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COOKING vitamin C (from citrus fruits and dark-
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nutrients working together to create
greater health e!ects.
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whole grains, nuts, and legumes are great

examples of foods that are rich in a
combination of important vitamins,
minerals, fiber, protein, antioxidants, and
more.

Here are just a handful of examples in

which di!erent nutrients and
components in food work together:

Pairing broccoli with tomatoes could

be a match not only made in Italy,
but in health heaven. In a study to be
published in the December 2004
issue of the Journal of Nutrition,
prostate tumors grew much less in
rats that were fed tomatoes and
broccoli than in rats who ate diets
 containing broccoli alone or
tomatoes alone, or diets that
contained cancer-fighting
substances that had been isolated
from tomatoes or broccoli. The take-
home message: A lycopene
supplement may not hurt, but the
whole tomato will probably help
more. And a tomato eaten with
broccoli may help a lot more.

Antioxidants like vitamin C and

vitamin E; isoflavones from
soybeans; and other compounds are
thought to be important in slowing
the oxidation of cholesterol --
which is as important to reducing
your risk of congestive heart disease
as lowering your blood cholesterol
levels. Antioxidant protection is a
complex system that includes many
nutrients and phytonutrients. You
need all of them for maximum e!ect.
CONTINUE READING BELOW

Research on the so-called DASH diet

(for Dietary Approaches to Stop
Hypertension ) showed how
di!erent dietary patterns build on
each other. A diet high in fruits and
vegetables lowered blood
pressure. But blood pressure went
down even more when people also
ate a reduced-fat diet and included
daily servings of low-fat dairy
products. Blood pressure was
lowered the most when people did
all this plus ate less sodium.

"Eating a little "good fat" along with your

vegetables helps your body absorb their
protective phytochemicals."
Three B vitamins (folic acid,
vitamin B-6, and B-12) TOGETHER
reduce the level of an amino acid
that, in high levels, is thought to
damage artery linings, leading to
heart attacks and strokes.

Test-tube studies have shown that

vitamin C and the phytoestrogen
found in various fruits and
vegetables , whole grains, and
beans (including soy) work together
to inhibit the oxidation of LDL "bad"
cholesterol.

A recent study found that the

phytochemicals quercetin (found
mainly in apples, onions and berries)
and catechin (found mainly in
apples, green tea, purple grapes, and
grape juice) worked together to help
stop platelet clumping. Platelets are
a component in blood that play an
important role in forming clots.
Platelets' clumping together is one
of several steps in blood clotting that
can lead to a heart attack .

The Mediterranean-style diet is a

perfect example of food synergy
because it includes several healthful
food patterns. (It's rich in plant
foods, whole grains, legumes and
fish; low in meat and dairy products;
and contains more
monounsaturated than saturated
fats because of its emphasis on
olives, olive oil, and walnuts.) A
recent study concluded that the
Mediterranean diet may reduce the
prevalence of both metabolic
syndrome (a condition that includes
excess body fat, high blood fats, and
high blood pressure) and the
cardiovascular risk that goes along
with it. Another study found that a
Mediterranean diet was
associated with a 23% lower risk of
early death from all causes.

Several dietary factors -- including

saturated fat and, to a lesser
extent, cholesterol -- work to raise
cholesterol in the human body.
Several others, like plant sterols, soy
protein, soluble fiber, and foods such
as oats and nuts, help lower blood
cholesterol levels . Your
cholesterol levels are determined
less by the intake of one particular
nutrient than by your overall diet.

Eating a little "good fat" along with

your vegetables helps your body
absorb their protective
phytochemicals, like lycopene from
tomatoes and lutein from dark-green
vegetables. A recent study measured
how well phytochemicals were
absorbed a"er people ate a lettuce,
carrot, and spinach salad with or
without 2 1/2 tablespoons of
avocado. The avocado-eating group
absorbed 8.3 times more alpha-
carotene and 13.6 times more beta-
carotene (both of which help protect
against cancer and heart disease
), and 4.3 times more lutein
(which helps with eye health) than
those who did not eat avocados.

In lab studies, Cornell University

researchers found that apple extract
given together with apple skin
worked better to prevent the
oxidation of free-radicals (unstable
molecules that damage cells and are
 believed to contribute to many
diseases) than apple extract without
the skin. They also found that
catechins (a type of phytochemical
found in apples), when combined
with two other phytochemicals, had
an e!ect that was five times greater
than expected.

Studies have indicated that oats may

help protect against heart disease .
Besides being one of our best
sources of soluble fiber, oats contain
a laundry list of other healthful
compounds, including beta-glucan;
a beneficial amino acid ratio;
magnesium; folic acid; tocotrienols;
and a phytochemical so far identified
only in oats -- avenanthramides. The
protective e!ect of oats is thought to
come from the collective e!ects of
all of these components.

All these examples remind us of just how

complex nutritional relationships are. In
my opinion, Mother Nature knew what
she was doing when she created plant
foods: There is magic in the packaging.

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