Nutrition’s Dynamic Duos
I am always amazed and intrigued by those serendipitous combinations that bring two different things alive in new ways. Who would have thought that a bit of balsamic vinegar on strawberries would make them taste so good? Or that cheese and apple would go well together? Or Wensleydale and Christmas cake? Or bacon and marmalade sandwiches? Or butternut squash and miso? The list could go on…and I’m sure you have your own interesting food combinations that raise a few eyebrows!
Similar serendipitous combinations with vitamins, minerals and nutrients are even more fascinating. I call these combinations ‘dynamic duos’ because they pack a powerful punch and provide extra health boosts. The sum of the two parts are greater than the whole.
Serendipity is ‘an unsought, unintended, or unexpected, but fortunate, discovery or experience that happens by accident. It happens when we are willing to experiment or try new things or just ‘go with the creative flow’.
Nutrition’s Dynamic Duos
From my previous blogs, you must know by now that when I know I am coming down with something or after I have been exposed to bugs and viruses, I increase my intake of Vitamin C, Vitamin D, and Zinc. But did you know they have ‘dynamic duos’ that increase their health benefits?
Vitamin D is an essential fat-soluble vitamin that contributes to bone strength and metabolism, with particular role in calcium homeostasis, bone mineralization, and promoting the immune system. Increasing your intake of Vitamin D also helps your body absorb calcium and having enough Vitamin D in your gut directly affects your ability to absorb calcium. But consuming it with Vitamin K is vital for optimising the benefits of Vitamin D.[1]
In clinical settings, Vitamins D and K are both shown to reduce oxidative stress, and inflammation, and thereby reduce risk of osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease.[2] Consuming Vitamin D with Vitamin K also minimises the potential problem of excessive calcium uptake. And of course, Vitamin K by itself has some fascinating health benefits ranging from anti-cancer properties to the regulation and balancing of coagulation.
A similar synergy happens with vitamin C and iron. Vitamin C helps your body absorb iron by converting the nonheme iron in plant foods and iron-fortified foods into a more accessible chemical form. So, if you eat red pepper and humous, you will get more benefits than just eating a red pepper!
We all know that carrots are healthy for us! They contain carotenoids such as beta carotene and lycopene are important phytonutrients that help fight inflammation. But what happens when we eat them with eggs or oil-based salad dressings? According to a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, adding eggs to salads makes it easier to absorb the carotenoids in the raw vegetables.[3] According to other research published in the Journal of Functional Foods, black pepper also improves the intestinal absorption of beta-carotene, along with capsaicin, the phytonutrient found in ginger and cayenne.[4]
We all know dark, leafy greens, such as kale, spinach and chard, are good for us. But did you know that you can increase absorption of a whole host of nutrients by eating them with healthy fats such as those found in nuts and olive oil? Lutein and zeaxanthin, for example, are fat soluble antioxidants, so if you eat your kale with walnuts or your spinach with olive oil, you are optimising the way your body accesses their nutrients.
Other Dynamic Duos
Other dynamic duos you might want to look into include olive oil and lemon, zinc and copper, berberine and milk thistle. Turmeric has important anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, thanks to the presence of a pigment called curcumin. But did you know its healing properties are magnified many times over when you consume it together with black pepper? Piperine, the alkaloid in the pepper, can boost the availability of curcumin by 2,000%, according to one study from 1998.[5] Let me know if you want more information on any of these and I will cover this in a future blog post.
As you can see, I am fascinated by the healing power of whole foods whereby nutrients act interdependently. The interaction between ‘dynamic duos’ creates a special synergy that enlivens their beneficial impact and I hope this blog has been an inspiration for you to think about taking advantage of these powerful combinations.
With every blessing,
Emma
Emma Maitland-Carew – Registered Nutritional Therapist
Dip.ION, mBANT, CHNC Registered Practitioner,
Metabolic Balance® Coach, HeartMath Coach, Accredited Wellbeing Coach.
[1] van Ballegooijen AJ et al. The synergistic interplay between vitamins D and K for bone and cardiovascular health: A narrative review. Int J Endocrinol. 2017;2017:7454376.
[2] Plaza SM et al. Vitamin K2 in bone metabolism and osteoporosis. Altern Med Rev. 2005;10(1):24-35.
[3] Jung Eun Kim, Susannah L Gordon, Mario G Ferruzzi, Wayne W Campbell, ‘Effects of egg consumption on carotenoid absorption from co-consumed, raw vegetables’, The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Volume 102, Issue 1, July 2015, Pages 75–83, https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/102/1/75/4564351
[4] Veda, S., & Srinivasan, K. 2009. Influence of dietary spices—black pepper, red pepper and ginger on the uptake of ß-carotene by rat intestines. Journal of Functional Foods, 1 (4), 394–98.
[5] Shoba G, Joy D, Joseph T, Majeed M, Rajendran R, Srinivas PS. Influence of piperine on the pharmacokinetics of curcumin in animals and human volunteers. Planta Med. 1998 May;64(4):353-6. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9619120/
