Supplement vs Whole Foods

A comment from MIO on my previous entry- The Irony of the Medical Profession

"hmm. lagi satu yg smpai sekarang sy masih ragu2 - org kata, lebih baik ambil supplement sebab walau macam mana seimbang pun makanan yg kita ambik, mungkin makanan tu hilang zat sebab overcooked dsb. but you know me - paling besar ubat yg pernah ditelan pun ialah folic acid (yg dimakan dgn penuh susah payah), jadi redha aje la dengan pemakanan seimbang - nak senang, makan aje ulam dah sah2 takde risiko overcooked"

(adakah blog ini telah menjadi ruangan soal jawab bersama doktor kesayangan anda? :P)

Firstly, I would like to disclose that what I am going to write are what I gathered from reading various sources of materials including textbooks, articles and published papers. I am not a nutritionist, and I have never had a nutritionist guru to guide me. So please read with a critical mind as these are my understandings from my reading only. Perhaps if you are a nutritionist or a food scientist yourself, you can leave a comment and correct me. Thank you. May Allah protects us from false knowledge.

If you still remember your science or Alam dan Manusia subjects in school, we all learned that nutrients are categorized into 5 major groups namely carbohydrates, proteins, fats, minerals/vitamins and fibers. The minerals/vitamins group are highly unstable chemicals that there is a risk of losing it due to overcooking, like MIO had rightly pointed out. Hence the market is overflowing with vitamins and minerals tablets to ensure that we get enough of our recommended daily allowance.

I am not going to write about why we should not take the supplements, because I don't have enough evidence to say that they are bad for health. Not because of the vitamins but of the other compounds added to make the tablets have long shelf life (tahan lama), easily absorbed and stable in the acidic environment of the stomach. Instead, I am going to focus on why we should eat the fruits / vegetables that supply the vitamins themselves.

The scientists have now found that there are more than just the 5 groups of nutrients. There are now 2 more- antioxidants and phytochemicals. This knowledge has been around since probably 1950s, but somehow it is not given any weight it deserves. I suspect this has much to do with the billion dollars worth of pharmaceutical industry---> (OK ni ada unsur2 fitnah, tak pasti kebenarannya).

I am sure you have heard a lot about antioxidants- it is a chemical in foods that help remove reactive free radicals from our cells. Free radicals if accumulated leads to aging and a series of diseases associated with aging (cancer, heart disease, arthritis, alzheimers). Researchers found that by giving antioxidants to animal specimens in laboratories increase their life span (umur lebih panjang). Does this hold true for humans? Wallahualam.

Phytochemicals are chemicals in plants that help the plants to defend themselves against threats / diseases. For animals, the response to threats are running / change colours to camouflage / venoms or stings but plants can't do all these, so they produce the phytochemicals to help defend themselves.

We all learned that the vitamins strengthen our immune cells to fight diseases, but it is now found that these phytochemicals fight germs and cancer cells themselves in our bodies. They are the God-given medicine, readily available in foods (Subhanallah!).

The names of these phytochemicals are very alien to us. You can see the list here (with the food examples). To name a few of these chemicals- flavanoids, ellagic acid, allicin, beta carotene.......the list goes on. There are a few that has been proven to attack and kill cancer cells directly (amazing, isn't it?) so the knowledge of this will help you choose which fruit or vegetable that you want to consume more. This practice is now termed 'nutraceuticals' (as opposed to pharmaceuticals). I've only been reading about those that help to kill cancer cells but I'm sure different phytochemicals work for other diseases too. (now can you hear your grandma's voice telling you- makan ni, baik nak buang angin / elok untuk peranakan etc? ---yeah you are right Opah.. sob sob menyesal tak pay attention. AlFatihah untuk Opah).

Phytochemicals are also found in abundance in spices. That is why traditional Asian and Mediterranean cuisine are protective of many diseases, as opposed to Western cuisine that is rich in meat and poultry.

Now you see that in a single fruit or a single vegetable leaf contains vitamins, antioxidants, phytochemicals and various other minerals, why would you choose a pill of vitamin C, or B, or folate, or iron, or calcium? How many pills do you have to consume to give you the same health benefits an orange or carrot can give you?

