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The Hidden Healthy Power in Plants

Coming to light, finally, are an incredible set of nutrients found in plants that are becoming more understood as a powerful subset apart from the vitamins and minerals present in plants, having incredible bioactivity in our bodies enhancing the wellness we receive from eating plants or supplementing with plant based, naturally occurring, non synthetic vitamins. You will never find these powerful ingredients in synthetic vitamins or processed foods fortified with synthetic vitamins!

The study of phytochemicals has become more intense over the last decade. Phytochemicals, which include polyphenols, are present in plants, grains, fruits, bark, roots, stems, flowers, tea, wine and vegetables. Flavonoids are natural polyphenols produced by plants that can be further categorized into anthocyanidins, flavanols, flavanones, flavonols, flavones, and isoflavones (4,5). The beneficial properties attributed to plant flavonoids include antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, neuroprotective, anti-carcinogenic and free radical scavenging.

This is a highlight of a few of the multitude of phytonutrients. The sources highlighted are used in Mountain Rescue Nutrients:

Flavonoid: Kaempferoll (Flavonol)

Source: Tea, moringa, spinach, kale, dill, chives, tarragon

Benefits:

antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, anticancer, cardio protective, neuro protective, antidiabetic, antiosteoporotic, estrogenic/antiestrogenic, anxiolytic, analgesic, and antiallergic activities, apoptosis programed cell death (1)

Flavonoid: Luteolin (Flavone)

Source: Celery, parsley, broccoli, onion leaves, carrots, peppers, cabbages, apple skins, and chrysanthemum flowers

Benefits:

anti-carcinogenic, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory (1,2)

Flavonoid: Apigenin (Flavone)

Source: parsley, chamomile, celery, vine-spinach, artichokes, and oregano

Benefits:

anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and anticancer properties(6)

Flavonoid: Tangeretin (Flavone)

Source: Peel of citrus fruits, orange

Benefits:

Lowering cholesterol, anti-tumor activity and neuroprotective action(7)

Flavonoid: Nobiletin (Flavone)

Source: Citrus fruits, orange

Benefits:

neuroprotection, cardiovascular protection, antimetabolic disorder, anticancer, anti-inflammation, and antioxidation (8,9)

Flavonoid: Quercetin (Flavonol)

Source: Green tea, grapes, berries, tomatoes, onions, apples

Benefits:

Antiviral, anti-inflammatory, anti-carcinogenic, antioxidant(10,11)


As you see from this small sample of phytonutrients they have so many benefits that can’t be overlooked. As research continues more co-factors of vitamins, naturally occurring in plants will be discovered. With knowledge of their existence, understanding the power they have to improve your health, the importance of eating organic fruits and vegetables whenever possible should be clear. When you can’t eat properly, using responsibly sourced, organic plant-based vitamins as a supplement must be a priority.

Lets be clear here, 98% of vitamins on store shelves are synthetic, made in a lab, mostly from china, and will not contain any phytonutrients let alone the vitamins and minerals found in nature.

Processed foods are stripped of the natural nutrients including vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients making them hollow of any goodness. Food companies “fortify” the processed foods with synthetic vitamins trying to replace what they ravaged during processing. Don’t be fooled, the synthetic vitamins in no way replace natural ones that are contained in unprocessed fruits and vegetables.

When shopping grab for the colorful fruits and vegetables and some of your favorite herbs and legumes. Red wine even has phytonutrients so don’t be afraid of a nice glass with your meal.

Don’t destroy your health, immune system and your overall well being eating processed, nutrient negative foods! Feed your amazing bodies with the utmost care, you will feel a difference!

In the 30s & 40s Dr Royal Lee (father of holistic nutrition) understood the importance of these co-factors and the multiple molecules involved in the function of the whole vitamin. Dr. Lee believed the simple fact: vitamins are not single chemicals, but rather they are complex groups of interdependent compounds that can be made only by living organisms. A true vitamin, Dr. Lee insisted, is a biological mechanism that can be obtained only from whole, unprocessed foods. This principle—that vitamins are the result of life and their functions are far too complex to be reproduced by human beings” (12)

“In nature a vitamin isn’t a single molecule but rather a part of a family of molecules” (12)

I’ll explore further the life of Dr Royal Lee in a future article.

At Mountain Rescue Nutrients we use only the finest nutrient packed organic plants and concentrate their goodness only using water.

Cheers,

Steve (Oly) Olson

Founder/Managing Partner

Mountain Rescue Nutrients

MrNutrients.com

Certified Nutrition Coach

Autoimmune Researcher

Sources:

(1) https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/kaempferol

(2) Molnár et al., 1981; Selvi et al., 2015; Xia et al., 2016

(3) https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/pharmacology-toxicology-and-pharmaceutical-science/luteolin

(4) Polyphenols: food sources and bioavailability.Manach C, Scalbert A, Morand C, Rémésy C, Jiménez LAm J Clin Nutr. 2004 May; 79(5):727-47.

(5) Nutritionally improved agricultural crops.Newell-McGloughlin M Plant Physiol. 2008 Jul; 147(3):939-53.

(6) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2874462/

(7) https://aphios.com/products/research-chemicals-apis/tangeretin/#:~:text=Source%3A,Rouseff%20and%20Ting%2C%201979)

(8) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5059563/

(9) Citrus nobiletin suppresses inducible nitric oxide synthase gene expression in interleukin-1β-treated hepatocytes.Yoshigai E, Machida T, Okuyama T, Mori M, Murase H, Yamanishi R, Okumura T, Ikeya Y, Nishino H, Nishizawa MBiochem Biophys Res Commun. 2013 Sep 13; 439(1):54-9

(10) https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsomega.0c01818

(11) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4808895/

(12) https://www.drroyallee.com/biography/