World's Healthiest Foods newsletter

Joined: 22 Jan 2007
Posts: 94
Location: www.nutritionucanlivewith.com
Posted: Tue Sep 25, 2007 8:56 am Post subject: Information: World's Healthiest Foods newsletter

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Dear Friends, The World's Healthiest Foods newsletter features beets this week, an excellent food for those with PD. For some folks, it even has a slight laxative effect. The following may be of interest. Best, Kathrynne

Food of the Week . . . Beets

Did you know that the pigment that provides the rich red color of beets is also a powerful antioxidant and cancer fighting agent? Beet roots contain a unique class of phytonutrients called betalains. Betacyanin is the red pigment that is concentrated in red beets, and betaxanthin, the yellow-orange pigment found in yellow beets. These health-promoting phytonutrient pigments may be partially responsible for beets' suggested role as a chemoprotective food. In one study, liver antioxidant enzymes were found to increase in animals fed beet fiber. Since these enzymes protect the liver from free radicals, they are thought to prevent the beginnings of cancerous activity. In a human clinical trial, beet juice was found to be a potent inhibitor of cell mutations that are normally caused by nitrosamines, metabolic byproducts of nitrates, which are chemical preservatives commonly used in processed meats. It turns out that beet roots are not the only part of the plant offering protection against free radical damage—beet greens also have amazing antioxidant potential. In one study that compared them to spinach, broccoli, carrots, onions and celery, beet greens were found to have the highest phenolic phytonutrient content as well as the greatest ability to absorb oxygen radicals (a marker of their antioxidant capacity).
Read more:

http://whfoods.org/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=49
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Best regards,
Kathrynne Holden, MSL