While we are on the subject of nutrition...........

[Guest guest]

STUDY ABSTRACT

Journal of Nutrition, October 2006

Nutritional Immunology

Immunity and Antioxidant Capacity in Humans Is Enhanced by Consumption of a Dried, Encapsulated Fruit and Vegetable Juice Concentrate Meri P. Nantz, Cheryl A. Rowe, Carmelo Nieves, Jr. and S. Percival

Food Science and Human Nutrition Department University of Florida Gainesville, Florida 32611

The daily consumption of fruits and vegetables is a common dietary recommendation to support good health. We hypothesized that a commercially available encapsulated fruit and vegetable juice powder concentrate (FVJC) could support functional indices of health due to increased intake of various phytonutrients. This was a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled investigation of 59 healthy law students who consumed either FVJC or placebo capsules for 77 d. Blood was collected on d 1, 35, and 77 to examine the number of circulating beta and T cells, cytokine production, lymphocyte DNA damage, antioxidant status, and levels of carotenoids and vitamin C. A log of illnesses and symptoms was also kept. The FVJC group tended to have fewer total symptoms than the placebo group (P < 0.076). By d 77 there was a 30% increase in circulating T cells and a 40% reduction in DNA damage in lymphocytes in the FVJC group relative to the placebo group. Plasma levels of vitamin C and of beta-carotene, lycopene, and lutein increased significantly from baseline in the FVJC group as did plasma oxygen radical absorptive capacity (50%). Interferon produced by phorbol-stimulated lymphocytes was reduced 70% in the FVJC group, whereas other cytokines (IL-4, IL-6, transforming growth factor beta) were unchanged relative to treatment or time. FVJC consumption during this study period resulted in increased plasma nutrients and antioxidant capacity, reduction in DNA strand breaks, and an increase in circulating T cells.

Breaking News on Supplements & Nutrition - Europe

Fruit, vegetable extracts could boost immunity

By ls

10/9/2006- Phytonutrients from fruit and vegetables, delivered as a dietary supplement, boosted the immune system of healthy adults, as well as protecting against DNA damage, says a new study from the US.

Many consumers are failing to meet the target of five portions of fruit and vegetables every day, with recent studies have shown that the average consumption of people in developed countries is three portions a day.

Indeed, it is estimated that 4.4 per cent of the overall disease burden in Europe is due to fruit and vegetable-poor diets (Public Health Nutrition, 2003, Vol. 6, pp. 453-461). And over 20 years’ worth of epidemiological studies have linked diets high in fruit and vegetables to lower risks of cancer, metabolic syndrome and osteoporosis.

The new research, published in the October issue of the Journal of Nutrition (Vol. 136, pp. 2606-2610), suggests that adding a phytnonutrient-rich capsule [Juice Plus+] to the diet may provide a convenient way of benefiting from the benefits, particularly for immune health.

“We hypothesized that a commercially available encapsulated fruit and vegetable juice powder concentrate (FVJC) could support functional indices of health due to increased intake of various phytonutrients,†said lead author Meri Nantz from the University of Florida.

The researchers recruited 59 healthy law students to take part in the double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study. The subjects were randomly assigned to receive either a capsule of fruit and vegetable juice powder concentrate or a placebo for 77 days.

Blood samples were taken at the start, half-way stage and end of the study, and levels of T-cells (white blood cells that play a central role in immunity), cytokine production, DNA damage in white blood cells, antioxidant levels, and circulating levels of vitamin C and carotenoids were measured.

The subjects were also required to keep a dairy of symptoms and illnesses during the study. Nantz and her co-workers report that, at the end of the study, the group receiving the fruit and vegetable extract capsule reported fewer symptoms than the placebo group.

Blood analysis revealed that T-cell concentrations had increased by 30 per cent for the FVJC group after 77 days, and DNA damage in white blood cells had been decreased by 40 per cent, compared to placebo. Circulation levels of vitamin C and the carotenoids, beta-carotene, lycopene, and lutein were found to have increased significantly in the fruit and vegetable concentrate group, and the antioxidant status increased accordingly by 50 per cent, compared to placebo (oxygen radical absorptive capacity).

No change in circulating cytokine levels was recorded.

“FVJC consumption during this study period resulted in increased plasma nutrients and antioxidant capacity, reduction in DNA strand breaks, and an increase in circulating T cells,†concluded Nantz.

Your partner in healthy living,

Saraf

The most researched

nutritional product in history

www.jp4healthylife.com

Check out the new AOL. Most comprehensive set of free safety and security tools, free access to millions of high-quality videos from across the web, free AOL Mail and more.