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Research studies worldwide have recently begun to uncover the wide array of phytonutrients contained in fruits and vegetables. This factor alone make it even more important than we thought that you include a variety of fruits and vegetables as part of your daily diet.

Phytonutrients offer many benefits with regard to human health, some known and some yet unknown. Did you know the widely touted "vitamin" called folic acid is actually a phytonutrient? On the cusp of the millennium, there is no doubt that the next decade or so is going to burst wide open with many more undiscovered virtues of the phytonutrient rich foods that Americans do not eat enough of.

Given the current dietary government guidelines, phytonutrients are not considered essential nutrients. Nevertheless, a flood of anti-aging research is beginning to demonstrate, and quite provocatively, the potential anti-aging characteristics of some of these mysterious plant compounds. It has been suggested that diseases such as cancer, heart disease and Alzheimer's, may plague the middle aged and elderly due to our limited knowledge of these all important, plant specific nutrients. For example, it has been proposed that certain flavinoids found in blueberries may actually reverse nerve cell aging.

The study of phytonutrients has provided the impetus for both plant and nutritional scientists to work together as a team to uncover even more important knowledge. This makes perfect sense because fresh produce is the only currently known source of these valuable and mysterious nutrients. The sad part is that only a small handful of visionary scientists are researching how to improve the nutritional quality of these lovely green edibles. The majority of research to date has been dedicated to increasing crop yields by making stronger, hardier plants that will be able to ward off being damaged by disease, pesticides, etc.

Genetic engineering has already been able to produce tomatoes with up to three times more lycopene. Lycopene is the cancer reducing red pigment found in tomatoes. These modified tomatoes are able to maintain maximum nutrition 3 times longer (shelf life) than their " regular" counterparts. Autar K. Matoo and colleagues of the ARS vegetable laboratory inserted a gene that retards plant aging along with a promoter that is triggered by ripening. The engineered tomatoes were thus proven to be able to accumulate more lycopene and other antioxidants during the longer ripening stage. It is felt that this novel approach should work with other fruits and vegetables.

Environmental factors also appear to make a difference. Cantaloupe melons, grown at the ARS Subtropical Agricultural Research Center in Weslaco Texas, differed in beta carotene levels by as much as 500 percent. The differences in these levels depended on the soil, the cultivar and the size of the fruit. Gene E. Lester, head research scientist and his colleagues, are embarking on a project to understand post harvest storage factors as well as the environmental and genetic factors that affect phytontrient levels and the quality thereof.

It seems that specialized plant breeding will be central to putting produce with enhanced phytonutrient levels on the dinner table. It is now well known that broccoli contains rich sources of certain compounds that may inhibit cancer. It is felt that there is good potential for increasing the anti-cancer power of this wondrous vegetable. Mark W. Farnham, of the ARS vegetable research lab at Charleston South Carolina, has found that the purported anti-cancer precursor glucoraphanin exhibits a 30 fold increase in the inbred broccoli lines.

While we should all feel grateful that such wondrous research is beginning to unfold, a question remains ... some food for thought. Although genetic engineered fruits and vegetables are beginning to demonstrate without a doubt, that we can produce plants that are packed with additional health supporting active compounds, what is the overall risk? Are these plants as Mother Nature intended them to be? Does and will altering the genetic potential of plant life bring forth a plethora of problems yet unseen? To date, we simply don't know.