Now, you might be asking yourself, “What in the world are plant chemicals?” Well, allow me to explain… Phytochemicals are essential to plants and are found in fruits and vegetables. They act as a protection system for plants’ young buds and sprouts from predators, pollution, and weather. There are more than a thousand known phytochemicals and although they are not essential to humans, they can have protective benefits for our health. Below are some of these phytochemicals and what they have to offer:
- Sulforaphane: Increases body’s detoxification ability and antioxidant effect. Sulforaphane is found in vegetables such as, cauliflower, broccoli and brussels sprouts.
- Phenols: May contribute to heart health and good vision; increase body’s antioxidant effect. Some foods containg phenols include: apples, pears and citrus fruits.
- Sulfides/Thiols: May help increase the body’s immune function. Eat garlic, onions, broccoli, cabbage and collard greens to increase your intake of sulfides/thiols.
- Beta-Carotene: Neutralizes free radicals and aids in antioxidant effect. Beta-carotene is found in many yellow or orange colored fruits and veggies like carrots and pumpkin.
- Lycopene: May help to prevent cancer. Tomatoes, especially canned tomato products, are among the foods highest in lycopene.
- Anthocyanins: May contribute to brain health and increase body’s antioxidant effect. Anthocyanins give blueish-purplish foods their color such as berries, cherries and red grapes.
- Flavanols: May contribute to heart health. Try tea, cocoa, chocolate, apples and grapes.
These are just a few of the thousands of phytochemicals that are found in the produce available at our local grocery stores and farmers’ markets (SELF even has a handy guide for more info on eating your antioxidants!). We have all heard that fruits and vegetables are good for us, and research is constantly revealing their health benefits are much more complex than we ever imagined. Sometimes clients ask me if they can get the same benefits of fruits and veggies by taking supplements or drinking super juice drinks. I tell them that though they may get some vitamins and minerals that way, research indicates many of these phytochemicals are only found in the actual fruit or vegetable themselves. So to get these wonderful benefits mentioned above, you should be actually eating at least 5-9 servings of these foods each day! Yum!