ISNA NUTRITION RESEARCH COMMITTEE
The foods we eat or don’t eat, are messages to our genes that tell them to function in a certain way. How can we maximize the best “return on ingestion” in a school nutrition environment? 4 By looking upstream at the bioactive compounds and cooking methods that have the biggest nutrient and phytochemical density, school nutrition programs can have a role in preventing or progressing many downstream effects in children and adolescents such as mental, behavioral, and autoimmune disorders, or even “leaky gut.” 1 MD Anderson Cancer Center has highlighted a few examples with cooking methods in the graphic below. 5 Simple swaps of ingredients, a change in the cooking method, or adding a few herbs or spices to recipes can have sizable dividends down the road with very little, if any, added cost. Perhaps a nutrigenomics approach to your school nutrition
program inspire excitement and innovation to focus on colorful additions and phytonutrient-packed meals for your student body. You just might be intervening “sufficiently will upstream at a point that can beneficially influence multiple downstream targets.” 1 By harnessing these biochemistry champion superfoods, your school nutrition program can advance with the growing body of scientific literature that these foods positively affect student health and behavior. Results that may also be seen in academic and athletic performance and excellence. Did you ever think that your school nutrition program could be so important?
Nutritional Bioactives, the Seventh Nutrient: An Opportunity for Your School Nutrition Program
By Sarah Amidon Eastern Michigan University Dietetic Intern
Most of you reading this publication are aware that nutrition matters. But, why does it matter? At a very basic level for our students: to be able to grow, learn and develop. Peeling the onion to see the layers underneath, you’ll get into the biochemistry at the cellular level. Nerd alert! Perhaps you recall some of the sprawling metabolic pathways that look more like the cogs in a machine than human processes. Glycolysis, the Citric Acid (TCA or Kreb’s) Cycle, the Electron Transport Chain, Methylation, Beta Oxidation, just to name a few. Much like a recipe for the meal being served at lunch today, our bodies need the right ingredients in the right proportions to be considered a success. What if I told you that it’s not enough to focus on the 6 established nutrients: water, vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, fat, and protein? We cannot overlook the bioactive compounds found in phytochemicals. These powerful antioxidants are what protect our cells and DNA from causing conditions like cancer while helping “take out the trash” with the normal byproducts of metabolism and any additional environmental toxins we may encounter day-to-day. Most of these bioactives are found in colorful plant foods and it is largely why dietitians suggest eating the rainbow, varying the diet to modify our meals whenever possible. You see, these vibrantly colored compounds have the ability to modify gene expression – turning genes on or off to benefit the body and maintain its homeostasis. They step on the gas with some enzymes while letting off the gas or stepping on the brakes with others. By cultivating
a physiological terrain in which disease and infection cannot thrive, school nutrition has a weighty responsibility and opportunity to contribute to the health and vibrancy of its students and stakeholders. Sulforaphane is one of the most potent and most studied of these bioactive phytonutrients. It can be found in cruciferous vegetables like kale, cauliflower, bok choy, Brussels sprouts, spinach, cabbage and broccoli. Broccoli sprouts contain one of the highest concentrations of sulforaphane, and broccoli sprout powder is becoming well known for its use as a bioactive nutraceutical. 1 One 2020 systematic review found, “significant improvement with behavior, social and cognitive scores,” using sulforaphane in individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders. 2 Other phytochemicals that support biochemical processes such as the Nrf2 pathway for detoxification (which ultimately reduce oxidative stress, cancer, mental and behavioral health, autoimmunity, hormone imbalances, etc.) include: turmeric, ginger, pomegranate, rosemary, berries, coffee and tea, cruciferous vegetables (cauliflower, kale, broccoli, watercress), alliums (garlic,
References 1. Houghton CA. Sulforaphane: Its “Coming of age” as a Clinically Relevant Nutraceutical in the Prevention and Treatment of Chronic Disease. Oxid Med Cell Longev. 2019;2019:1-27. doi:10.1155/2019/2716870. 2. McGuinness G, Kim Y. Sulforaphane Treatment for Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review. EXCLI J. 2020;19:892- 903. doi:10.17179/excli2020-2487. 3. Hodges RE, Minich DM. Modulation of Metabolic Detoxification Pathways Using Foods and Food-derived Components: A Scientific Review with Clinical Application. J Nutr Metab. 2015;2015:1-23. doi:10.1155/2015/760689. 4. Archibald A. The Genomic Kitchen: Your Guide to Understanding and Using the Food-Gene Connection for a Lifetime of Health.; 2019. 5. Alexander H. Sulforaphane Benefits: How Broccoli and Brussels Sprouts May Help Reduce Your Cancer Risk. MD Anderson Cancer Center. Click here for website. Published April 8, 2020. Accessed January 20, 2022.
onion), tomatoes (especially cooked), cocoa, and so many more. 3
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