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By Daniel Gastelu Section 9. Choosing and Using Bioflavonoids Now that you know all about the benefits that bioflavonoids have to offer, you'll want to start putting them to work for you. You can do this by designing an eating plan that includes foods and supplements that will boost your daily intake of bioflavonoids. Getting more bioflavonoids in your diet can easily be done by making the right choices. Read on to learn how you can go about it. After all, your health is in your hands! Q. How can You start increasing bioflavonoids in your diet? A. Begin by developing good eating habits and by bringing bioflavonoid-rich foods into your home. If you crave something sweet to eat, try fruit instead of candy. If you crave chocolate, limit your intake to one 1.5-ounce serving per day or to one cup of hot cocoa. (Remember, cocoa is rich in bioflavonoids.) Instead of soda, drink fruit juice or diluted fruit juices, such as purple grape, orange, grapefruit, cranberry, apple, peach, or a combination. Also, have a cup or two of green tea with some of your meals. Instead of over-consuming starchy foods-such as pasta, rice, French fries, and bread-at meal time, take only a single serving and load up on high-fiber, bioflavonoid-rich vegetables. Choose fresh vegetables whenever possible, but keep frozen vegetables on hand. Increase your consumption of onions, kale, broccoli, tomatoes, and peppers. If you wish to increase your consumption of soy, begin by using tofu and bean curd in your meals. Purchase soymilk and soy drink mixes, as well as soy nutrition bars. Make it a point to start buying and eating more of these healthy foods. Q. How many servings of fruits and vegetables should I eat per day? A. The current guidelines say to consume several servings of fruits and vegetables each day. However, this depends on your individual metabolism and whether or not you have a weight problem or health problem that demands a special diet. It's wise to eat five or more servings of various vegetables each day. Choose vegetables that have the fewest calories. The consumption of fruits and fruit juices will depend on your caloric expenditure and how your blood-sugar levels respond to fruit juices. Some people with weight problems find that fruit juices sabotage their weight-loss efforts because of surges in blood sugar and insulin levels. Most healthy people can handle two to three servings of fruit juices and/or servings of fruit per day. Eating whole fruit will provide you with fiber and slow the rapid rise in blood-sugar levels that may be experienced with fruit juices. Q. How do I determine my individual needs? A. What you eat every day has the single most important impact on your health. It is in this regard that I strongly recommended you seek the advice of a naturopathic doctor, herbalist, nutritionist, or other health-care practitioner who can design an eating plan and supplement plan that fits your specific needs. Many health food stores are affiliated with health-care professionals who are well-versed in traditional and alternative health approaches. No one person will have all the answers for which you are looking. It may take some time before you figure out what works best for you. But you will discover that it is time well spent, and your efforts will result in improved health and longevity. Q. Can you offer any guidelines for taking bioflavonoid supplements? A. Use of supplements typically falls into two categories: nutritional or therapeutic. Therapeutic use is intended to prevent or treat a specific health concern and is best undertaken under the supervision of your health-care professional. The preceding chapters contain information that you can share with your health-care practitioner. As for nutritional use, refer to the next question and answer for some general guidelines. Q. How do I go about using supplements to increase my intake of bioflavonoids? A. As part of your daily dietary supplement program, you should include supplements that contain the bioflavonoids that meet your specific health goals. You should also include the other beneficial antioxidant vitamins and compounds. Of course, if you have special dietary concerns or if you are very active, you will need to customize your supplement program to meet your individual needs-in which case, it's important to consult a health-care practitioner to determine your specific dietary requirements. However, as a general guide, for healthy people, your daily intake of antioxidants and bioflavonoids from dietary supplements could be somewhere in this general range for maintenance of health and well-being:
Q. How do I select the best supplements? A. Purchase your supplements only from reputable manufacturers. If you cannot determine what a product contains because the label does not disclose this information, do not buy that product. Instead, choose products that clearly label their contents. You need to know exactly what a particular product contains so you can make sure you're getting the proper amount of bioflavonoids in your diet. Moreover, when you purchase products that have quantitative amounts of standardized ingredients, you will be able to determine what you are paying.
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