Rainforest
VEGETABLES
The complex environments of our rainforests provide living, breathing, renewable, natural resources, including food, clothing, fuel, spices, industrial raw materials and life saving medicines. At least 80% of the developed world's diet originated in the rainforests.
Most people are not aware of the bountiful gifts, which originate in the rainforest, including major important foods of today such as potatoes, beets, beans, green beans, squash, rice, many spices, tropical fruits and others. The ecosystem in the Amazon Rainforest is unlike any place on earth and its wealth of vegetables, fruits and herbs are super rich in phytonutrients.
"PHYTO"
Our digestive system is efficient in digesting and absorbing nutrients from fruits and
vegetables. It is now understood that we obtain the basic three food groups from
vegetables, that is—fats, proteins and carbohydrates. We need them for tissue repair,
growth and development and the production of hormones, enzymes and other substances. We
also get energy in the form of calories from them.
A whole new area has come into view the last few years—what the scientific
community calls "phytochemicals." In the nutrition industry, we call them
"phytonutrients." Actually, both terms are correct. They are chemicals and also
nutrients. "Phyto" is the term used in botany, herbal science and in the
scientific and natural health communities to label any substance coming from a plant. The
term actually comes from the Greek word phyton, meaning "a plant." So then,
phytonutrients are nutritional substances that come from plants.
SPECIFIC PHYTONUTRIENTS
Numerous phytonutrients have been identified and isolated. Yet common sense tells us that there are many more.
A partial listing of some of them includes allyl sulfides in garlic, onions, leeks, chives and shallots; capsaicin in chili peppers; polyphenol catechins in green and black teas; carnosol in rosemary; lignans in flaxseed; glycerrhizin in licorice root; limonenes in citrus fruits; sulforaphane in broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, turnips and kale; lycopene in tomatoes, red grapefruit, watermelon and apricots; alpha-carotene in carrots and seaweed;
Beta-carotene in carrots, squash, apricots, peaches, red, yellow and dark green vegetables; lutein/zeaxanthin in yellow squash, spinach, collards, mustard and turnip greens; polyphenols (bioflavonoids) in red grapes and wine, artichokes, strawberries and blueberries; anthocyanins in cranberries and currents;
Gingerol in gingeroot; phytic acid in rye, rice, lima beans, sesame seeds, peanuts and certain legumes; phenethyl isothiocyanates in horseradish, mustard, cabbage and turnips; saponins in kidney beans, chickpeas and lentils; monoterpenes in basil, carrots, parsley, mint, cabbage, citrus and caraway seeds; indoles in Brussels sprouts, cabbage, kale and dark green leafy vegetables.
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