Today, the Cleveland Plain Dealer ran an article recapping the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s updated guidelines, which it modifies every five years. The move to a heavier plant-based diet is huge news considering the Food Pyramid, which has yet to be revised, has been heavy in grains and dairy for many years.  Essentially, the USDA is recommending 59% of total daily calories from vegetables and 42% from fruit, 15% from whole grains and 40% from fiber, which will happen easily if people adopt this way of eating.

Critics would argue that the dairy is too high, at 52% and that there is little indication of where meat falls.  The guidelines are not the Food Pyramid, but may help to shape it when that change is final.  If anything, these updates are heading in the right direction.

In a nutshell, here are the recommendations:

• Enjoy your food, but eat less.
• Avoid oversized portions.
• Make half your plate fruits and vegetables.
• Switch to fat-free or low-fat (1%) milk.
• Compare sodium in foods like soup, bread, and frozen meals – and choose the foods with lower numbers.
• Drink water instead of sugary drinks.

Are these guidelines perfect?  Well, no, but everyone, without a doubt, can and will benefit from eating more fresh, raw, pesticide-free fruits and vegetables.  Research is ongoing and shows exponential great health and vitality the more fruits and veggies a person eats.  You can’t argue with the fruit and vegetable emphasis and here’s why:

According to new data from the Epic Study from Europe of 300,000 people in 8 different countries, those who eat at least 8 servings of fruits and veggies daily have a 22% lower risk of dying from ischemic heart disease than from people who have 3 or fewer servings daily.  The study shows 4% reduction in risk of death for every portion of fruits and veggies over two per day.

Are you feeling inspired yet?

If not, read on because I can personally attest to a lecture I attended last week Friday by Dr. Paul Williams, a 20-year ER physician from Memphis, TN.  Dr. Williams shared some astonishing facts about what antioxidants do to the body.  He also had some funny come-backs to excuses people use to thwart the idea that they need to take care of themselves.

One such astonishing physiological process in the body is how LDL (low-density lipoprotein), or bad cholesterol, is simply harmless by itself. However, because of stress, smoking, poor diet, which is devoid of antioxidants, increased activity without the proper nutrition to support it (picture a young athlete eating Little Debbies instead of an apple) and other situations that cause oxidative stress, your body’s reaction to its environment, to life and processing calories for energy causes sparks of energy that oxidize (like rust) the cells within it. This process is necessary and good in a small dosage. The problem is, too many of us are producing way more free radicals that bombard our internal cells and DNA, causing lots of harm, that leads to chronic inflammation and disease.

Now, back to our harmless LDL cholesterol.  Here is this guy, minding his business (asking, “Why does everyone think I’m so bad?”), until he gets hit by a free-radical.  Picture “Hagar the Horrible” crashing into these unsuspecting cholesterol carriers.

Once LDL is hit by free-radicals, it loses its stability and becomes lipid peroxide, which is very damaging to the inner lining of the blood vessel walls (endothelium).  The endothelium soaks up these lipid peroxide molecules and stores them within the lining walls of the blood vessels.  If too much LDL is circulating and too many free radicals continue to damage the LDL, the inner lining continues to soak up the lipid peroxide and increases the chance of rupture.  This rupture is what causes many heart attacks and strokes, as the plaque that lines the inner walls become free-floating and can lodge in other places along the circulatory system.

ISN’T THIS WILD????

So, what is the BEST way to reduce this free-radical damage and prevent heart attacks and other terrible conditions?

Eat more fruits and vegetables.  Dr. Williams suggest 10 servings a day and every color of the rainbow.  This is why a whole foods supplement like Juice Plus is so necessary to reduce inflammation and keep your body healthy.  With 17 third-party published studies, Juice Plus is the only nutraceutical in the world that has the science behind it showing it gets into the bloodstream and does good things for the body.

Click on the picture to learn more and don’t delay another moment eating more fresh fruits and vegetables!  Remember, the more your body is bombarded with free-radicals, the more your body ages (that’s why smokers look much older).  Juice Plus and a good clean diet are your best defenses to fight aging and disease.