It’s ok to judge your food by its cover. ROYGBIV: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, and Violet should be a phrase and color scheme we’re all familiar with. Using that color palate should be a no brainer for picking out healthy foods. A rainbow is a pretty strong symbolization; whether it is a symbol of beauty and enjoyable weather, a symbol of human rights, a struggling fight of opposition, or a representation of what is in our food.
The phrase “eating a rainbow” of fruits and vegetables is a simple way of remembering to get as much color variety in your diet as possible and to maximize your intake of a broad range of nutrients. The colors of fruits and vegetables are a small clue as to what vitamins and nutrients are included. By getting a variety of colored foods, you are guaranteed a diverse amount of essential vitamins and minerals. Let’s take a look, and see what each color actually holds.
“R”
Red food gets its punch from lycopene. Lycopene gives fruit (yes a tomato is a fruit), its red to pinkish hue in color. Study after study shows just how beneficial red foods, are good for your cardiovascular health and a drastic reduction of cancer risks.
How to eat: Our bodies have a hard time digesting the cell walls of plant material. Since lycopene is concentrated in the skin (wall) of fruits and veggies, its best to eat them pulverized to increase the bioavailability, or the amount we can absorb in the body. Think tomato sauce, juice, and soup. Lycopene is a phytochemical which is fat-soluble, meaning it is absorbed much greater in the presence of fat. So, in order to get an even heavier dose, splash some olive oil to the mix or add some cheese. Mmm, anyone thinking caprese? Don’t like tomatoes? No problem! Watermelon, grapefruit, guava, or any red produce is just as beneficial.
“O”
Orange foods get its immune and cancer fighting properties from carotenoids. Who knew things like carrots and sweet potatoes were the perfect complement to a summer day? Beta-carotene is one of the carotenoids that give plants their orange-yellow color. It collects in the skin and may help protect against UV damage. (Note: you still need to use sunscreen!) The body converts beta-carotene into Vitamin A, which is essential for a killer immune system and vision. Studies are also suggesting that a carotenoid rich diet is linked to lower risk of heart disease and lung cancer.
How to eat: Some phytochemicals are fat-soluble meaning your body needs fat to better break them down and utilize it. Carotenoids are in that group. So they are best absorbed in oil, and further enhanced if chopped or pureed. But, don’t go guzzling gallons of carrot juice. It is true that if you drink or eat enough, your skin will turn yellow. Think carrots, oranges, butternut, sweet potato, and pumpkin.
“Y”
Yellow fruits and vegetables are teeming with carotenoids and bioflavonoids, which represent a class of plant pigments that function as antioxidants. Along with antioxidants, sunny-colored foods also have an abundance of vitamin C. Studies suggest that these bountiful nutrients will help your heart, vision, digestion and immune system. Other benefits of naturally yellow foods include maintenance of healthy skin, wound healing, and stronger bones and teeth.
How to eat: To get the greatest amount of benefits, eat it raw and fresh. Many yellow, Vitamin C containing foods, can lose some of their nutrition through oxidation and heat. So the fruit on a fruit tray will have higher nutrition values the day of purchase, rather a few days after. Cooking can leech some nutrients as well. Think the sun: lemons, bananas, plantains, star fruit, pineapple, yellow peppers, and corn are all great examples. Yellow’s sunny hue is vibrant and bright. After all, who doesn’t love bright colors?
“G”
Green foods are packed with a slew of phytochemicals like lutein, zeaxanthin, and indoles, many of which are the same phytochemicals in the human eye. Spinach may have given Popeye his muscles, but that might not have been his only claim to fame as he probably had 20/20 vision too. Studies show that not only do these color foods help with sight related issues like cataracts and macular degeneration, but they also help our body speed up carcinogen breakdown and can dramatically help reduce our risk of all cancers. Green colored items are slightly higher in calcium as well, resulting in stronger teeth and bones. Switching to darker colored greens puts the nutrition in overdrive. Dark greens are packed with essential nutrition such as omega-3, which are important in cell growth and regulation of inflammation.
How to eat: Believe it or not, underneath all the green chlorophyll is orange pigment. So many orange colored foods, or carotenoids for that matter, are best utilized chopped up, or with a bit of fat like oils. That bit of oil helps to increase the amount our bodies absorb almost double fold. Go for apples, celery, honeydew, avocado, green grapes, kiwi, kale, zucchini, spinach, and romaine, just to name a few.
“B”
Blue, indigo, and violet are all spectrum shades of blue. Ranging from light blue to a dark purple, any food within this color palate is going to be beaming in nutrition. These colored foods are huge in anthocyanidins. Although anthocyanidins are still being studied, research is showing these super antioxidants have anti inflammation properties. They are also being shown in prevention of blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, and arthritis. Most importantly, blue foods are shown to increase memory.
How to eat: Anthocyanidins can be destroyed to an extent with heat. Therefore it’s suggested to eat them raw or frozen. Cooking your blue and purple produce will only diminish its nutrition content slightly, so if you like it hot, then cook it up. Fats and oils don’t increase absorption like many other colors, but with this class, and any class, eating the skins are important. Go grab some eggplant, blackberries, raspberries, red cabbage, blueberries, black beans, plums, currants, red grapes, and cherries.
In summary, invigorate the five senses, and taste the rainbow. I’m not talking the one in the clouds, but the one on your plate. Use the rainbow to help yourself choose healthy foods based on appearance. Don’t just dream in color, eat in color too.
Here’s a delicious and colorful spring /summertime recipe for you to enjoy!
Five Colored Salsa
2 — (15 oz) cans of black beans. Drained and rinsed.
1 — (17 oz) bag of whole kernel corn, thawed.
1 – (1-lb) Package of grape tomatoes, sliced in half or quarters.
1 – sm. can Pineapple Tidbits
1 – Large avocado, peeled and diced
1 – Small Onion, diced
1 – Mango, peeled and diced
1/3 c. –Sliced cilantro leaves
3 Tablespoon –lime juice
1 Tablespoon –Red wine vinegar
Salt and Pepper
Directions:
Mix all ingredients together thoroughly in a large bowl. Cover and for best flavor, chill overnight before serving. Taste and based on preference add more salt, pepper, or even lime juice for extra tang. Serve as a side with blue corn chips, or on top of grilled meats as an entrée.
