ABSTRACT
For many years epidemiological studies have highlighted a strong negative correlation between fruit and vegetable intake and incidence of degenerative diseases such as numerous forms of cancer (Block et al., 1992), cardiovascular diseases (Ness and Powles, 1997), and other diseases including age-related macular degeneration (Goldberg et al., 1988), cataract (Mares-Perlman et al., 1995), bronchitis, asthma, peptic ulcers, gallstones, liver cirrhosis, kidney stones, and arthritis (La Vecchia et al., 1998). One suggestion for the protective effects of diets high in fruits and vegetables is their high content of antioxidant phytochemicals, which are proposed to protect vital biomolecules such as DNA, proteins, and lipids from oxidation caused as a result of the production of free radicals under both normal metabolism and conditions of stress. Over time and with insuf cient repair, the damage caused by molecular oxidation is proposed to result in disease (Diplock et al., 1998).
