Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful moms out there.
I can still hear my Mom lambasting my brother and I to eat our vegetables; and although we would always eventually succumb to her wishes, we did not go gently into the Green Forest, the family pooch usually ate more covertly tossed vegetables then we did.
Our current thinking about healthy eating emphasizes greens, fruit and veggies plus a variety of other fresh, wholesome and nutritious foods. These nutritious foods should be supplemented with a multi-vitamin to insure that you are covering all the bases.
Epidemiological studies have shown that the consistent consumption of diets high in fruits and vegetables is associated with a lower risk of degenerative diseases and increased longevity. Among the many vegetables comprising the modern American diet, cruciferous vegetables, which includes arugula, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, collard greens, horseradish, kale, mustard greens and seeds, radish, rutabaga, turnip root and watercress provide especially powerful health-promoting benefits.
These cruciferous vegetables are rich in vitamin C and are a good source of selenium and high-fiber as well as a unique group of phytochemicals called glucosinolates. Please see:
These same nutrients and the glucosinolates are also present in other cruciferous vegetables such as bok choy; Gai-lan or Chinese broccoli; kimchi, a traditional Korean side dish, which is made from fermented Napa cabbage, radishes, red chiles, garlic, sea salt and komatsuna, which are used every day in diverse cultural dishes around the globe.
Many people, besides my brother and I, have scorned broccoli... yet former President George H.W. Bush, who made his dislike of broccoli known to the world, was most likely the most famous broccoli scourner of all-time. (Rumor has it that George senior used to feed his broccoli to George junior's pet parakeet when Barbara was not looking). Yet, this vegetable hating may have deprived the Bush family of some important health benefits. For example, NIH-sponsored basic research and clinical trials, plus university studies, are showing the high amounts of bioactive phytochemicals in broccoli and most other cruciferous vegetables, provide many powerful health benefits including:
Reducing oxidative stress in the brain.
Inhibiting uncontrolled cell growth in breast and prostate tissue.
Increasing heart health by inducing cardioprotective enzymes that act to reduce free radical damage in the heart tissue.
In addition, two of the bioactive phytochemicals in cruciferous vegetables—diindolylmethane (DIM) and sulforaphane—also stimulate the safe metabolic excretion of toxins and help to reduce the toxicity of certain prescription drugs and environmental chemicals.
Diindolylmethane, the active phytochemical ingredient in BioDIM, also assists in sustaining the proper metabolism of estrogen. This helps your body avoid the accumulation of unhealthy estrogen metabolites, which can concentrate in tissues and initiate abnormal cellular responses that upset both androgenic and estrogenic hormone balances and their functions.
Please visit us at: Innovative Nutrition, 206 Rt. 25A, East Setauket, NY or online at: www.vibranthealthcompany.net
