Americas Phytonutrient Report Revised

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich.The Americas Phytonutrient Report, originally published last October by NUTRILITE, has been updated to include revised statistics on the number of Americans missing out on the health benefits of a diet rich in colorful fruits and vegetables, resulting in a phytonutrient gap with potential health consequences.

The report looked at fruit and vegetable consumption in five color categories, specifically green, red, white, blue/purple and yellow/orange. The report focuses on 14 phytonutrients of interest to comprise the five color categories, and the percentages of Americans who have a gap in each of these phytonutrients also have been corrected in the revised report.

The conclusion of both reportsthat, on average, eight out of 10 Americans have a phytonutrient gap, as described in the reportremains the same. Some of the original report's statistics, which demonstrate the number of Americans falling short in four of five color categories of phytonutrients, have changed.

Updated findings show the biggest phytonutrient gap was found in the white fruit and vegetable category where 83 percent of Americans fall short. Americans are doing a little better on getting phytonutrients found in green fruits and vegetables (69 percent fall short); 76 percent fall short in blue/purple; 74 percent fall short in the red, and 80 percent in orange/yellow.