Bodytalk
Question: I don't like vegetables. So will eating 5 servings of fruit each day meet my nutritional needs? As different as
apples and orangesAnswer: If you really dislike all vegetables, eating extra fruit will compensate to some degree. But you cannot substitute fruits for vegetables, because nutritionally they're not equal.
Both fruits and vegetables contain vitamins, minerals, fiber and antioxidants, but only vegetables contain phytochemicals (plant compounds that help prevent disease). For example, cruciferous vegetables, such as broccoli and cauliflower, contain a substance called sulforaphane that's believed to increase the production of enzymes that fight off cancer-promoting agents.
Instead of eliminating all vegetables from your diet, try to find a couple that you can at least tolerate. Then learn to eat them, even if you have to disguise their taste. No two vegetables taste the same, or even similar, so this shouldn't be too difficult a task.
To make veggies more palatable, saute them in olive oil and garlic, use a light sauce on them, or sprinkle something delectable over them before serving. Another alternative: drink vegetable juice.
However you do it, make your best effort at eating at least one serving of a vegetable every day, for remember, a vegetable a day keeps the doctor at bay.
Q: My wife has congestive heart failure. Can coenzyme Q10 help her?
A: I'm not a cardiologist so I talked to one to get his opinion. Here's what he said. "Some doctors see no harm in patients taking it, but don't substitute CoQ10 for standard therapy". Be sure to let your doctor know you're taking CoQ, or any supplement or botanical for that matter. The relationship between disease, the human body, and the medications necessary for treatment is a complex one.
There is a lot going on in the body that a patient doesn't know about, or even if they did, wouldn't have the knowledge to understand. So always follow your doctor's orders.
With that said, let's look at what CoQ does. CoQ is naturally produced by the body, and it plays an important role in stimulating the production of mitochondria. Mitochondria are cellular powerhouses that produce energy to fuel cells. Healthy heart muscle cells are packed with mitochondria.
Autopsies have found that individuals who died of heart failure had lower levels of CoQ in their heart cells. This led to the belief that if heart failure patients took CoQ as a supplement it would increase the production of mitochondria in their failing hearts.
Results of studies testing CoQ, on people suffering from heart failure, have been mixed. Some have shown beneficial effects, while others have shown no difference between CoQ and placebos on several measures of cardiac function. Obviously the jury is still out.
One last thought. If you have a healthy heart, save your money, as CoQ is relatively expensive.
Instead do some aerobic exercise several times per week. Regular aerobic exercise increases your body's levels of mitochondria. This is not a theory, but a proven fact. Maybe that's why people who exercise their heart have more energy.
Stephenie Karony is a certified health and fitness instructor,
a personal trainer and author of "Body Shaping With Free Weights.''
Send questions to bodytalk@maui.net or visit http://www.BodyTalkForHealth.com.Health Events