What Are Phytonutrients?

Even though phytonutrients are not essential to life, they are important parts of the plants that we eat each day, which makes them worth knowing about. It is also believed that these lesser nutrients can help promote human health. According to the Merrriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary a phytochemical is "a bioactive plant-derived compound associated with positive health effects". It is interesting to note that the term "phyton" is from the Greek word meaning plant. Some of the best sources of phytonutrients are fruits, vegetables, grains, legumes, nuts, and teas. Phytonutrients are sometimes referred to as "phytochemicals." Though there are many phytonutrients, the two biggest categories are Carotenoids and Flavanoids (also known as Polyphenols).

The carotenoids are probably the most well known of the phytochemicals. These are the fruits and vegetables with red, orange, and yellow pigments. It is believed that fruits and vegetables that contain high amounts of carotenoids can help to protect people from certain cancers, and even heart disease. There are different categories of caroteniods (like beta-carotine and lycopene), but here is a brief list of some of the fruits and vegetables that contain some form of carotenoid; carrots, broccoli, sweet potato, pumpkin, peaches, apricot, kale, spinach, grapefruit, watermelon, tomatoes and guava.

According to Williams' Essentials of Diet & Nutrition, "polyphenols are the largest group of phytochemicals" (Schlenker, Long, 2007, Pp. 42). Not only found in fruits and vegetables, polyphenols are also found in grains, legumes, spices, herbs and teas. Polyphenolic compounds, another fancy name for polyphenols, are also known as secondary plant metabolites. Some foods that have good amounts of polyphenols include onions, apples, tea, red wine, red grapes, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, and even some nuts.

One of the more popular phytochemicals that has been in the news lately is Resveratrol. Resveratrol is found in grapes, all colors of them, which is the reason why red wine gets it's good reputation. White wines also contain some Resveratrol, but not near as much as the potency found in red wines. It seems the redder the wine (or grape) the more Resveratrol it contains. This chemical is being used to fight cancer, as an anti-aging aide and help get that excess weight off.

Sources:
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary (2006). Springfield, Mass.
Schlenker, E. & Long, S. (2007). Williams' Essentials of Diet & Nutrition. Mosby Elsevier. St. Louis, Missouri.