nutrition
plant based eating Written by Laurie McBride RD, CSOWM,LD
What do you think about when you think of summer? Do you think about the scent of freshly cut grass, the warm sunshine on your skin, the colors of the season brightening up your surroundings? Summertime is an ideal opportunity to boost your intake of fresh produce and with so many fruits and vegetables in season that are readily available, it’s easy to include a variety in your meals and snacks. Not only is it a great idea to increase consumption of fruits and vegetables, increasing consumption of all plants can have significant health benefits and studies suggest it can prevent disease. Eating more plants can provide a plethora of nutrients the body needs like B-vitamins, vitamin C, vitamin A, fiber, iron and phytonutrients. Phytonutrients are 30 july • august 2021
chemical compounds that are found in plant based foods like vegetables, fruits, beans, whole grains and even things like tea, chocolate and wine. There are a few phytonutrients that have been researched and researchers believe that there could be hundreds more that have yet to be identified. The phytonutrients that have been researched and identified suggest major health benefits to including more in your diet. Benefits can include the prevention of heart disease, blood pressure control, prevention of insulin resistance and they are also able to function as antioxidants in the body. In addition to phytonutrients, fiber is another nutrient that is unique to plants. Fiber is a carbohydrate that cannot be broken down by the gastrointestinal tract and
