Those of you that read this blog frequently know that I think Mediterranean-style eating is a key factor (along with a regular exercise program) in health. I don’t believe that you need to be a strict vegan, but I do believe that you should emphasize plant-based foods; and foods that come from plant-eating animals (fish, eggs, milk). The closer our food is to the earth, the healthier we are likely to be.

Research is often conducted to reveal that some nutrient or other has a particular benefit. Such research is almost always done by observing the effects of eating real foods rich in the specific nutrient being researched, then showing that those who eat more of the food have more of the benefit. The conclusion is drawn that some specific nutrient is the cause of the benefit, rather than some unknown combination of nutrients found in the real food.  The food marketing mentality then makes the unwarranted leap to the conclusion that the isolated nutrient, put into a pill, can bestow the same benefits as eating the whole foods.

This has been going on for a long time in the world of vitamins and minerals, and now in the new frontier of antioxidants. Now the public is snatching processed foods off the shelves, so long as the word ‘antioxidants’ is plastered on the front of the package. In order to exploit this marketing edge, the food processors are buying all kinds of inventive new additive substances, molecules that may have the same chemical signature as some of the ‘antioxidants’ found in fruits and vegetables.  At best, these additives may actually be distilled or extracted from plants. The problem with this method appears that rather than isolated antioxidants, the benefits may come from a combination of them, or maybe from a complex pattern or mixture, including unidentified substances found only in the whole food.

Jeffrey B. Blumberg, Ph.D. is the Senior Scientist and Director of the Antioxidants Research Laboratory at Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging. I have enjoyed reading the results of his research over the years because he focuses on the prevention of disease. I realize from my experience at UCLA that these chief research scientists have huge staffs, but they do guide and direct the focus of the team. Having said that, you won’t be surprised to know that I was pleased to read some small part of an interview with him during February 2010.

Blumberg discussed antioxidants in his interview with NutraIngredients, “The issue that I have is that we’re talking about thousands of different compounds with wildly different chemical structures, but they’re covered by one term. And that term implies one mechanism of action.” He goes on to say, “It’s simplification that could get us into trouble.” He points out that the practice of using a certain assay, which may emphasize one measure of antioxidant action, is, “…Not fair,” “It’s misleading marketing.” He says that the assays equate different antioxidants “as somehow equivalent. It doesn’t tell us anything about bioavailability, antagonism, and synergies.” That is, can our bodies absorb and use these compounds, do two or more defeat the good effects of one another, or do they work together? His question, “But which antioxidant, in what form, and in what combination?” is one that the food processors want to gloss over. They thrive on ignorance and fads, and thus are able to sell their product before the consumer learns that eating root vegetables, for example, is not the same as eating a highly processed salty or sweet food invention with ‘antioxidants added.’

I like the way Carrie A. Thompson and her coauthors at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine reported on their research. They went straight to the food issue. It was a study that looked at the benefits of antioxidants on non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. They found that antioxidant nutrients found in fruits, vegetables and other foods are thought to inhibit carcinogenesis and to influence immune status.  “These results support a role for vegetables, and perhaps fruits and associated antioxidants from food sources, as protective factors against the development of non-Hodgkin lymphoma and follicular lymphoma in particular.” The looked at multivitamin use and supplements containing some of the prominent nutrients found in the foods, and found no benefits from them. The researchers said, “Most studies have not shown an association with supplemental intake of antioxidant nutrients, suggesting that any association is likely to be mediated through foods.” They believe that their research implies that interaction between antioxidants and other compounds in foods, not individual nutrients are responsible for the reduced risk of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

A third study, the ATTICA study, from the School of Medicine at the University of Athens, in Greece finds that dietary antioxidants are associated with improved glycemic biomarkers in both healthy adults, and in diabetic patients. Their hypothesis is that a diet high in antioxidants (they evaluated adherence to the Mediterranean diet) could be correlated with lower levels of inflammation, glucose and insulin resistance, which are markers for diabetes. If you don’t want diabetes, try consuming more vegetables and fruit

Not Just Knowing, but Eating

Finding Antioxidants while Rooting around in the Vegetable Bin

Knowing that vegetables are loaded with antioxidants, vitamins, minerals and fiber is one thing.  Knowledge is good. Doing something to get these foods into your mouth is another thing– acting on valid knowledge is better. The recipe below is different from regular boiled turnips or parsnips. These veggies tend to be refused by some kids.  Hopefully, these yummy ways to prepare vegetables will entice kids to end the root vegetable struggle. The roasting makes the vegetables take on a slightly sweet taste. The soft, slightly caramelized vegetables are worth the effort toward your goal of actually getting the vegetables into tummies.

