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Plant based functional foods and phytochemicals
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Tuesday, 15 February, 2022, 12 : 00 PM [IST]
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Adity sharma
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Significance of plant based foods
The earth is covered in plants that provide living creatures with food to keep us healthy and medicine for when we are sick. It makes sense that plants are an essential part of any healthy way of eating. We need nutrients and bacteria from the soil to create a healthy body and a diverse microbiome.
The microbes from the soil are still on that food when it comes out of the earth Even in the harshest conditions, plant life, in some form, has been a part of traditional diets. A plant-based diet consists of exclusively plant foods, including fruit, vegetables, grains, and legumes, and avoids meat, dairy, and eggs.
Plant-based diets offer all the necessary protein, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals for optimal health, and are often higher in fibre and phytonutrients. Plant foods are high in antioxidant compounds like vitamin C, selenium, and vitamin E. These compounds assist in reducing oxidative stress in the body, which decreases disease risk and supports healthful ageing. Some of the world’s longest-living people live in the Mediterranean and Asia.
The traditional Okinawa diet is mainly plant-based foods that are rich in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory, which is the secret of their longevity. Plant-based diets reduce the risk for many chronic diseases, including heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. People who follow plant-based diets are more likely to have improved insulin sensitivity and lower cholesterol levels.
The demand for animal products is a major cause of deforestation as land is cleared to make space for animals. Approximately 30% of the earth’s land area is used to raise livestock. Farm animals are also a major contributor to greenhouse gases, which are linked to global warming.
Functional foods
Functional foods are foods that have a potentially positive effect on health beyond basic nutrition. These foods contain biologically active ingredients associated with physiological health benefits for preventing and managing chronic diseases. Functional foods also optimise the immune system capacity to prevent and control pathogenic viral infections.
Combined with a healthy lifestyle, functional foods can make a positive contribution to health and well being. The communication of health benefits to consumers is also important so that they make informed choices about the foods they eat and enjoy.
Phytochemicals
Phytochemicals are non-nutritive plant chemicals that have protective or disease preventive properties. They are non-essential nutrients, meaning that they are not required by the human body for sustaining life. It is well-known that plant produces these chemicals to protect themselves but recent research demonstrates that they can also protect humans against diseases. There are more than a thousand known phytochemicals.
Some of the well-known phytochemicals are lycopene in tomatoes, isoflavones in soy and flavanoids in fruits. For example, Moringa contains phytochemicals like tannins, alkaloids, phenolics, flavonoids and many more. Research says that dry leaves of moringa contain nine times more protein than yoghurt, ten times more vitamin A than carrot, twenty-five times more iron than spinach, enriched with calcium, potassium and vitamin C. It has been observed to be an effective treatment against a wide array of diseases like blood pressure, cholesterol, liver diseases and act as an anti-cancer, anti-microbial anti-diabetic agent.
Phytochemicals and fibres are the two categories of nutrients that are possibly the most health-promoting and disease-fighting. Plants are the only source of these nutrients; they are completely absent in animals. Plants contain thousands of phytochemicals, such as carotenoids, glucosinolates, and flavonoids, which perform a multitude of beneficial functions, including Antioxidation, Neutralising free radicals, Anti-inflammation, Cancer activity reduction via several mechanisms, including inhibiting tumour growth, detoxifying carcinogens, retarding cell growth, and preventing cancer formation, Immunity enhancement.
Foods containing phytochemicals are already part of our daily diet. Most foods contain phytochemicals except for some refined foods such as sugar or alcohol. Some foods, such as whole grains, vegetables, beans, fruits and herbs, contain many phytochemicals. The easiest way to get more phytochemicals is to include these foods in the daily diet.
Polyphenols are phytochemicals naturally found in plants that help keep them strong and viable. When eaten, they have an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effect on the body. Below are foods and beverages that are full of nutritious polyphenols. Fruits and vegetables like Apples, artichokes, black currants, blackberries, blueberries, cherries, elderberries, olives, plums, raspberries, red grapes, red onions, shallots, spinach, strawberries. Nuts, Seeds, and Oils like Almonds, cacao, chestnuts, flaxseed, hazelnuts, olive oil, rapeseed oil, soybean. Beverages Apple juice (pure), beer, black tea, coffee, grapefruit juice (pure), green tea, oolong tea, pomegranate juice (pure), red wine. Seasonings Celery seed (dried), cloves, cocoa powder, ginger (dried), Mexican oregano, peppermint (dried), rosemary (dried), sage, spearmint (dried), star anise, sweet basil (dried), thyme.
Plant based functional foods when combined together work wonders for health. Certain foods complement each other and enhance nutrient bioavailability. This concept is often referred to as nutrient synergy because these foods work together synergistically to enhance their combined nutritional benefits. Here are some examples of synergistic combinations like Lemon and Green tea - Green tea is a great source of antioxidants and has been shown to boost brain function and help protect the body from cardiovascular disease.
Much of green tea’s beneficial effects come from the great source of catechin, a phytochemical. When lemon juice is added to green tea, it can help increase the bioavailability of catechins by up to five times.
Turmeric and black pepper -Turmeric contains a powerful phytochemical called curcumin, which is known for its powerful anti-inflammatory properties. Black pepper contains piperine, a compound shown to have an anti-cancer effect. when combined, curcumin’s bioavailability improves by 2,000%.
Tomato and olive oil- tomatoes are rich in phytochemicals called lycopene that helps fight prostate cancer and prevent heart disease. Combining tomatoes with olive oil increases its bioavailability.
The development of plant-based functional food ingredients has become a major focus of the modern food industry as a response to changes in consumer attitudes. In particular, many consumers are switching to a plant-based diet because of their concerns about animal-derived foods on the environment, human health, and animal welfare. Making lifestyle changes can take time, but if you add in small steps towards your goals every week, you can start to make living healthy a habit. Human beings, like every species, know that what they eat changes everything.
(The author is naturopathy and integrative nutrition health and wellness coach. She can be reached at livebetterwithadity@gmail.com)
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