Bioavailability

Bioavailability is a common word with the medical experts I am listening to about nutrition.  And while I understood it’s meaning; I didn’t recognize its importance or how to utilize it.  I quickly learned that how you prepare something or in what form you ingest it can dramatically impact your body’s ability to fully utilize all the nutrients.

My husband and I both have arthritis, so reducing inflammation is a focus for me when selecting both the food and the seasonings we use.  I heavily rely on the Nutrition Facts (NutritionFacts.org) website to remind me of what things to enjoy and what to avoid.  One of the best spices is turmeric, and we try to ingest at least 1/2 teaspoon daily.  We know fresh grated turmeric is better than dried, and organic powder is safer to use due to products found in non-organic packaging facilities.  But the most exciting was the research that shows a mere dash of black pepper added to the turmeric increases the bioavailability of the active ingredient curcumin by 2,000 percent (yes you read that right).  Other helpful spices I try to slip into our diet include cloves, ginger and cinnamon.  But here again, I learned that the average bottle of cinnamon on the grocery store shelf is made from the cassia plant, which has toxic elements in it.  Ceylon cinnamon, however, has only health promoting attributes.

Then there are the crucifers, my favorite vegetables next to roots!!  When you learn about the nutrients crucifers offer, you can’t overlook their bioavailability.  Dr. Greger suggests the hack and hold method for cooking cruciferous vegetables.  Cut them, then set them aside and hold them 40 minutes before cooking to make the sulforaphane available to the body.  He also provides a trick to accomplish similar results when you don’t have the time to wait or you want to use frozen vegetables.  “Adding myrosinase enzymes in the form of even a pinch of mustard powder to cooked cruciferous (cabbage-family) vegetables like kale, collards or brussels sprouts can offer anti-cancer sulforaphane levels comparable to raw, removing the necessity to pre-chop for maximum health benefits.”  And it just takes a pinch which you will not even taste!  Another favorite of ours is broccoli sprouts for all their phytonutrients. 

Obviously, there is a lot to learn about the best way to prepare and consume plant foods.   But don’t let that stop you from eating as many plants as possible each day.  Because the best produce for you, is the produce you will eat!

“Let us not get tired of doing good, for we will reap at the proper time if we don’t give up.” (Galatians 6:9 CSB)

“Broccoli sprouts are the richest natural source of sulforaphane.”  (Joel Furhman, M.D., Eat for Life)

“Cooked turmeric appears to offer better DNA protection, while raw turmeric may have greater anti-inflammatory effects.” (Michael Greger, M.D. – How Not to Die)

Yours for a Joyful Journey,

Joyice