What are Mesonutrients?

Enter the Mesonutrient: the active compound in superfoods that are stellar for better health, skin, longevity,  abetting disease and leading to positive biochemical reactions in the body. Simply said Mesonutrients are the supernutrients in superfoods.

Superfoods containing mesonutrients are linked to metabolism regulation, healthy weight management, reduced inflammation, improved brain function, softened signs of ageing, and an increase in energy, immunity, and overall wellness. These powerhouse foods are full of vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids, and antioxidants or the mesonutrients. By regularly eating a diverse selection of mesonutrients in superfoods, you can reduce your risk of cancer, cardiovascular disease, and other chronic ailments. 

Examples and how they benefit us?

1. Curcumin the Mesonutrient in Turmeric

Anti-Inflammatory — Turmeric may inhibit the activity and synthesis of enzymes related to inflammation. Curcumin reduces joint inflammation and helps maintain digestive health and reduces bloating and acidity. It also reduces the severity of inflammatory bowel disease.

Brain Health — Curcumin has potential neuroprotective benefits. It is effective against Parkinson’s disease by restoring dopamine levels.

Lowered Cancer Risk — Curcumin may help lower your risk of various types of cancers because it modulates genetic activity and expression. It inhibits the synthesis of a protein that plays a role in the formation of tumors, stops the transformation of cells from normal to tumor and destroys mutated cancer cells to prevent them from spreading throughout your body.

Cardiovascular Function – Curcuminoids help people who receive coronary artery bypass grafting and can help lower total cholesterol level, as well as LDL (bad) cholesterol levels.

2. Lutein, the mesonutrient in green leafy vegetables and orange and yellow-colored fruits and vegetables.

Lutein-rich foods you can include in your meals are Spinach, Mustard, Kale, Carrots, Broccoli, Egg yolks, Peppers, Avocadoes, Cherries and Papaya. Lutein helps protect your central vision and assists in fighting age-related eye diseases like cataracts and macular degeneration, the number 1 causes of blindness among the elderly. Excessive use of screens and the blue light from screens cause eye diseases and consuming lutein from foods can prevent early onset macular degeneration and cataract. Increased plasma levels of antioxidants like lutein, vitamin E, lycopene, and carotene are known to reduce the severity of congestive heart failure.

3. Lycopene is a plant mesonutrient with antioxidant properties.

It’s the pigment that gives red and pink fruits, such as tomatoes, watermelons, and pink grapefruit, their characteristic color.

Diets rich in the antioxidant lycopene help prevent the development of prostate cancer. It may also protect against cancers of the lungs, breasts, and kidneys.

Lycopene’s strong antioxidant properties may help improve cholesterol levels

May help your eyesight: Lycopene may prevent or delay the formation of cataracts and reduce the risk of macular degeneration

4. Berberine is a bitter-tasting, yellow mesonutrient in plants

It has a long history of medical use in Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine.
Berberine is found in the roots and stem bark of many plants including goldenseal, Oregon grape, Indian barberry, and tree turmeric. Berberine has also been used as a yellow dye. Berberine may also protect against viruses, fungi, protozoans, worms, and chlamydia.  

Berberine may help improve blood sugar control, heart function and quality of life in people with congestive heart failure (CHF). Berberine also delays glaucoma, an eye condition that leads to damage of the optic nerve.

5. Resistant starch, the mesonutrient in green bananas.

For gluten-free eaters, green banana flour is also a great source of resistant starch. Enzymes in the small intestine convert starches to sugar, but resistant starch — as the name implies — cannot be digested.

This undigested starch reaches the colon where it acts like a prebiotic, which is what your good gut bacteria eat. Feeding on the resistant starch not only strengthens the gut, it also reduces insulin resistance and helps in delaying diabetes.

6. Anthocyanins are a type of flavonoid, a mesonutrient with antioxidant effects.

Anthocyanins are the pigments that give red, purple, and blue plants their rich coloring. Anthocyanins are found in berries, red onions, kidney beans, pomegranates, grapes (including wine), tomatoes, acai, blueberries, cherries, eggplant, prunes, raisins, and strawberries. These vegetables are also part of the nightshades.

In addition to acting as antioxidants and fighting free radicals, anthocyanins offer anti-inflammatory, anti-viral, and anti-cancer benefits. Anthocyanins may enhance heart health, improve cholesterol levels and blood sugar metabolism, prevent high blood pressure, as well as fight oxidative stress (reduce free radicals). Anthocyanins may aid in the prevention of breast cancer, esophageal cancer, and liver cancer

Anthocyanins in blueberries and strawberries seem to offer the greatest benefits for protecting brain function and delay the onset of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.

How can we better our intake of them?

The world has recognized the medicinal use of curcumin and now curcumin milk also known as turmeric latte is part of Café menus internationally. Back home eat more turmeric in your vegetables, beans, dals, curries, dips and in breakfast such as pancakes and upma.
Raw turmeric can be eaten like ginger in food and juice of pressed turmeric can be added to soups and smoothies. Turmeric can also be added to warm water first thing in the morning to fight inflammation and manage weight better.

Lutein, anthocyanins and lycopene can be increased by eating more of red, green, yellow, orange, and purple vegetable and fruits. Remember to cook / saute vegetables slightly and avoid overcooking as it may lead to loss of delicate micronutrients.

Eating a rainbow diet with all the colours of spectrum is also a simple way of including more of these mesonutrients.

Eating root vegetables and Indian herbs such as barberry, turmeric and goldenseal (pitkand) is a way of incorporating berberine in our diets.

Why is it good to know so much about what you are consuming? 

Today the focus is on cutting fat, counting calories, reducing sugar, low carb diets, and weight loss. But the high incidence of cardio metabolic diseases such as fatty liver, cardio vascular disease, diabetes, hypertension, PCOS and Cancer call for knowing how to eat to prevent these diseases in the first instance. This can be achieved by the intake of active food components such as antioxidants and phytochemicals also known as mesonutrients.