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The Science of Good Eating

By Nissa Simon
July 2008

Chef Pepín: Stirring the Soul (Spring 2008)

Good Foods That Are Good for You (December 2007/
January 2008)

Cooking With Cupid (February/
March 2007)
Scientists—like mothers—admonish us to eat fruits and vegetables. And why not? Research shows that fruits, vegetables, and other plant foods are packed with naturally occurring substances known as antioxidants and phytochemicals, which help prevent disease and boost the immune system. Some recent findings:

A toast to your tummy
Red wine may protect not only your heart, but your stomach. According to a study at the University of Missouri-Columbia, red wine and grape juice inhibit the growth of food-borne bacteria that cause illness but don't harm the bacteria needed for a healthy digestive system.

Lead researcher Azlin Mustapha says that because the study was conducted in test tubes, it's not certain that the effect will be the same in humans, but achieving similar results looks likely.

"Saint Paul knew what he was talking about when he recommended that Timothy drink a little wine for his stomach's sake," says gastroenterologist Howard Spiro, M.D., emeritus professor of medicine at Yale University. (Findings presented at the 2007 Institute of Food Technologists conference in Chicago in July.)

Packed peanuts
Consider a handful of boiled peanuts when you're blindsided by a snack attack. "Both the shell and the red skin of peanuts are loaded with antioxidants," says Lloyd Walker of Alabama A&M University. "Eating peanuts that have been shelled and skinned before roasting robs us of these naturally occurring substances," but peanuts boiled in the shell absorb the health-promoting antioxidants.

To prove the point, Walker and his colleagues turned their laboratory into a test kitchen: They boiled raw peanuts in the shell. They also roasted peanut kernels in oil or dry-roasted them. When they tested antioxidant levels in the different group, the boiled peanuts won hands down. (Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, Oct. 31, 2007)

Avid for avocados
In another test-tube study, scientists at Ohio State University in Columbus pitted phytochemicals extracted from avocados against cells that lead to oral cancer. They found that not only did the extracts prevent precancerous cells from developing into cancers, they didn't harm normal cells.

"We can't make precise recommendations about how much avocado is beneficial because our work was done in the laboratory and not with people," says lead author Steven M. D'Ambrosio. "But most of us don't eat nearly as many fruits and vegetables as we should." (Seminars in Cancer Biology, December 2007)

What's the secret in greens?
What is it about leafy green vegetables that makes every nutrition expert repeatedly nag us to eat them? One thing is the chemical nitrite, which the body stores in the heart and brain. "If a heart attack or stroke occurs, nitrite is converted to nitric oxide to protect the cells from injury," says David Lefer, M.D., of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York.

Lefer and his colleagues found that spiking the drinking water of laboratory animals with the amount of nitrite equivalent to a serving of spinach salad significantly limited the damage caused by a heart attack. All leafy greens, including lettuce, are rich in nitrites; so are beets and celery. (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Nov. 12, online edition)

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Originally published in May 2008 in AARP Bulletin Today

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