Role of Phytonutrients in Good Nutrition

The term "phytonutrient" is applied to those plant compounds that promote better health, although they are not absolutely essential to human health.

The crucial role of fresh, whole plants in human nutrition is undisputed.

• Worldwide research has confirmed that diets rich in plants can lead to optimal health.
• Scientists know that plants improve health at least partially because of the thousands of plant chemicals or compounds (phytonutrients) supplied in a plant-rich diet.

Key Functions

Different plant varieties produce different kinds of phytonutrients.

• The level of phytonutrients within any given plant varies, depending on the species of plant, the soil conditions and many other environmental factors.
• Unlike vitamins and minerals, phytonutrients are not classified as essential; yet they appear to have many benefits for our overall health, both in general and for specific conditions.

Food Sources

Plant-based food sources, including brightly-colored fruits and vegetables

• Think "color," because different phytonutrients exist in fruits and vegetables of varying colors.

Usage

No specific recommendations exist at this time for most or all phytonutrients. A general recommendation is to consume five different-colored fruits and vegetables daily to benefit from a variety of many different phytonutrients.

Safety Evidence

No standard levels of phytonutrient intake have been established; therefore, no over-consumption levels have been published by leading health authorities.

Nutrients - How do they work for Optimal Health

How Nutrients Work

Nutrients from food are absorbed by the body as it passes through the digestive system:

• Nutrients are essential for cell growth, maintenance and repair.
• Nutrients provide energy to enable your body to function efficiently.
• Nutrients, along with fiber and water, are essential to your good health.

Although nutrients can work alone, each depends upon the others to be the most effective. The main nutrients are the macronutrients, carbohydrates, proteins, and fats – and the micronutrients, vitamins and minerals.

What Macronutrients Do

Macronutrients Are Essential for Good Health:

• They assist in breaking down carbohydrates and fats, which provide energy to the body.
• They assist in the absorption of protein, which provides the building blocks necessary for cell growth and repair.

What Micronutrients Do

Vitamins and minerals do not in themselves provide energy, but macronutrients depend on them to regulate the release of energy from food.

• Vitamins are organic substances.
• They activate enzymes, which are proteins that act as catalysts to speed up biological reactions that take place in your body.
• Your body produces a certain amount of vitamins D and K, but all other vitamins come from your diet or supplementation.

Minerals are inorganic substances that originate from rocks and ores and enter the food chain through the soil.

• We get minerals either by eating plants grown on mineral-rich soil or by eating animals that have fed on these plants.
• Calcium, magnesium and phosphorus are the major constituents of bone.
• Sodium and potassium control your body's water balance.
• Other minerals (chromium, iron, and magnesium) are needed for various chemical processes to take place in the body.
• Omega Fatty Acids
• Phytonutrients, also referred to as phytochemicals, are compounds that act as a natural defense system in plants, and that also have a beneficial effect on human health.