Are all the nutrients required to sustain life and health available in our foods and supplements? Hardly. Despite food fortification, important nutrients may still be missing. It’s difficult for the best modern diet to provide adequate amounts of bran, bioflavonoids, xanthophylls, and omega-3s.
In the past, researchers searched for missing nutrients. They found that the epidemics of beri beri, pellagra, rickets, and scurvy were caused by deficiencies of thiamin, niacin, vitamin D, and vitamin C, respectively. These were major medical achievements. Here is a whirlwind look at the various nutrients we may be losing.
In the case of scurvy, British sailors were nicknamed "limeys" in the late 1700s because they carried vitamin C-rich limes on their ships to stave off the disease. Even after vitamin C was first synthesized by Romanian researcher, Svent Gyorgi, in the 1930s, not all cases of scurvy were remedied until bioflavonoids (a phytochemical), from citrus rinds, were included in the vitamin.
Evidence suggests vitamin C is an incomplete vitamin without the capillary strengthening, antihistamine, antiviral, collagen-boosting properties of bioflavonoids (a phytochemical), such as those found in berries, cherries, and grapes. Hence, it makes sense to purchase vitamin C supplements with bioflavonoids.
Another phytochemical, xanthophylls, a family of carotenoid pigments (that includes lutein and zeaxanthin), are recognized for their role in protecting the human retina. One study reveals that 60-year-olds with sufficient retinal lutein levels will exhibit the same visual light sensitivity as a 20-year-old! Without xanthophylls, which are found in dark-green leafy vegetables such as spinach and kale, the human visual system is at greater risk for cataracts and retinal disease. No daily requirement for xanthophylls has been established to date, but there is growing recognition that they are essential for maintenance of the human visual system.
Then there’s the loss of omega-3 fats in our diets. Let’s take fish eating for example. Unlike "wild" fish, farm-raised fish do not get to eat the algae required for omega-3 fat production. Hence, the important omega-3 fats are not passed along to humans when they eat farm-raised fish. This change in the food supply contributes to the statistic that eight in 10 Americans are deficient in essential omega-3 fats required for proper nervous system function. Like the xanthophylls, there is no daily requirement for essential omega-3 fats.
In the early 1900s, human populations who consumed processed rice began to exhibit pellagra symptoms, including dermatitis and gastrointestinal disorders. Casimir Funk, who coined the word "vitamine," was given a supply of rice polishings and commissioned to examine their contents to see if they contained disease-fighting properties.
Funk put those rice polishings aside and eventually found the cure for pellagra and other B-vitamin deficiencies in yeast. Although processed foods are fortified with B vitamins, the other nutritional components in the rice hull, particularly bran, are not added back in. For instance, rice bran contains vitamin E, inositol, gamma oryzanol, tocotrienols, and phytic acid (also known as inositol hexaphosphate, or IP-6), a mineral chelator and antioxidant found in every living human cell. Most of these nutrients are lost through processing.
Antioxidant-rich Foods
Living tissues require an array of antioxidants — anti-rusting agents that hinder disease and slow down the aging process. Among the family of antioxidants are the phytochemicals I mentioned, known as bioflavonoids. These are found in berries, cherries, grapes and citrus fruit rinds. But surprisingly, research has shown that pomegranate juice exhibits three times greater antioxidant activity than other bioflavonoids such as red wine or green tea. Only recently has pomegranate juice and encapsulated pomegranate extract become widely available.
For cooking, rice bran oil is a desirable cooking oil because of its antioxidant content, its cholesterol-lowering properties, and for the pleasant flavor it adds to foods. French fries cooked in rice bran oil aren’t greasy.
Rice bran oil’s secret lies in its antioxidants — one to two percent of rice bran is tocotrienols (a vitamin E compound), and detoxifying chemicals called gamma-oryzanol. Rice bran oil reduces cholesterol better than olive oil, which is considered the heart-healthy choice. Combining rice bran and safflower oil in a 7-to-3 ratio lowers cholesterol better than either oil individually.
Bill Sardi is a health journalist writing from Diamond Bar, CA. He is the author of The Iron Timebomb (Bill Sardi, 1999).