Pairing certain foods can provide a bigger nutritional bang for your buck.MICHAEL GRAYDON, NIKOLE HERRIOT/The New York Times News Service
Fruits, vegetables, whole grains, pulses, soybeans and nuts are excellent sources of vitamins and minerals, nutrients that keep our bodies running in high gear. (No surprise there.)
They also contain thousands of phytochemicals, plant compounds thought to help guard against chronic disease.
What you might not realize, though, is that some nutrients and protective phytochemicals aren’t optimally absorbed if you eat these foods on their own.
Instead, pairing certain foods can provide a bigger nutritional bang for your buck. In other words, the whole is more powerful than the sum of its parts.
The concept of food synergy
Food synergy refers to the interactions between nutrients and other components in foods that make them better absorbed and used by the body.
Eating two or more foods together can deliver greater nutritional value – and potential health benefits – than if eaten alone.
That’s the reason why nutrition scientists now study dietary patterns – the overall combination of foods eaten on a regular basis – instead of the health effects of single foods or nutrients.
Dietary patterns capture the complexity of the nutrient interactions between foods.
Powerful nutrient and food pairings
To enhance the nutritional value of your meals and snacks, consider the following nutrient synergies and food combinations.
Plant-based iron + vitamin C
While spinach, prunes, tofu, chickpeas and pumpkin seeds are high in iron, this doesn’t mean your body gets all of it.
That’s because iron in plant foods, called non-heme iron, is poorly absorbed. Natural compounds called phytates bind to iron making it unavailable for absorption. (Heme iron in animal foods is highly absorbable.)
You can enhance the absorption of iron in plants by pairing it with vitamin C. The nutrient transforms non-heme iron into a form the body can more easily absorb.
Include at least 50 mg of vitamin C in plant-based meals to significantly enhance iron absorption.
For example, toss one half-cup of sliced strawberries (50 mg vitamin C) into a spinach salad or add one cup of broccoli (81 mg) to a tofu stir-fry. Enjoy hummus with red or yellow bell pepper sticks; half of a large red or yellow pepper has 100 and 170 mg of vitamin C, respectively.
Carotenoids + fat
Leafy greens such as spinach, kale, Swiss chard and collard greens are exceptional sources of beta-carotene and lutein, potent antioxidants that belong to the carotenoid family.
Eating a diet high in carotenoid-rich vegetables and fruit is associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease.
And a higher intake of dietary lutein is thought to slow the development of age-related macular degeneration and benefit cognitive health.
Carotenoids are fat soluble, so you’ll need some fat with your greens to absorb these antioxidants. As little as 3 to 5 g (about a teaspoon worth) will do the trick.
Sauté greens in extra virgin olive oil, add hardboiled eggs to a spinach salad (egg yolks are a good source of fat) or serve greens with an oily fish like salmon or trout. Another benefit: Fat also enhances the absorption of leafy greens’ brain-friendly vitamin E and bone-building vitamin K.
Other excellent sources of beta-carotene that will benefit from a little fat include sweet potato, carrots, butternut squash and pumpkin.
Note: Cooking your vegetables also makes it easier for your body to absorb beta-carotene and lutein.
Turmeric + fat + black pepper
This bright yellow-orange coloured spice has a centuries-long history of being used for medicinal purposes.
Today, turmeric is actively studied for its potential health benefits thanks to curcumin, the spice’s active ingredient.
Curcumin has strong anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties and is thought to help ease arthritic joint pain, reduce the severity of non-alcoholic fatty liver and ease symptoms of depression.
While these studies involve supplements of curcumin extracts or turmeric powder, it’s a healthy and tasty spice to add to your diet.
Turmeric, though, is poorly absorbed by the body. To enhance absorption, pair the spice with fat – add it to olive oil and vinegar salad dressings, scrambled eggs and omelettes or smoothies along with a little almond butter.
Pair turmeric with black pepper too. Black pepper’s active ingredient, piperine, helps inhibit curcumin from being excreted by the body. As little of 1/20 of a teaspoon of black pepper can improve the body’s use of curcumin.
Another trick to boost the absorption of turmeric is to heat it – chickpea curry or turmeric latte anyone?
Leslie Beck, a Toronto-based private practice dietitian, is director of food and nutrition at Medcan. Follow her on Twitter @LeslieBeckRD