We all want to stay healthy and live longer – but the new call for up to 10 portions of fruits and vegetables a day is a stretch for most of us. The American Cancer Society was already advising nine portions of fruit and vegetables a day to help ward off disease.

(University College London study published March 31st in The Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. See http://jech.bmj.com/content/early/2014/03/03/jech-2013-203500)

Dr Paul Clayton, is former Chair of the Forum on Food and Health at the Royal Society of Medicine. He has been researching health and nutrition for over 30 years. His response to the new report:

“I have been urging more fruits and veggies for years. But we have to be realistic. Most people today struggle to get to even 5-a-day, so my advice is to concentrate on the foods and nutrients with the highest health impact.

It’s not just the number of portions that is important – it’s what’s in those portions. And it’s not only fruits and vegetables - leading health scientists also recommend up to 4 servings of oily fish a week!

“So the question we should be asking is ‘Just what is in these foods which makes them so health protective? And can we help by adding some of those protective elements in a supplement?

“Fruits, vegetables and oily fish contain valuable anti-inflammatory compounds. These combat “chronic sub-clinical inflammation”, a process which drives nearly all degenerative disease.

“This type of internal inflammation causes progressive but largely undetectable tissue damage – until that damage finally manifests itself as an age-related disease such as heart disease, stroke, arthritis, Type 2 diabetes, dementia and some cancers.”

“Fruits and vegetables and Omega 3s from oily fish are anti-inflammatory, but many of the processed foods we eat today are pro-inflammatory. These include foods cooked at high temperatures, foods cooked in most plant oils, and foods containing excessive sugar, starch and salt.”

So decreasing pro-inflammatory foods and increasing the anti-inflammatory elements in our diet is the vital health strategy. That’s the advice in my free e-book Inflamm-ageing.

Dr Clayton again: “I support the use of a well-designed supplement – especially as you get older. Natural compounds like Omega 3 fish oil, flavonoids from curcumin, green tea and grape seed extract, are all powerful anti-inflammatories. If you add other supplements – for example like lycopene (a tomato-derived nutrient), lutein and soy isoflavones, you can create a really ‘nutrient dense’ diet, rich in the compounds I believe are especially protective.

The supplement I consulted on is called NutriShield – www.nutrishield.com. Supporting supplements used to be a controversial position to take, but with our sedentary lifestyle demanding lower food intakes – and less food meaning less nutrients - I believe it’s a necessary health strategy as you get older.

A supplement is never a substitute for fresh fruits and vegetables – but it as the name implies, it will add important elements to a basically healthy diet that falls short of that 10 a day optimum.

For more information or to interview Dr Paul Clayton, contact:
Uni-Vite Healthcare Ltd, 50 Aylesbury Rd, Aston Clinton, Aylesbury, Bucks, UK. HP22 5AH
Tel: +44 (0)1296 631177

Or Colin Rose: [email protected] Mobile: 07885 201150

Dr Paul Clayton has a YouTube channel. See especially https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vadab96tJHM

Also see Dr Paul Clayton’s website: www.drpaulclayton.com