Phytonutrients

(Alex Dipego) #1

Anyone know of the loss of benefit of phytonutrients on ZC or do we find these within our meat choices?

Carnivore / Zero Carb March 2017
#2

Phyto means plants, so phytonutrients means it’s nutrition from plant source. Doesn’t mean you aren’t getting nutrition. You can get it from animal source.

There is no essential nutrient from plants that we need to survive. However, vegans who don’t eat animal sourced food need supplementation to get essential nutrients not present in plant sources.

(Genevieve Biggs) #3

I actually benefit from not consuming phytonutrients. Because plants have certain compounds for survival, they are all indigestible to some degree. See here:

(L. Amber O'Hearn) #4

The coining of the term “phytonutrient” is quite recent. We used to call them phytochemicals. You can see the spin doctoring. Phytochemicals are plant defense mechanisms. i.e toxins to fight insects and herbivores. I don’t think they have any merit except in deriving specific drugs / medicinal effects. However, that is best done with methods that get the compounds out and concentrate them. No point pussying around with eating a whole plant for that.

See also:

Biochemical Warfare

AHS16 Conversation: Paleo Magazine Radio hosts an eclectic group of thinkers questioning the health halo around plant eating.

(Nick) #5

As @amber says, calling these chemicals phytoNUTRIENTS begs the question: none has shown substantive nutritive benefit in the concentrations we find them in plants, and when we do concentrate them naively, their status as phytoTOXINS most often becomes apparent. And this includes the miraculous “antioxidants” whose puny dribblings into our acid gut are utterly insignificant compared with the oceans of endogenous antioxidants we manufacture ourselves.

Remember, green leafy vegetables, legumes, seeds and so forth do not “want” to be eaten, and have evolved to punish those who have the temerity to try. Whether you and a particular plant are at a point in the arms race where you have the disarming advantage is sometimes not clear, which is why many avoid the angry green bastards outright, getting the actual vitamins and minerals they promise (in poorly bioavailable forms) from animal foods instead.

#6

I always had a sneaky suspicion that fruits and vegetables are evil.

(Ross Daniel) #7

You ever seen “The Happening”? Spoiler alert, the plants did it.

#8

No I didn’t…now I’m intrigued and curious…gotta see it!!

(Alex Dipego) #9

Thank you all. It’s honestly just nice not needing to eat certain foods. Especially growing up with a vegetarian mother certain ideals were out in place.

(Nick) #10

Funnily enough, the more I realise that vegetables are not vital health-miracle-workers, but tasty “optional extras”, the more I’ve enjoyed eating them! Steamed broccoli as some horrible medicine you have to force down your throat is one thing; a pile of “broccoli-junkfood” swimming in butter and meat juices is quite another :wink: