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Page 5
| The Simple Answer |
| Although some researchers were reluctant to acknowledge it, the evidence pointed to a direct link between diet and health. The diets that seemed to offer protection from disease were those that were low in fat and high in fiber, fruits, and vegetables. The American diet is just the oppositehigh in fat and low in fiber and plant foods. Therefore, a high-fat, low-fiber diet must increase the chances of developing certain diseases, such as heart disease and cancer, since those diseases are so prevalent in the United States. |
| Secret Ingredients |
| Once the diet-health connection was (re)established, scientists began to ask another question. Why did a diet low in fat and rich in fiber and plant foods offer more protection against disease? |
| They theorized that some ingredients in this diet's main componentplant foodsmight play a protective role. So researchers began analyzing fruits and vegetables to try to find these ingredients. They found that plant foods are loaded with vitamins, including beta-carotene (the plant form of vitamin A), C, and E, as well as minerals such as potassium and selenium. They also discovered that fruits and vegetables contain many other chemical compounds, now known as phytonutrients, that scientists had never before detected. |
| Researchers then looked for links between these substances and diseases such as cancer and heart disease. Sure enough, they found that people who ate diets low in those vitamins and miner- |
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