People who eat plenty of salads, or raw vegetables in general, typically have higher blood levels of several important nutrients, according to a large study of U.S. adults.
Researchers found that even one serving of raw vegetables a day moved people closer to getting the recommended amounts of vitamins A, E, B6 and folic acid. And as salad and raw vegetable intake increased, so did blood levels of vitamins C and E, folic acid and several carotenoids — antioxidants that give yellow, orange and red hues to many vegetables and fruits.
Unfortunately, few Americans regularly eat raw vegetables, according to the researchers, led by Dr. L. Joseph Su of the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in New Orleans.
Of the nearly 18,000 U.S. adults surveyed, only 18 percent to 38 percent said they ate salads. White women younger than 45 had the highest rate; older African Americans had the lowest.
Overall, salad and vegetable consumers had higher blood levels of a range of nutrients — 15 percent higher, on average, than people who did not eat raw vegetables. They were also two to three times more likely to meet the recommended daily intake for vitamin C.
Color is key; dark leafy greens mingled with red and yellow vegetables are best. Stay away from iceberg lettuce and croutons.
The findings should also help allay any concerns about the body’s ability to absorb certain nutrients from raw vegetables, according to the researchers. Water-soluble vitamins, like vitamin C and many B vitamins, are heat-sensitive, and it’s better to get them through raw vegetables, Arab explained.
-Journal of the American Dietetic Association
Dr. Keith and Laurie Nemec’s comments on raw food eaters have higher levels of key nutrients.
The interesting thing in this study was that the people that ate raw vegetables and salads had a much higher level of certain vital vitamin and mineral nutrients in their blood. The other thing that was interesting in this study was showing that many people, and even researchers have said, the body might not be able to absorb the nutrients from raw vegetables, but this research showed the reverse, raw vegetables and salads were the highest nutrient containers and absorbed normally into the body and should be eaten on a daily basis.
To further comment on this, it’s obvious that there is no question in diet, there never has been from the creation of mankind. When God created Adam and Eve in the garden, He created the perfect diet, which was in Genesis 1:29-31, which is green plants for food for everything that has breath of life in it. So, we were created to eat a plant based diet. It is the diet, the first diet and it is the diet that all medical research has shown that promotes the highest level of health and reversing the most amount of disease and disease processes.
Living/raw vegetables are anti-inflammatory, they are high in nutrients and they do absorb into the body normally. So, a diet that is one of living/raw plant based food, is a diet that will promote the highest level of heath, the highest level of nutrients in the body, the lowest amount of inflammation, the highest amount of boost into the immune system, this is critical in keeping at the highest level of health and being a part of an alternative cancer treatment. So remember, the more living/raw plant based food that you eat, the higher your level of health will be and the lower the amount of inflammation will be in your body, and remember that inflammation is the root of all disease. The way to decrease the inflammation in your body is to live the Seven Basic Steps to Total Health each and every day.
