What are Nutricines?

Since we were expecting company from abroad, I decided to try something new; I ordered Organic Vegetables from the internet. I ordered the vegetables on Saturday and was told that I would receive carrots and onions grown in Denmark, broccoli from Spain and bata lettuce from France. I paid my Dkr. 64.- for the order and was told to show my receipt when I picked up my vegetables the following Thursday.

On Thursday a friend, who was visiting us from Bangkok, Thailand, and I drove up to the Q-8 petrol (filling) station near our residence to pick up my order. The vegetables came in a nice tidy box, my order was attached, I showed my receipt for the DKr 64.- I had paid and was handed the box. I drove home very curious about what my purchase would reveal.

The vegetables were fresh, looked healthy and interesting. I was pleased. I then proceeded to plan my menu for the visitors we were expecting from Antwerp, Belgium. Cliff Adams and his wife were attending a conference in Copenhagen and would have an evening free to spend with us. So, in true European style, dinner at our house. I was a little nervous, because what do you prepare for a man who is the Scientific Director for one of Europe's leading feed additive manufacturers based in Belgium. Fortunately, we know Cliff on a personal level, and however knowledgeable he is in the sciences, it always gave me great pleasure when I could beat him on the tennis court In Antwerp, Belgium, where we lived for several years.

Although I am not an expert cook, I do enjoy cooking and have made it not just a challenge, but view a dinner and a table setting as a creation - an art form. It has always given me great pleasure when I can serve a meal which people enjoy and which is the basis of an enjoyable evening. So, while my food was perhaps not the most exotic, it was nourishing and, hopefully, satisfying. During the course of dinner I mentioned that I was serving Organic Vegetables. This led to the topic of Nutricines - a completely unfamiliar term to me and doubtlessly to many of you.

Cliff Adams explained to me that Nutricines are components of food which are considered for their beneficial effect upon health rather than a direct contribution to nutrition. Examples of important nutricines include antioxidants, non-digestible carbohydrates, natural acids, enzymes and lecithins. These all play different, but important roles, in delaying the onset of diseases, controlling microbic spoilage of food, improving the digestion of food and helping the absorption of nutrients from the gastro- intestinal tract which enable growth and development of the body.

Nutricines provide the crucial link between health and nutrition. Cliff Adams has written a book in which he introduces this wholly new concept in food components. Dr. Adams, based on years of research, describes the nature and mode of action of nutricines and highlights their significance in disease avoidance and health maintenance. In his view, food should now be seen as being made up of two groups of components: nutrients and nutricines.

Dr. Adams has also written a book: NUTRICINES, Food Components in Health and Nutrition. You may order your book through www.nup.com or visit his website.

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