EAT YOUR FRUITS & VEGTABLES

I’m sure that at one point in your life you heard a parent or grandparent say, “eat your fruits and vegetables.” It’s one of those things that always made sense to me – how could you go wrong eating things that nature has provided for us growing in the ground? As with most things, as time goes on, we learn more about why things are good or bad for us.

Over the past 30 years or so, research has been conducted to better understand why fruits and vegetables are so important to good health. Here are some highlights of that research:

#1 – Better able to maintain the normal, healthy elasticity of arteries, even after a high-fat meal; maintain normal levels of homocysteine, a waste product associated with heart health; and demonstrated positive effects on several other measures of vascular health.

#2 – Supports key measures of immune system function.

#3 – Helps improve skin hydration, skin thickness, and circulation in skin capillaries.

#4 – Helped improve gum health and diminish bleeding in a periodontal study.

#5 – Antioxidants from fruits and vegetables fight oxidative stress and help you maintain optimal health. 

#6 – DNA may become damaged and fragile when exposed to oxidative stress; antioxidants from fruits and vegetables can help maintain healthy DNA.

I think it is safe to say that fruits and vegetables are good for us. They are certainly better for our bodies than all the processed foods available. The big problem most people have, including me, is that it is difficult to consume the amount of fruits and vegetable that we should daily.

In the 1980’s-90’s juicing became a craze in an effort to get more fruits and vegetables into our diet. But juicing, while very healthful, can be expensive, time-consuming, and messy. It is a tough thing to stick with. Enter a product called Juice Plus+®.

I am a fairly big skeptic when it comes to “products” that are supposed to make me healthier. The difference with Juice Plus+ is that the only ingredients in the product are concentrated fruits and vegetables. In fact, the research I mentioned above was all done using Juice Plus+.

One of the bigger selling points for me has been the research on chronic inflammation. Re-read the research in bullet point #4. We know that a significant percentage of the population has some form of gum disease. Gum disease is chronic inflammation. Those with gum disease typically have higher systemic markers of inflammation.

Chronic systemic inflammation is invisible, and can contribute to an increased risk for developing chronic health conditions. Investigators at the University of South Carolina found Juice Plus+ significantly decreased levels of three key biomarkers of inflammation.

I have been taking Juice Plus+ for over ten years and it is one of those rare products that I promote because of the research behind it. To find out more about Juice Plus+ you can “Google” it or drop me an email.

Dr. St. Clair maintains a private dental practice in Rowley and Newburyport dedicated to health-centered family dentistry. He has a special interest in treating snoring, sleep apnea and TMJ problems. If there are certain topics you would like to see written about or questions you have, please email them to him at jpstclair@stclairdmd.com