Salvestrols
Salvestrols were voted the "No 1 big idea of the year in Health" by Dr John Briffa - in the observer magazine. But even a totally organic diet is likely to be deficient in these newly discovered essential nutrients.
Eat 5 portions of fruit and vegetables a day urges the UK government. IN Australia the recommendation is 11 portions. Yet little attention has been paid to the actual sources from which these fresh fruit and vegetables foods come. Take the Mediterranean diet for example, where olives are thought to be particularly beneficial. Traditionally, olive oil was made from stone ground organic olives and is cloudy in nature with a slightly spicy/tangy flavour. Today's offering which even though it may be organic is usually refined and clear with little of the traditional flavour. Consider the French red wine paradox which intrigues everyone with its claimed health benefits. Traditionally, French wine is made from organically grown grapes, and the wine is fermented on the grape skin so that trace ingredients in the grape skin are extracted into the wine through this process. Very different from some modern methods of wine production which ferment grape juice in the absence of the skins. Both diets should be rich in substances called Salvestrols but new evidence shows them to be lacking, even in organic produce.
What are Salvestrols?
Salvestrols have been described by professor Dan Burke as "the most significant breakthrough in nutrition since the discovery of vitamins". They are nutrients recently discovered by UK researchers to have a role which is thought to be important in maintaining good health.
How do they help me keep healthy?
Their role has recently been identified by a group of researchers at the Cancer Drug Discovery Group at DeMontfort University in Leicester. Until this very specific mode of action was discovered the compounds had been thought to be biologically inert.
Salvestrols-Disappearing from our diet at an alarming rate
Three important factors have been found to contribute to their absence from today's diet. Firstly, modern varieties of fruit are bred to be sweet and so the Salvestrols, which are bitter, are being selectively, but unknowingly removed from the fruit we eat. Secondly, the trend towards unsweetened fruit juices has lead to these bitter compounds being removed through food processing technology-a number of major producers have developed patented techniques to de-bitter their juices to make them sweeter, leaving Salvestrols absent. And thirdly, the use of fungicides on our food and in the environment generally, results in these substances not being expressed in plants because they are never exposed to the threat which causes the plant to produce them.
Salvestrols-Correcting today's dietary deficiencies as nature intended
The levels of Salvestrols in a typical "5 portion a day" basket of non-organic fruit and vegetables from a high street supermarket have been measured and found to contain only 10%-20% of the estimated daily dietary requirement. So eating adequate amounts of commercially available fruit and vegetable will not provide the diet with the essential nutrients the body needs. And even an organic diet may be inadequate since the actual varieties of fruit and vegetable commercially available may also be low in Salvestrols. This is because different Salvestrols are found in different concentrations and with different levels of biological activity in fruits like strawberries, oranges, grapes and even cocoa. This makes it is virtually impossible to guarantee and adequate intake of Salvestrols from the diet which is why taking a supplement is so important.
Salvestrols food sources
Salvestrols are generally present at higher levels in organic red and green fruit and vegetable and so these foods should make up the main sources pf these beneficial compounds for people wishing to consume diets rich in these nutrients. However, it has become apparent that they are rapidly disappearing from the diet and the only way to ensure an adequate intake is through a supplement. But, don't worry if you consume a Salvestrol wellbeing capsule and eat organic Salvestrols richest meals-a higher dose of Salvestrols, even at these levels is perfectly safe.
