We have all been told not only to eat our fruits and veggies, but eat them in a variety of colors – red, dark green, yellow, blue, purple, white and orange. Why? It not only creates a more visually pleasing plate for ourselves (and our kids!), but it provides us with a broad range of nutrients, including antioxidants!

What are antioxidants?

Antioxidants are nutrients that help prevent or delay some types of cell damage that lead to chronic conditions (heart disease, cancer, vision loss, diabetes, etc.)

Where can we find them? (foods)

Antioxidants obtained from the diet play an important role in the body’s antioxidant defense against free radicals that promote (i.e cause) cell damage, which is linked to an increased risk of a variety of diseases and even to the aging process itself. These antioxidants include Vitamin C, Vitamin E, carotenoids such as beta-carotene and lycopene, and other phytonutrients (substances found in fruits, vegetables, and other plant foods that provide health benefits).

Vitamin C and Vitamin E are especially effective because they help reduce a variety of reactive oxygen species (those free radicals that cause cell damage) and are quickly regenerated back to their active form to neutralize the next set of free radicals — a natural boost to our immune system!

Vitamin C is abundant in fruits and vegetables and offers antioxidant protection against bacterial and viral invaders.

Vitamin E is generally found in nuts, seeds, vegetable oils, and wheat germ to protect unsaturated fat in cell membranes as well as fatty nerve tissue from oxidative destruction.

Carotenoids are colored nutrients/antioxidants generally found in fruits and vegetables as well. (It’s safe to say fruits and vegetables are loaded with a variety of different antioxidants!) This includes beta-carotene (the orange color in carrots) and lycopene (the red color in tomatoes).

Aim for a variety of colors to obtain different antioxidants in foods. Examples of foods that are rich in antioxidants include (but not limited to): prunes, apples, raisins, plums, grapes, alfalfa sprouts, onions, eggplant, beans, whole grains, and fish.

Other antioxidants that can help keep you healthy include zinc (found in oysters, red meat, poultry, beans, nuts, seafood, whole grains, fortified cereals, and dairy products) and selenium (found in Brazilian nuts, tuna, beef, poultry, fortified breads, and other grain products). To get the biggest benefits of antioxidants, eat these raw (if it doesn’t need to be cooked, such as vegetables) or lightly steam them. Don’t overcook or boil them, which can lead to some nutrient loss.

How cooking with color can help your health:

Here are just some of the benefits of eating a variety of colorful fruits and vegetables.

• Red: fruits and vegetables rich in this color help
  aintain a healthy heart, memory function, urinary tract health, and lowers risk of some cancers.
• Orange/Yellow: these fruits and veggies help maintain heart, vision, and immune system health, as well as lower the risk of some cancers. High levels of vitamin C and folic acid are found in these colored fruits and vegetables.
• Green: Fruits and veggies of this color decreases the risk of some cancers as well as heart disease, maintain vision health, protect against birth defects and keep red blood cells, bones, and teeth strong.
• Blue/Purple/Black: these fruits and veggies contain antioxidants that help lower the risk of some cancers, promote healthy aging, and improve urinary tract health, memory function and heart health.
• White/Tan/Brown: a diet rich in these colored fruits and vegetables will enjoy the benefits of lower cancer risk and heart health maintenance. These fruits and vegetables typically include health promoting substances such as folic acid, fiber, potassium, and vitamin C.

How antioxidants affect diabetes:

High blood sugars (hyperglycemia) in those with type 2 diabetes promote auto-oxidation of glucose (blood sugar) to form free radicals, which is why antioxidants can help in reducing diabetic complications as a result of hyperglycemia. Measures of oxidative damages are generally increased in people with diabetes since hyperglycemia creates additional oxidative stress and decreased antioxidant protection. Although evidence does not warrant increased intakes of antioxidants to help treat or delay the onset of diabetes, including antioxidants in our diet can help protect our cells from some oxidative damage.

The best way to stay healthy is to eat a wide variety of vitamin-rich foods. Nutrient dense “super foods” are packed with vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, which all minimize cell damage that may lead to heart disease, cancer, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, and other chronic conditions. Nutrients work best in our bodies when we get them the natural way — through our diet! It’s best to aim for a variety of healthy foods that contain vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants to ensure a nutritionally balanced diet for optimal health.

Related Post: Eat the Rainbow!

The nutrition principles of the Skinny Gene Project, especially eating a diet high in fiber, are key factors in both diabetes and cancer prevention. In the unfortunate situation that you have been recently diagnosed with cancer, it’s time to start focusing on nutrition. Start now and make nutrition a priority to nourish your body in its fight against cancer.

With this in mind, we are pleased to announce our newest guest blogger to our Skinny Gene Family- Jillian McKee.

Jillian will be writing about how beneficial eating healthy and living a healthy lifestyle is for someone going through the battle of cancer.

