Lettuce

All About Phytonutrients

If you want to know where the REAL medicine is, let me introduce you to the phytonutrient. Also called phytochemicals, these are plant-derived compounds (“phyto” means “plant”) that have a lot of amazing properties. These include:

  1. The ability to remove free radicals in the body;
  2. Stopping inflammation in the vessels and organs;
  3. Improving the power of the cells in the immune system;
  4. Eliminating the oxidative damage in cells, and
  5. Deactivating cancer causing agents.

In short, Phytonutrients are why your mother always told you to eat your vegetables!

It is the phytochemicals that impart the bright colors in vegetables and fruits. The more colorful the plant, the more powerful the healing and medicinal properties. (There are 4 exceptions to the color rule: mushrooms, garlic, onions, and cauliflower. These plants lack vibrant colors, but have incredible anti-cancer and antioxidant properties).

ONLY plants possess these healing and disease-preventing compounds. Science has repeatedly shown that diets that are high in phytonutrients result in less illness, and diets that are phytonutrient deficient (which means diets consisting of processed sugar, oils, processed flour, and animal protein including eggs and dairy) promote disease, illness, and death.

The traditional way of viewing nutrition has been to focus on vitamins and minerals. This mindset is left over from the 1950’s, but it is still how doctors and dietitians are trained today. The truth, which is backed by modern science, is that vitamins and minerals are not enough. Taking a multivitamin is not sufficient for good health. Our bodies need a wide variety of thousands of phytonutrients to prevent disease and reverse the toxic inflammation in our organs and vessels. And these are only found in plants.

There are thousands of phytonutrients, and hundreds are being isolated every year. And here is what’s incredible: Certain phytonutrients have been found to be specific for combating specific disease states. This means that you can tailor the phytonutrient profile of your diet in order to reverse your particular medical condition, such as high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, or cancer. And the beauty is… no side effects!

At FoodTherapyMD, we are all about the phytonutrient, because we know that consuming these incredible plant foods is the only way to health and longevity. TRUE health can never be found in a pill bottle, and FoodTherapyMD would like to help you on your journey to break the dependency on prescription drugs.