Phytochemicals for Everyone

cooking

Jan 8

Low fat? High fiber? Increased variety? Each is an important nutrition message. If you had to choose just one, what would it be? Here are answers from our professional readers.Plant Based DietOne theme does include all of these. The 5 A Day Campaign, The Dietary Guidelines for Americans and numerous health organizations recommend a plant-based diet.Making our diets more plant based offers many benefits: high fiber,nutrient dense, low fat and low saturated fat.Phytochemicals are another benefit of a plant based diet and are strongly implicated in the prevention of numerous cancers, heart disease and high blood pressure.Beverly Clevidence, PhD, research nutritionist at the USDA’s Phytonutrient Laboratory in Beltsville, MD, says, “phytochemicals are not essential for life and growth like vitamins are, but they seem to promote health.”Clevidence also notes, “Phytochemicals are components of fruits and vegetables that have potential for promoting health but for which there is no RDA.”Nutrition Tool For All ThemesPhytochemical facts are an extremely flexible tool in getting the message out about the importance of consuming a plant-based diet. Besides just fruits and vegetables, soy products, nuts, seeds, herbs and teas are included in the plant-based definition. While there seems to be something good for everyone, the benefits can still be targeted to specific audiences.Men may be very interested in hearing about lycopene’s potential against prostate cancer.Women want to hear about the role of broccoli in fighting breast cancer. They are also interested in the benefits of the phytoestrogens in soy for reducing menopause symptoms.Phytochemical FactsPhytochemical facts encourage new parents to include these foods in family meals to teach their children to enjoy foods that will reduce the risk of chronic diseases, such as heart disease and cancerSince many of the beneficial phytochemicals can only be obtained from the plant itself or are not effective in supplement form, the use of whole foods is reinforced.The fun part about this nutrition message is that the research is so new. Many more beneficial phytochemicals are waiting to be discovered.Phytochemical facts and lists are a nutrition tool that advocates numerous messages, including encouraging a plant-based diet.USDA research and chart by Hollis Bass, MEd, RD. Nutrition education tips by Cathy Moore, RD, Cornell Cooperative Extension.

plant foodsHTN

Judy Doherty, MPS, PCII

Judy’s passion for cooking began with helping her grandmother make raisin oatmeal for breakfast. From there, she earned her first food service job at 15, was accepted to the world-famous Culinary Institute of America at 18 (where she graduated second in her class), and went on to the Fachschule Richemont in Switzerland, where she focused on pastry arts and baking. After a decade in food service for Hyatt Hotels, Judy launched Food and Health Communications to focus on flavor and health. She graduated with Summa Cum Laude distinction from Johnson and Wales University with a BS in Culinary Arts, holds a master’s degree in Food Business from the Culinary Institute of America, two art certificates from UC Berkeley Extension, and runs a food photography & motion studio where her love is creating fun recipes and content.

Judy received The Culinary Institute of America’s Pro Chef II certification, the American Culinary Federation Bronze Medal, Gold Medal, and ACF Chef of the Year. Her enthusiasm for eating nutritiously and deliciously leads her to constantly innovate and use the latest nutritional science and Dietary Guidelines to guide her creativity, from putting new twists on fajitas to adapting Italian brownies to include ingredients like toasted nuts and cooked honey. Judy’s publishing company, Food and Health Communications, is dedicated to her vision that everyone can make food that tastes as good as it is for you.

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