MEET JILLIAN

Bringing a wealth of personal and professional experience to the organization, Jillian McKee has worked as the Complementary Medicine Advocate at the Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance since June of 2009. Jillian spends most her time on outreach efforts and spreading information about the integration of complementary and alternative medicine when used in conjunction with traditional cancer treatment.

Please check out Jillian’s debut post- Fighting Back with Nutrition

Stay Connected with Jillian McKee

• Connect with Jillian on Facebook
• Follow Jillian on Twitter
• Add Jillian to your Google+ Circles
• Email Jillian at jmckee@mesothelioma.com

Good nutrition is always a good idea. People who eat healthier food feel better, have fewer health issues in general and so on. For those who are or have battled cancer such as mesothelioma, lymphoma or breast or prostate cancer nutrition is far more than just a good idea. It can save your life.

Immediately after a cancer diagnosis, an individual needs to take a nutrition inventory. Although it may seem that your world has shattered around you, action now will make life better in the coming months. Many of us have a first instinct after getting bad news to look for comfort in a carton of ice cream, a jar of cookies or something chocolate. Quell that urge. Soon enough you’ll find that healthy food can be comfort food as well. Eating dates stuffed with almonds or almond butter provides a delicious, satisfying snack. Homemade fruit smoothies made from fruit, a few ice cubes and a couple teaspoons of plain yogurt are delicious and healthy. Add a little stevia, raw sugar or honey and a squeeze of lemon to make the fruit flavors pop.

Fresh vegetable juices also enhance health and give cancer patients the tools to fight back effectively. Fresh carrot juice not only tastes great but also packs astounding amounts of nutrients into every serving. Local juice bars provide many other vegetable juice options, and those who prefer to fix juice at home can find plenty of online resources for juice recipes.

Dr. M. T. Morter, Jr., has spent over 40 years studying the effects of lifestyle and nutrition on health. He discovered that alkaline foods such as fruit and vegetables are more essential to good health than acid-producing foods such as meat, dairy and grains. With his diet plan in conjunction with other treatments, many cancer patients recover to live long, healthy lives. More about his nutrition plan and advice can be found in his book “An Apple a Day, Is It Enough Today” and at Morter Health System.

Dr. Morter isn’t the only researcher or physician who encourages cancer patients and those in remission to eat a healthy diet. The National Cancer Institute lists a number of dietary concerns for those undergoing treatment for cancer. As mentioned here, traditional cancer treatments often cause issues in nutritional health. Body changes due to treatment may cause severe loss of appetite as well as the inability to absorb nutrients. Consumption of fruits, vegetables and whole grains during cancer treatments enables the body to better heal and regenerate healthy tissue in place of cancer cells.

In addition to the “good for you” aspect of vegetables, vegetable juices and cooked vegetables are easier for the body to digest than most other foods. Cancer patients who make a habit of drinking a pint of their favorite vegetable juice each day are more likely to be able to digest and absorb necessary nutrients than those attempting to eat a serving of meat or dairy as their primary food source. While a serving or two of food each day is not enough for anyone, beginning with something easy to digest makes getting nutrients and calories easier.

Once life is back on track and cancer is in remission, healthy dietary habits developed during cancer treatments need to continue. High consumption of fruits and vegetables enhances life for everyone, and those who once suffered from cancer need to take special care to remain healthy. The vitamins, antioxidants and other nutrients easily accessible through the consumption of fruits, vegetables and whole grains keep healthy cells healthy while replacing unhealthy cells with new, healthier ones.

What if I told you, you can choose between sugar plum fairies or a lump of coal?  Seems like an obvious answer, but somehow, the decision is not that easy.  Let me explain my thinking.

By Star 5112

So…day in and day out, as a health care provider, I have the challenge of helping adults that have previously struggled with weight loss finally lose those pesky pounds to improve their health.

 In my efforts to help each person with an increased Body Mass Index  (BMI) and other health risk factors to lose weight, I pull out all of the “scary” words in hopes that each individual will have the ah-ha moment and commit to changing their ways.

 These “scary” words are the coal in your stocking.   It’s not what you want for Christmas, but what you may be getting… whether you like it or not.  These “lumps of coal” are heart attacks, stroke, diabetes, and cancer to name a few.  I tell each person about these life threatening problems, the ones that may kill you, but somehow, these warnings don’t translate to better health.  So this holiday season, I am taking a whole new refreshing approach…sugar plum fairies. 

The “sugar plum fairies” are those amazingly wonderful things that you love and live for.  Moments with your family and friends, reminiscing about old times with your favorite people, exotic vacations or traveling abroad, great laughs, and all of your happy thoughts.

 Making a list of reasons you want to lose weight is always one of my favorite requests I ask of our clients during counseling sessions.

