As you gaze down at your next salad, know that it’s doing more for you than helping you reach your healthy weight. When you pack your diet with fresh vegetables and fruit, you get more phytonutrients—important compounds that can help your body stay healthy. These chemicals are produced by plants to help protect them from harmful elements like UV rays and insect attacks. While phytonutrients are great at protecting plants, they may be even better at boosting our health.
What Are Phytonutrients?
When plants develop defense mechanisms, they rely on powerful phytonutrients. They serve the same function in humans. Known foods rich in phytonutrients include colorful fruits and vegetables, legumes, tea, whole grains, many spices, and nuts. Their primary role in humans is to protect us from oxidative stress, which is the main cause of aging. Phytonutrients are known for their antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties. They are recognized for supporting your body's cells and immune health, aiding in healthy hormone balance, repairing DNA damaged by toxins, and even helping to rid your body of toxins.
Do We Need Phytonutrients?
While we don’t need phytonutrients to stay alive, we do need them to be healthy. They play a vital role in supporting our immune systems—often converting to vitamins we need. The USDA says consuming a phytonutrient-rich diet can have protective benefits.
Which Phytonutrients Are Most Important?
There are over 900 phytonutrients that have been discovered. Some of the most vital are the ones found in rich-hued and colorful fruits and vegetables, like berries, carrots, tomatoes, grapes, soy, apples, kale, spinach, and others.
Phytonutrients may sound new, but they can be found in many foods you already enjoy that offer real health benefits:
Carotenoids
These phytonutrients provide the red, yellow, and orange colors in fruits and vegetables. In your body, they act as antioxidants—helping to protect you against free radicals that damage tissue. The carotenoids that provide the biggest support to immune health are alpha-carotene and beta carotene which your body converts to vitamin A.
Lycopene
This phytonutrient gives red or pink color to foods like tomatoes, watermelon, and pink grapefruit. In humans, it’s been known to keep free radicals in balance and to support heart health as well.
Lutein and Zeaxanthin
These phytonutrients are primarily found in richly-hued greens like spinach, kale, and collards. It can help with macular health, giving our eyeballs extra support after we’ve been staring at a screen all day.
Resveratrol
You may have read news articles praising the health benefits of a glass of red wine each night. Most often, these articles are pointing to the benefits of resveratrol, which is found in grapes and berries. This phytonutrient is said to support brain health and maintain blood flow.
Glucosinolates
We all know foods like broccoli are extra healthy. This is because of the glucosinolates—the phytonutrients found in many cruciferous vegetables. These sulfur-containing compounds help give cruciferous veggies their sharp odor and flavor, but also trigger certain enzymes to release—playing a powerful role in digestion.
Lignans
These are a type of phytoestrogen—a phytonutrient. While these are considered a plant source of estrogen, they do not impact the body in the same way as the hormone, though they can have some effect. These phytonutrients support cellular health.
Axion for Extra Support
While it’s best to get your phytonutrients from plants, it can be difficult to get enough of them in our diets—that’s why it can be helpful to reach for a supplement like Axion to fill in the gaps in our nutrition.*
A healthy diet packed with phytonutrients is one that supports a healthy immune system. When you can’t seem to get enough phytonutrients in your diet, reach for Xyngular Axion for plant-based compounds along with your vitamins and nutrients.*
Take Axion To Improve Your Phytonutrient Intake
Axion is more than just a multivitamin (which it is).
It’s also a multi-nutrient to help give you daily immune support. It’s an excellent source of vitamins A, C, D, B6, B12, E, Zinc, and Folate, and is also rich in Calcium, Riboflavin, Thiamin, Biotin, and Pantothenic acid. It’s especially helpful as a daily vitamin as you work towards weight loss, promoting a healthy metabolism.*
It’s also packed with phytonutrients. It pulls some of the most powerful plant compounds we mentioned above to give you antioxidants and immune support.*
Are you getting the vitamins and nutrients you need on your weight loss journey? Be sure with Axion, our go-to supplement powerhouse.*
*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
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