Hints: I made lots more than we could eat in one meal. They were welcome at subsequent meals, even boasting good tasting transitions in flavor in subsequent servings.  When they were gone there was a sigh of disappointment. I could have used my leftover roasted roots in a soup, but they vanished so quickly that I didn’t have time to get them in the soup pot. Roasted vegetable soups and bisques seem to be the rage in fine dining lately, so you may want to horde some of your leftovers to make soup. Below the recipe, I’ve posted pictures to help you identify the roots; somehow I missed snapping the parsnip’s picture (it’s the long white carrot-shaped vegetable lying in the middle of the ‘group shot.’)

Selecting and managing root vegetables

• Choose root vegetables that are heavy for their size – pick up a few, to see if you can sense a difference.

• Look at the vegetable and avoid, bruises, soft spots, and wrinkles. This means that they’re drying out. (This advice applies to vegetables – Not grandmas).

• If the greens are still attached, try to purchase some that are not too wilted or dark.

• If you do buy the vegetable with the greens, cut them off when you get them home. The greens will draw moisture from the root vegetable. Note: I cut the greens from the beets that I purchased for this recipe; you will see the beet greens in a ‘soon-to-be-posted’ recipe (a delicious lentil, vegetable, and wheat  berry soup – enjoyed, but not yet named.)

• Turnips and Rutabagas are members of the cruciferous vegetable family (some others are: mustard, cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprout, cauliflower, Horseradish, kale, collard greens, Chinese broccoli, bok choy, broccoli rabe, arugula, garden cress, watercress, radish, daikon, and wasabi.)

Summary: Adding chemicals or processed food extracts called “antioxidants” to long-shelf life processed food products has not been shown to bestow the same benefits as selecting, preparing, and eating the whole foods. Most research that shows benefits was done with whole foods, not with the processed foods with additives, or with supplement pills. There is more profit for food manufacturers and less spoilage and loss, in long-shelf life processed food products. Thus, more money is available to spend on marketing to make these profitable substitutes for real foods appear to have the same benefits.  The real foods do not have a long shelf life.  You have to inspect them and avoid those that are already drying out, damaged, or spoiling.  Unlike the trivial preparation and eat-on-the-run aspect of processed foods, they require preparation and cooking time, and this investment in time deserves a social time together to savor and enjoy the food and the companionship.

The benefits of giving time, love, and care in preparing and enjoying real foods together with family and friends more than replaces the savings in time and work of eating processed foods.  Good health and happy times together at meals provide physical, social, and mental health and well-being.  This life-style factor was always a part of the traditional Mediterranean style of eating.

Medley of Roasted Roots

Learning the technique for roasting vegetables (which is one of the easiest things you can do) is a habit that you and your family will be glad that you got into.

Ingredients:

1 large rutabaga, peeled and trimmed, cut into 1½ inch pieces

1 medium turnip, peeled and trimmed, cut into 1½ inch pieces

1 large kohlrabi, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks

1 large celery root, trimmed, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks

4 medium carrots, peeled and trimmed, cut into 1½ inch pieces

2 or 3 medium red potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 1 inch pieces

1 medium parsnip, peeled, trimmed, and cut into 1-inch-thick slices

1 large onion, trimmed, peeled with root left intact, cut into eight or ten pieces through washed off root (See picture – how the root helps hold the onion sections together.)

3 medium to large beets, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks

1½ teaspoon minced garlic

2 tablespoons fresh limejuice

2 teaspoons of dried thyme or basil leaves

Sprinkle with black pepper

Extra-virgin olive oil, enough to coat vegetables

Directions

Preheat the oven to 415 degrees F.

Put all the vegetables in a large bowl and toss with lime juice, pepper, thyme and garlic. Spread on baking sheets. Bake in the oven; stir about every 15 minutes, until they are tender and lightly browned, about 45 minutes.