Online Class Notes (Jesse)

Fruit contains a number of minerals that cannot be synthesized by our bodies, vitamins that are particularly oxidation resistent, as well as soluable fiber which can greatly decrease cholesterol concentration. All of these are beneficial to our health. However, Chinese people, especially males, have diets which are low in fruit consumption. In the 1970s I did a longitudinal study of about 100,000 US citizens over a 10 year period and found that the mortality of lung cancer among people who never or seldom eat fruit was 1.75 times higher than those who eat fruit at a higher freqency. This result occurred in all 5-year age brackets between 45 to 75 years old which means that this causal relationship is reliable. There is an American saying that goes “an apple a day, keeps the doctor away” which means that the preventative role of fruit in a healthy diet is widely known. The WHO promotes the slogan “5 a day” which recommends that people consume a total of 5 portions of fruit and vegetables per day as part of a healthy diet. In recent years a Harvard university study indicated that eating more fruit and vegetables may reduce the risk of stroke and coronary heart disease in the general population.

So, which is the key ingredient in fruit and vegetables? Is it vitamins? Do vitamin suppliments sold in markets have the same affect as their natural counterparts? I have completed further research on the relaitonship between the mortality rate of lung cancer and the regular consumption of vitamin suppliments with the results showing that taking vitamin supplements is not able to give the same protective effect of consuming actual fruit and vegtables as part of a diet. This result shows that artificial synthisized vitamins cannot replace the role of fruit in decreasing lung cancer mortality. Other research has shown the same conclusion. Nutritional immunology professors explain that natural vitamins cannot work alone and must work in conjunction with other vitamins or nutritional ingredients. If too much or too little of any individual vitamin is taken, the effect of other vitamins will be decreased or adversely affected. As the proportion of artificial vitamins is different from natural vitamins, the effect is not equal. Some professors call this phenomenon as “artificial is not as good as natural”. Besides this, there may be some physiologically active ingredients in fruit that we are unaware of. The oxidation assistance of natural food has become an important topic of research. Natural professors from different countries are doing research on it. Some vegetables and fruit have strong oxidation resistance such as garlic, carrots, oranges, persimmon, kiwi fruit, that contains high levels of SOD enzyme that has anti-aging properties. 

To sum upm in our daily lives, fruit must make up an important part of our diets and is not an unnecessary. For most of us, vitamins suppliments can definitely not replace fruit and vegetables. Besides, having too many vitamin suppliments may have some adverse / side effects, with some of them being quite serious. For example, in the case of vitamin D which can cause the calcification of soft tissue, and do harm to the renal and cardiovascular system. If too much Vitamin E is consumed, it is easy for us to get thrombosis. However, when you are weak, the body consumes more vitamin or the absorbtion is not so good, vitamin suppliments are needed to maintain balance, for example after surgery, during fever or if someone has heart disease, or when renal or cardiovascular systems are compromised. All of this should be done under the guideance of a doctor or health practicioner.