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Advanced nutrition for everyday health

Do You Want to Significantly Improve Your Health?
Eating more brightly coloured fruit and vegetables is a simple way to dramatically improve your health. A research report published in March 2014 found that eating 7 or more portions of fruit and vegetables daily reduces risk of death from any cause, at any point in time, by a whopping 42%.1

Despite these staggering statistics, the unfortunate truth is that very few people manage to achieve anything near this. The last National Diet and Nutrition Survey (NDNS) found  that only 31% of adults aged 19 to 64, and 37% of adults aged 65 and over are achieving the bare minimum recommendation of 5 portions daily. We now know that it’s 7 or even 9 portions a day that will provide significantly greater benefits.

Why Are Fruits & Vegetables So Good For You?

Acid: Alkaline Balance
Much has been written in the press recently about the benefits of an alkaline diet and this is one of the reasons why including more fresh fruits and vegetables in your diet is so good for you. Increasing intake of fresh fruits and vegetables promotes a more alkaline pH, which in turn can positively influence many aspects of your health including energy levels, cancer risk, immune balance, blood sugar balance, diabetes risk and much more. In addition to eating more fruits and vegetables, increasing your intake of the minerals potassium, zinc and magnesium can also help to alkalise the diet too.

Bone Health
Calcium-rich foods such as dairy products are commonly linked with bone health, yet few people are aware that fruits and vegetables can have a significant impact on bone health too. Fruits and vegetables promote an alkaline pH, which is the perfect internal environment to build healthy bones. When the pH is more acidic, as is brought about by a typical Western diet, calcium must be released from the bones to bring the pH back into balance; over time this weakens the bones and increases the risk of osteoporosis. In complete contrast, a diet rich in fresh fruits and vegetables helps to build strong, healthy bones and can help to reduce the risk of osteoporosis.

Immune Benefits
The immune-supporting benefits of fruits and vegetables are widely known and there is a strong association between a high intake of fruits and vegetables and a low risk of chronic disease. Fruits and vegetables contain a wide variety of vitamins, trace minerals, dietary fibre and phytonutrients, which work together to support immune health via antiviral, antioxidant and antibacterial effects. Micronutrients such as carotenoids, flavonoids and vitamin C, of which fruit and vegetables are rich sources, have been found to improve immune function. The acai fruit in particular, has been found to be supportive of a robust immune system and is a useful addition to a well balanced diet.

Detoxification
Broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts and cabbage are often referred to as ‘superfoods’ – they are all part of the cruciferous family of vegetables, which are particularly helpful for supporting balanced detoxification processes.

Oestrogen Balance
Cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli and cauliflower contain specific phytochemicals that can support a healthy balance of oestrogen in the body. These phytochemicals have also been shown to have immune-supporting and anti-cancer effects.

Antioxidants
Brightly coloured fruits and vegetables are packed full of antioxidant nutrients, which form part of your body’s daily defence against damaging free radicals and harmful environmental toxins. The more antioxidants you consume in your daily diet, the better equipped you will be to fend off free radical attacks and reduce your risk of chronic disease.

How to increase your fruit & veg intake…
Hopefully, after reading this you’ll be inspired to up your intake of fresh fruits and vegetables. Our best advice is to set yourself a realistic target that you know you absolutely can stick to. Start by increasing your intake by an extra portion daily, then once this has become habit, add another one, and so on; that way your new habits are more likely to stick.

What happens when life is too busy?
However, there are still likely to be those times when a busy life gets in the way of your best intentions and your intake falls short. That’s when a ready made and easy to take blend of superfoods comes in handy. It’s not a substitute for eating an array of brightly coloured fresh fruits and vegetables daily but can be useful as a daily back up to boost your intake if you know your intake isn’t as good as it could be, or just handy to have in for those occasions when time falls short or during particularly busy and stressful periods.

What to look for in a superfood formula:
The good news is that whilst a concentrated fruit and vegetables powder formulation is no substitute for the real thing there are additional benefits if you choose to include one in your daily diet.

✓ Superfood ingredients that are particularly beneficial to health and are often missed as part of a normal daily diet including acai berries, bilberries, ginger root and turmeric.
 Antioxidant power of over 20 servings of fruit and vegetables.

‘Red’ fruits such as strawberries, raspberries, cranberries and other brightly coloured berries that are known to be particularly high in antioxidants and other beneficial phytonutrients.

‘Green’ foods including spirulina, chlorella, green tea extract, kale, broccoli and kelp, which support a healthy alkaline balance.

✓ Beneficial fibres to support healthy elimination.

 Digestive enzymes to support healthy digestion.

No added sugar, no stimulants and no caffeine.

 A powder formulation also ticks the boxes for speed, ease and convenience and is tasty too!

References
1. Oyebode, O., Gordon-Deseagu, V., Walker, A., and Mindell, J.S. Fruit and vegetable consumption and all-cause, cancer and CVD mortality: analysis of Health Survey for England data. J Epidemiol Community Health. (2014) Mar 31. doi: 10.1136/jech-2013- 203500. [Epub ahead of print]

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Nutri Advanced has a thorough research process and for any references included, each source is scrutinised beforehand. We aim to use the highest value source where possible, referencing peer-reviewed journals and official guidelines in the first instance before alternatives. You can learn more about how we ensure our content is accurate at time of publication on our editorial policy.