 This list may contain some things that make you feel good on the outside – of course- like how you look in your jeans or swimsuit.  It should also contain the things that make you feel good on the inside – those happy thoughts.

 Some of my favorite reasons for weight loss is to be able to keep up with your kids, meeting your grandkids, being able to travel without feeling tired, and on and on.

 My hope for our entire Skinny Gene family is that as the New Year approaches, we can all take time to reflect on our goals for better health.

The choice is yours, lumps of coal or sugar plum fairies?  It might be time to make some changes – I’m sure you’ll find the sugar plum fairies are worth it!

By Emily Barr, MS, RD, CNSC

Want More?? Check out these posts from Emily…

Meet Emily

How Did You Do It?

Sweets & Sabotages

Sugar Aliases

Halloween Temptations

High Five to Healthy Lunches

Vitamin D: Sunshine Vitamin, or not?

Summertime Drinks that Won’t Bust Your Diet or Your Waistline

Best Defense Against Cellulite

Water Filled Summer

Value Menu-Eat now, Pay later

Different ages, different requirements to be healthy

Kids Really Do Like Fruits and Vegetables

Spring into Green

The benefits of Vitamin D are outstanding!  Vitamin D has been found to reduce the risk of diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, and many types of cancer.  Vitamin D also plays an important role in the absorption of Calcium and the strength of our bones. 

The body makes Vitamin D when exposed to sunlight for 10 or 15 minutes a day.  With our busy and somewhat sedentary lifestyles, 10 to 15 minutes of sunlight may not be included in our routine.  The other major problem with relying on the sun for our Vitamin D is sunscreen, blocking cancerous rays of sunlight as well as 98% of Vitamin D.  Darker skin and your location from the equator also affect your exposure to the sun’s Vitamin D.   Call your family and friends north of San Francisco to Boston and let them know they are at high risk for Vitamin D deficiency!

Other than the sun, where can you look to meet your Vitamin D needs?  Good sources include cod liver oil (good luck with that!), fatty fish such as salmon, mackerel, and tuna, and foods fortified with Vitamin D such as milk and juices.  But it may not be that easy.  Researchers have looked at the levels of Vitamin D in the fortified foods and found unbelievable results! 

Of the tested milk fortified with Vitamin D, 15% did not have any detectable Vitamin D and over 50% of the milks tested had less than 80, yes 80% of the level it was supposed to have.  

The current recommendation for Vitamin D is 400 IUs (International Units) per day, of which most of us fall short.  Research is showing that this recommended intake may need to be increased to 800 IUs or more!  Our best bet is to be sure we are drinking our milk every day, getting our sun exposure, and taking a multivitamin to allow ourselves the benefits of Vitamin D.

By Emily Barr, MS, RD, CNSC

Want More?? Check out these posts from Emily…

Meet Emily

Summertime Drinks that Won’t Bust Your Diet or Your Waistline

Best Defense Against Cellulite

Water Filled Summer

Value Menu-Eat now, Pay later

Different ages, different requirements to be healthy

Kids Really Do Like Fruits and Vegetables

Spring into Green

 For a fresh crunch!

•  Snack on cucumber and celery, both of these have <20 calories per serving (1/2 cucumber or 2 stalks of celery) and are full of fiber and water.  Both celery and cucumbers have been found to help lower your blood pressure.

 For a sweet treat!

• Try fruit for dessert or snacks!  Some delicious green fruits include melons, apples, grapes, and pears.   These fruits have ~1/3 the calories of the average dessert! 
• Add lime to foods for an extra sweet twist.  Limes are a great way to season foods without adding extra calories from fat. 

 It’s green on the inside!

• Kiwifruits are super sweet treats that are green on the inside!  Kiwi provides a great source of Vitamin C (95% of the daily value), the antioxidant that protects our body from cell damage, inflammation and cancer.  Kiwi also provides a good source of fiber useful in lowering cholesterol and keeping blood sugars under control.   Simply cut the kiwi in half and spoon out the insides. Be sure to eat the seeds for the extra fiber!
• Avocados are another green on the inside food that provides amazing nutrition benefits, including lowering your risk of cancer and promoting a healthy heart.  Add a slice of avocado to salads, soups, or sandwiches to enjoy these health benefits.

Super foods are a must!

• Broccoli and Spinach are great sources of iron, which help carry oxygen through your body to give you energy and calcium, essential for strengthening and protecting your bones!  Both are great sources of fiber containing ~4-5 grams fiber per cup, which is an excellent way to satisfy your appetite on less than 50 calories!  These two foods are super foods because they provide additional amazing health benefits with consumption, for example prevention of cancer, removal of toxins from our body, repair sun damaged skin, protect our heart from inflammation that may cause a heart attack or stroke, and enhance the immune system. 

By Emily Barr, MS, RD, CNSC