Color me Healthy
By Kristin Penner
Dazzle your plates with color! Eating fruits and veggies in a variety of colors — red, dark green, yellow, blue, purple, white and orange — not only provides eye candy, but mixing things up also gives them a broad range of nutrients. So “think variety, think color” and everybody wins! And they can have a little fun filling up that shopping cart with a spectrum of colorful fruits and
vegetables that’ll create a rainbow on your plates!
Why Care about Colors?
-Color molecules that form more than 2,000 pigments in plant foods not only look scrumptious but also contain strong antioxidants
-The deeper color of a fruit or vegetable the more powerful its antioxidant action.
-Functional foods are foods that provide healthy benefits beyond basic nutrition, such as helping prevent disease -Fruits and vegetables are natures original functional foods
Colors Health Claims
-Fruits and Vegetables provide healthful qualities including vitamins and minerals
-Low in calories and sodium
-High in water content and contain no cholesterol
-Good source of Dietary Fiber
-Contain Very little fat
-Consuming different colors of fruits and vegetables each day offers satisfying tastes and textures while increasing protection against disease
-The best way to power up your plate is to eat a variety of colors and choices within each group
Red:
-Red Fruits and vegetables help maintain a healthy heart, memory function, and urinary tract health, and lower risk of some cancers
-Red Pigment lycopene gives color to tomatoes
o It is a strong antioxidant that helps protect against prostate and other
cancers
o Anthocyanis found in red fruits and vegetables decrease heart disease risk,
prevent hardening of blood vessels, lower blood pressure help prevent
cancer and help stop inflammation
Orange/Yellow:
-Helps maintain heart, vision, and immune system health
-Many fruits and vegetables in this group are high in vitamin c and colic acid
-Contain high amounts of lutein which helps maintain vision
-Oranges, lemons, grapefruit and pineapple are rich sources of vitamin C
Green:
-Help lower the risk of some cancers
-Reduce risk of heart disease
-Maintain vision health
-Protect against birth defects
-Keep bones and teeth strong
-Strong flavored green vegetables have disease fighting properties, especially against many kinds of cancer
-Folic acid found in dark green leafy vegetables helps reduce the risk of heart disease
-Iron, Vitamin K, Magnesium, and calcium are found in many green vegetables
helping keep the bones and teeth strong
Blue/purple/black:
-Provide antioxidants that help memory function and heart health
-Blueberries have the highest antioxidant action of any fruit
-Blueberries and cranberries help protect against bladder infections
White/ Tan/ Brown:
-Pears and mushrooms contain antioxidants that protect cell membranes
Make a colorful diet common:
-Fruits and vegetables are portable so they can be a convince food
-Can choose fresh, frozen, dried, or canned
-One serving
o Medium piece of fruit
o 1 cup raw leafy vegetable
o ½ c fruit or vegetables ( raw, cooked, canned or frozen)
o ¼ c. dried fruit
o ¾ c. 100% juice
Eating a rainbow of fruits and vegetables makes a meal look and taste great and improved the immune system, slows aging and reduces the risk for heat disease, cancer and other illnesses.
