Harvard Health Letter, April, 1995 says: "There is a plethora of bioactive substances in plant foods called functional components; these include a large class of naurally occurring compounds known as phytochemicals. Hotter than the Internet? Anyone who hasn't heard about functional foods soon will - the term is well on its way to becoming the latest nutrition buzzword. It simply means "foods" with the ingredients thought to prevent disease."

Without a doubt, food is the fuel that provides building blocks for our body's healing mechanisms. There is more to food, however, than just vitamins and minerals that are essential to our bodies in order to build and maintain optimum health. Phytochemicals are the next level in acheiving overall good health.

Unfortunately, the food we eat is harvested green, which prevents us from receiving these much needed nutrients. Phytochemicals are only synthesized in plants that have been allowed to vine-ripen. These chemicals protect the ripe plants from damage caused by ultraviolet rays from sunlight. These same chemicals have been scientifically proven to have a profound effect on the human immune system.

You see, when we take vitamins to ward off free radicals in our bodies, we only rid ourselves of the toxins on the surface of our cells. Phytochemicals go into the nucleous of our cells to kill the free radicals and repair any damage that was done to the cells. It is through this action that phytochemicals allow our bodies to heal themselves. Isn't mother nature magnificant!