A constant theme in nature is where a compound or nutrient that provides benefits to plants confers similar benefits to us when we consume them. Nutrients go on a merry-go-round from one organism to another and because we humans are at the top of the food chain we can select foods for their nutritional value.

The most vulnerable and important parts of plants are in their outer layer of the actual plant – like the bark on a tree or the skin on fruit and also the actual seed responsible for reproduction. Nature has cleverly packaged a whole range of antioxidant compounds in these critical parts to protect against things like pests and disease but also naturally occurring processes of decay especially oxidation.

Unfortunately there are two main reasons that many of the really potent plant protecting nutrients are largely missing from our diets. Firstly they are often in the parts of plants we either don't eat, such as bark, or as parts we discard such as pips and seeds. Additionally these protective compounds only reach maximum concentrations in the final weeks of the sun ripening process. This is to prolong the life of fruit on the tree or when picked. Our modern fruit handling processes mean fruit is often picked unripe and then artificially ripened or kept in cool stores for prolonged periods. This means we miss out on the potent antioxidant flavanols that protect against heart disease, cancer, arthritis and many other serious health problems.

This is where well formulated supplements are really important. For long term supplementation my preference is to use a good vitamin E stabilised Omega 3 Fish Oil and a multi-antioxidant/multivitamin/multi-mineral. Do your homework as many multi products are woefully short on the potent antioxidants like the OPC's and check that there are all 70 minerals as these power most of our cell processes.

John Arts is a natural health commentator, researcher and supplement formulator. If you have questions or would like a free health plan you can contact John on 0800 423559. You can join his newsletter at www.johnarts.co.nz.