Besides, eating the whole fruit or leaves will provide you fibers, to help you pass motion easily. Fibers also helps delay sugar absorption (how fast sugar is absorbed and the body's response to it also plays a role in cancer development). And it satisfy your hunger, of course.

It is now recommended that we take at least 5 portions of fruits or vegetables a day to stay healthy. (An apple or an orange is a portion, 10 strawberries are a portion etc). It is not easy. On good days I usually only achieve 4 portions (veges for lunch and dinner and 2 fruits). But one day I will get there. The most important thing is to start.

80g of strawberries (about 8-10, depending on sizes) provide you one portion of your 5-a-day

Another way to achieve the 5 portions is to drink fresh juice. No sugar added of course. And it is better to drink whole juice (meaning you crush the whole carrot or orange or apple) not just the concentrate (perahan).This is because some nutrients are in the seeds or the inner rind. For example, the white rind of an orange (or any citrus fruits eg lemon, grapefruit, pomelo) contains quercetin- a natural anti-cancer agent that makes cancer cells commit suicide (apoptosis-remember, I wrote about this earlier here). So the next time you eat outside, choose a fresh juice drink with no sugar instead of soft drinks.

Overcooked vegetables?

Yes this is a major concern in preparing nutritious food. It is recommended that we eat them raw (ulam) but certain vegetables are not palatable to be eaten raw (to me at least) eg cabbage, broccoli. It is best to stir fry them quickly (with very little water if you must add) or steam them. Making them into soups are not advisable. The nutrients are highly unstable. What do we do? Making it into kerabu is a good way to eat them. I will share the kerabu tomato recipe later. But don't forget to say a prayer before cooking them, asking Allah to preserve the nutrients in the food so that they become medicine to us. :) Leave everything in His hands. He Knows Best.

Organic or non-organic?

Organic fruits / vegetables means no pesticide is used in growing them. Is it important? Yes, definitely. Experiments on urine of children eating non-organic fruits/veges showed significant high concentration of pesticides in their urine compared to children eating organic. These pesticides although very minimal and are removed from our body via kidneys and liver, surely prolonged and continuous exposure of it to our cells will eventually damage and 'exhaust' our cells. 

There is a theory that if phytochemicals help plants defend themselves, then the use of pesticides will lower the phytochemical contents of the plants. However this is still a theory, not proven yet. But I think this is a sound argument. If this is true, then we have 2 valid reasons to only eat organic fruits/veges- no pesticides and higher phytochemical contents.

However there are downsides of eating organic. They are expensive! sigh..... It costs double to purchase them. And they are not bigger or taste nicer either. This is when you say "Money can buy you health" (provided you are not sick yet).

But what is the price of our kidneys? liver? our joints?  Buying organic is an important investment of our money.... for health and longevity (after zakat and charity for eternal safety). Is it more important than any branded designer's items? (am asking myself.. :P)

But don't use the excuse of unable to afford organics deter you from eating more fruits/veges.Wash them thoroughly and peel the skin (pesticides cling mostly to the skin).

Who need supplements?

There are a number of people who must take supplements because they have increase demand of a particular nutrient, or their body has problems absorbing them. They are:

1. Pregnant mothers- must take folate, iron and calcium supplements. Although for normal pregnancies it is usually enough to just get these from food, for many mothers they require additional supplements because they cannot eat more food due to excessive vomiting and nausea, or poor spacing between births (tiap2 tahun beranak) because their bodies have no time to recover. Supplements also needed for vegetarians (in Malaysia usually Indian mothers) and poor mothers (yang hanya mampu makan nasi dan ikan kering je).

2. People with kidney failures- they require Vit D and calcium supplements.

3. Babies who exclusively breastfeed after 6 months- requires iron supplements.

4. People with various metabolic diseases or malabsorption syndrome.

aaahh..can't think of anything else. Anything the readers want to add, feel free to do so.

So MIO, who told you that it is better to take supplements? Are they the people who sell the supplements? If only the fruits and veges vendors knew what they sell are precious gems...

Gotta eat an apple now.