Too Much Fruit?

Most everyone agrees that good health starts with eating a diet high in whole fruits and vegetables, right?

At least that’s what most of us learn from school and the news. There have been studies that show a connection between a diet full of fruits and veggies is associated with a lower risk of heart disease. But if you have been a patient of mine for any time at all, you have probably heard me say that a lot of fruit not very healthy. So which way is it? A new review on just this topic answers the question.

The author of the paper examined the results of 57 studies to find out what it was about vegetables and possibly fruit that decreased the risk of heart disease. According to the evidence, the link is nitric oxide. For readers not yet familiar with nitric oxide, let me briefly explain.

Nitric oxide is a free radical molecule produced in your body. Although many people think that free radicals are bad or unwanted molecules, nothing could be further from the truth. In reality, the right amount of free radicals is important to our health and this is definitely true of nitric oxide.

Your body produces nitric oxide in the endothelial cells which are the cells that line your arteries and capillaries. When nictric oxide is present it causes the arteries and capillaries to open up so that more blood and oxygen can be delivered to the cells. If there is not enough nitric oxide present to open up the arteries and capilliaries and the cells don’t get enough oxygen. When this happens, heart disease can develop. Of course, other diseases such as high blood pressure, strokes, cancer and diabetes can also result.

This is where the vegetables come in handy.

For years scientists thought that the only way the body produced nitric oxide was in the endothelial cells. But now that thinking is changing because researchers have found another way.

Nitrate is found in large amounts in vegetables. When we chew vegetables, the bacteria in our mouth convert the nitrate into nitrite. (That’s why it’s important to avoid antibiotic mouthwashes by the way. They kill the bacteria that make the conversion.) Your body then absorbs the nitrite and converts it into nitric oxide. According to the author of this paper, the nitric oxide formed this way accounts for a significant amount of the body’s total nitric oxide levels. Fruits contain very little nitrate. It’s clear that the cardiovascular benefit we see from diets high in vegetables and fruits is because of the vegetables, not the fruit.

But what if you already have cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, or diabetes? In that case, make sure your diet is high in vegetables, especially the green leafy kind. And avoid fruit with the one exception of berries. Most fruits are just too high in sugar and may actually make your disease worse.

Yours In Health,

Dr. Jack Belitz DC

PS. a proper diet is very important for good health, but even more important is making sure your nervous system is working at peak potential. It’s a good nervous system which allows you to use all those amazing nutrients that you are eating in a proper manner. If you aren’t sure if your nervous system is amazing right now, call the office and mention this newsletter. We will set you up for a free computerized exam to make sure.