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Dr Paul Clayton, former Chair of the Forum on Food and Health at the Royal Society of Medicine, has been researching health and nutrition for over 30 years. His response to the new report that hit the headlines this week ((University College London study published March 31st in The Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. See http://jech.bmj.com/content/early/2014/03/03/jech-2013-203500) is that counting portions is only part of the picture. ‘I have been urging more fruits and veggies for years,’ says Dr Clayton. ‘But we have to be realistic. Most people today struggle to get to even 5-a-day, so my advice is to concentrate on the foods and nutrients with the highest health impact. ‘It’s not just the number of portions that is important – it’s what’s in those portions. And it’s not only fruits and vegetables - leading health scientists also recommend up to 4 servings of oily fish a week. ‘From years of research, I believe the question we should be asking is less “how many should be eating?” but “what is in these foods which makes them so health protective? And can we add some of those protective elements in a supplement?” ‘Fruits, vegetables and oily fish contain valuable anti-inflammatory compounds. These combat “chronic sub-clinical inflammation”, the process which drives nearly all degenerative disease – heart disease, stroke, arthritis, Type 2 diabetes, dementia and some cancers. ‘This type of internal inflammation causes progressive but largely undetectable tissue damage – until that damage finally manifests itself as an age-related disease ‘Fruits and vegetables and Omega 3s from oily fish are anti-inflammatory, but many of the processed foods we eat today are pro-inflammatory: foods cooked at high temperatures, foods cooked in most plant oils, and foods containing excessive sugar, starch and salt. ‘So decreasing pro-inflammatory foods and increasing the anti-inflammatory elements in our diet should be the real health strategy.’ Dr Paul Clayton’s free e-book, Imflamm-ageing www.inflammageing.com sets out the details of this health strategy: ‘I’ve come to believe that the only realistic course for most people is to add in a well-designed supplement – especially as you get older. Natural compounds like Omega 3 fish oil, polyphenols from curcumin, green tea and grape seed extract, are all powerful anti-inflammatories. If you add other supplements – for example like lycopene (a tomato-derived nutrient), lutein (dark green leafy vegetables) and soy isoflavones – you can create a really nutrient dense diet, rich in the compounds I believe are especially protective.’ Dr Clayton has consulted in the design of a supplement called NutriShield – www.nutrishield.com which contains these natural compounds: ‘Supporting supplements used to be a controversial position to take, but our sedentary lifestyle demands lower food intakes – and less food means less nutrients. I believe supplementing a healthy diet is vital health strategy, especially as you get older. But it needs to be more than a simple one-a-day vitamin pill to have any effect’ A supplement is never a substitute for fresh fruits and vegetables – but it as the name implies, it can add important elements to a basically healthy diet that falls short of that 10 a day optimum. Dr Paul Clayton is available for interview. Contact: Uni-Vite Healthcare Ltd, 50 Aylesbury Rd, Aston Clinton, Aylesbury, Bucks, UK. HP22 5AH Tel: +44 (0)1296 630900 Or Colin Rose: colin@cjrose.net Mobile: 07885 201150 Aylesbury, Bucks UK 5th April Dr Paul Clayton has a YouTube channel. See especially https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vadab96tJHM Also see Dr Paul Clayton’s website: http://www.drpaulclayton.com
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