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Publix GreenWise Market Magazine - January 2008
Nutritional New Math
 In school we learned that 1 + 1 = 2. But by pairing the right foods, the answer might add up to 3.
What's better than a fresh salad bursting with juicy tomatoes and crisp carrots? That same salad topped with a spoonful of full-fat dressing! And not just because it tastes good. Fats do something important: They help your body absorb beta-carotene and other antioxidants. That's an example of food synergy, a new spin on the old adage that the whole is sometimes greater than the sum of its parts.
"Food synergy is the idea that two things work together more strongly than either can alone," says David Jacobs, Ph.D., professor of epidemiology and researcher at the University of Minnesota. "It's the concept that it's better to look at [whole] foods than at single components of food."
BFF FOODS
See what researchers are finding out about how "best friends forever" foods enhance each other:
- A little fat can be a good thing. Research published in the Journal of Nutrition (March 2005) found that adding avocado to salad or salsa boosts the body's uptake of beta- carotene, lycopene and other carotenoids. These antioxidants, found in dark green and deep yellow-orange fruits and vegetables, may help protect cells from cancer. The healthy fats in avocado whisk these helpful substances into the blood.
- Meats, poultry and fish pump up plant iron. Plant foods contain a form of iron that isn't absorbed as well as the iron in meats. But include a small amount of meat in your meal and you'll also capture more fatigue-fighting iron from the plant foods on your plate, according to a study published in the British Journal of Nutrition (July 2005). The researchers say the iron compounds in meats mix with the plant form of iron to make it more user-friendly.
- Bones need more than calcium to stay strong. In fact, an entire orchestra of nutrients is needed to play the right tune. The Journal of Bone and Mineral Research (April 2007) reported that bone health improved in women who took in extra vitamin K along with supplements of calcium and vitamin D. But women who took just calcium and vitamin D didn't see a similar improvement. Note: Though this study used supplements, good food sources of vitamin K include leafy greens (kale, spinach, collard and mustard greens), brussels sprouts and broccoli.
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THE WHOLE TRUTH
Swallow a multivitamin and you'll get a couple dozen nutrients. But fruits, vegetables and whole grains contain thousands of other health-promoting substances, and they work together in ways we're just now beginning to clearly understand.
"You can't isolate any one compound and say it's the magic bullet," says Elizabeth Pivonka, Ph.D., R.D., and president of the Produce for Better Health Foundation. "It's all the naturally occurring compounds in plant-based foods working together that provide health benefits."
Isolated parts of foods may not do the trick, either. "We used to think it was the fiber in wheat bran that had the health benefits," says Jacobs. "Now we know it's more complex than that." Whole wheat contains dozens of disease-fighting chemicals in the kernel, germ and bran layers. Many studies of fiber alone have been disappointing, but research shows foods containing whole grains protect against heart disease and cancer.
GET SYNERGIZED
How can you harness synergy in your diet? Focus on your total eating pattern. "It's the whole package of biochemicals and phytonutrients that seems to be helpful," says Jacobs. "We are literally what we eat." Research confirms that certain dietary patterns provide powerful protection against disease.
High blood pressure. The DASH Diet (short for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) emphasizes eating lots of fruits and vegetables. Research published nearly a decade ago (Hypertension, September 1999) showed that high fruit and veggie intake lowered blood pressure. When low-fat dairy foods were added to the diet, people's blood pressure dropped more. Combining those two habits with lower sodium intake led to even lower blood pressure.
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| High blood cholesterol. If cholesterol is your bugaboo, don't just focus on avoiding saturated fat. Eat high-fiber and phytochemical-rich foods and you might lower blood cholesterol as much as if you took a statin drug. A study by an international team of researchers (The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, February 2005) reported that nearly a third of the people who ate a diet rich in soy, oats, nuts, certain high-fiber vegetables and margarine fortified with plant sterols lowered their cholesterol by a surprising 20 percent.
Heart disease and diabetes. The Mediterranean diet focuses on fruits and vegetables, whole grains, legumes, fish and olive oil, along with small amounts of dairy, meat and wine. It's rich in nutrients and phytochemicals and low in saturated fat and refined sugars. Some nutrition experts estimate that a Mediterranean style of eating, along with exercise and not smoking, could prevent more than 80 percent of all heart disease and 90 percent of type 2 diabetes.
So go ahead. Toss a little full-fat dressing on your salad and add a bit of red meat to that vegetable stir-fry without feeling a trace of guilt. The goal is moderation and variety. Eat a biochemically rich diet of whole foods and you'll be giving your cells an orchestra to make beautiful music with. Call it a synergy symphony.
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Perfect Pairs
Put these surprisingly healthful food combinations to work for you. Healthy fat + vegetables = more phytonutrients
- Drizzle olive oil vinaigrette on a salad of baby spinach, shredded carrots and red onion.
- Mash avocado, add some lycopene-rich tomato salsa and spike with lime juice to make a crowd-pleasing guacamole dip.
Iron foods + vitamin C foods = more iron
- Serve black beans with a generous spoonful of salsa and a sliced orange.
- Top whole grain cereal with sliced strawberries.
- Sauté brown rice and tofu with red and green bell peppers.
Calcium + vitamin K = stronger bones
- Make a nutrient-packed quiche with broccoli, eggs and low-fat milk.
- Sauté chard and garlic in olive oil, then sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
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Keep it Simple
It's easy to get confused by messages to eat so many servings of this or that, says Elizabeth Pivonka, Ph.D., R.D., but you can take a simpler approach. "Just fill half your plate with fruits and vegetables," she suggests. Stock your kitchen with fresh, frozen, canned and dried produce along with 100 percent juice. As Pivonka points out, "When you have all these different forms of fruits and vegetables in your pantry, you're more likely to include lots of them in your diet."
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