vegetables is on the “to do” list, but
not everyone
truly knows what the benefits of eating fruits and
vegetables are.
A group of nutritionists, physicians, horticulturists and produce industry leaders gathered at the Bush Library’s Annenberg Presidential Center at Texas A&M University on Tuesday, June 6, to discuss the benefits of fruits and vegetables at a conference called Partnering for a Healthy Tomorrow.
 The
experts described how fruits and veggies, including
onions, apples, strawberries, grapes, garlic and
carrots, can do everything from assist with weight loss
to reducing the risk of getting chronic diseases such
as cancer, cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
More Does Matter
"More does matter," said Mary Kay Solera, director of the National Fruit and Vegetable Program at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"People who eat generous amounts of fruits and vegetables are likely to have reduced risk of chronic diseases."
Solera said fruits and vegetables should fill at least half of the plate at meal time. Produce provides low-fat, low-calorie, filling options in order to maintain a healthy weight.
Thirteen Servings
A Day - Seriously
During the conference, Solera unveiled a new logo for the National Fruit and Vegetable Program, which features the slogan: "Fruits and Veggies - More Matters." The new labeling will begin appearing on products during the first quarter of 2007.
The new logo will replace the "Five a Day" logo, which
became out of date when new
dietary guidelines recommended 13 servings of fruits
and vegetables a day.
Dr. Michael Wargovich, director of the Chemoprevention Program at the South Carolina Cancer Center, said fruits and vegetables can be seen as nature's medicine.
Nature's Medicine
“Compounds found in produce have been found by researchers to reduce the growth rate of pre-cancerous cells and are known cancer preventatives,” Wargovich stated.
But, the problem is getting more people to eat their vegetables, he said.
 "The fact that if you eat fruits and vegetables now, it will decrease your chance of having cancer 20 or 30 years down the road, but that isn't enough for people in their 20s and 30s," Wargovich said. “It is going to really be hard for people to eat more fruits and vegetables unless there is a short-term benefit marker that says, 'persist and you will be well.’”
90% of Adults DO
NOT Meet Recommended Amounts
Ninety percent of adults do not eat the daily recommended amounts of fruits and vegetables, Solera said. But that can be changed by partnering together to educate the public and make the produce easily accessible.
"We can't do it alone, but we can partner together to make a difference," she said. "Everyone here has a unique role in increasing consumption of fruits and vegetables."
Dr. Bhimu Patil, director of the Vegetable and Fruit Improvement Center at A&M has isolated pectin, which is found in citrus fruits, and said his studies justify that orange and grapefruit juice that is regularly given to lab rats prevented osteoporosis. This means that it will most likely prevent osteoporosis from regularly occurring in humans.
The Silent Disease of Aging
“Osteoporosis affects about 2 million men and 8 million women in the United States,” Patil said. “Nationally, about 1.5 million hips, vertebras and wrists break each year as a result. It's a silent disease of aging, but if we can maintain our bone strength, maybe we will be able to prevent it.”
 A reduction in bone density is caused when there is an increase in oxidants. In Patil’s studies, both grapefruit juice and orange juice increased antioxidants in the rats' systems.
"There are about 400 compounds in citrus," Patil said. "So we need to find out which compound in citrus caused this."
Patil suspects it is "limonoid," a natural citrus compound, which has been studied for its potential to prevent various human diseases. Limonoids will be the next phase of Patil’s study.
“I just suggest that everyone gets their share of fruits and vegetables, with plenty of citrus fruits,” Patil concluded.
Original article published by Countryworldnews.com
A Diet Rich in Green and Yellow Vegetables Inhibits Atherosclerosis in Mice
by Michael R. Adams, Deborah L. Golden, Haiying Chen, Thomas C. Register
and Eric T. Gugger
Although dietary patterns characterized by a high intake of fruits and vegetables are associated with reduced risk of coronary heart disease, the mechanisms involved are uncertain. We determined the effects of a diet rich in green and yellow vegetables on the development of atherosclerosis, the underlying cause of coronary heart disease, in a mouse model of atherosclerosis, the LDL receptor –/–, apolipoprotein B transgenic mouse. The mice were randomized into 2 diet groups:
1) a vegetable-free control diet (n = 53) and
2) the same diet with 30% (w:w) replaced by an equal-parts mixture of freeze-dried peas, green beans, broccoli, corn, and carrots (n = 54).
Mice were fed these diets for 16 wk. Aortic atherosclerosis, as estimated by cholesteryl ester content, was reduced 38% (P < 0.001) in mice fed the vegetable-rich diet. Plasma total cholesterol (–12%), VLDL + ILDL cholesterol (–32%), serum amyloid A (–37%), and body weight (–7%) (all P < 0.01) were also lower in these mice at the end of the treatment
 period. In a regression model, antiatherogenic effects of the vegetable diet remained largely unexplained by the variation in plasma lipoproteins or body weight. Although the pathway(s) involved remain uncertain, the results indicate that a diet rich in green and yellow vegetables inhibits the development of atherosclerosis and may therefore lead to a reduction in the risk of coronary heart disease.
Original article published by Nutrition.org
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