Eat the Rainbow: How Colorful Foods Can Improve Your Health
Let me start by saying the often-used nutrition phrase of “eat the rainbow” should NOT be confused with the decidedly non-nutrition related tagline “taste the rainbow” introduced in the 90s by Skittles’ candy. I encourage eating 5-9 servings of fruits and vegetables a day but NOT 5-9 servings of fruit-flavored candies, you know, just in case there was any uncertainty.
The idea behind eating the rainbow is to get a variety of different foods on your plate each day. Did you know the color of your food can give a hint as to what health promoting phytonutrients it contains? Here I will breakdown the color code so you can learn the benefits of adding ROY G BIV to your meals and snacks.
Red Foods
Red or pink colored foods like tomatoes, pink grapefruit, watermelon, and red bell peppers contain lycopene. Lycopene is an antioxidant that can help protect your cells from free radical damage. There are also some indications it could be protective against environmental toxins like pesticides. In addition, lycopene may be protective against cancer, especially prostate cancer. And it can promote heart health.
Orange Foods
Orange foods like winter squash, sweet potatoes, carrots, cantaloupe, and apricots contain beta-carotene. Beta-carotene is another antioxidant which helps combat free radical damage in the body. Damage from free radicals can lead to chronic diseases like atherosclerosis and diabetes. In addition, beta-carotene is a precursor to vitamin A, which means our bodies can convert beta-carotene into vitamin A. Beta-carotene may slow cognitive decline and promote healthy skin and vision.
There is a word of caution with beta-carotene for smokers. Higher intakes of beta carotene have been linked to higher incidence of lung cancer in smokers. This is related to how cigarette smoke oxidizes beta-carotene in the lungs shutting down a protective pathway. This is not really a concern when getting beta-carotene from foods but should definitely be taken into consideration before starting any high dose supplements.
Yellow Foods
Lutein and zeaxanthine are the chemical compounds often responsible for the yellow color of foods like egg yolks and corn. These compounds are also found in high levels in green vegetables like kale where the chlorophyll masks their color.
Lutein and zeaxanthine are antioxidants (are we noticing a trend here?) that protect the body from damage and the progression of diseases like heart disease. Lutein and zeaxanthine are associated with eye health, protecting eyes from the free radicals produced from exposure to light and oxygen. In fact, they are sometimes called macular pigments because they tend to accumulate in the macula region of the retina in the back of the eye.
Green Foods
Green vegetables can have several health promoting compounds. Chlorophyll is the main component that makes green plants green and although there are some potential health benefits, it tends to get broken down in digestion before it can be absorbed. More on that another time.
For now, we are going to focus on isothiocyanates. Isothiocynates are particularly high in cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, kale, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, and bok choy. Studies have found these compounds to be anti-cancer. In addition, isothiocyanates could help lower blood sugar levels, improve detoxification, and reduce inflammation.
Blue and Purple Foods
Anthocyanins are the phytonutrients responsible for those purple hues of foods like blackberries, blueberries, eggplant, red cabbage, and more. The deeper the color, the greater the amount of anthocyanin in the fruit or veggie!
Anthocyanins help protect plants from environmental stressors like UV light and cold temperatures. In people, anthocyanins appear to be protective against cardiovascular disease, cognitive decline, and cancer.
White Foods
What about foods that don’t have a distinct color? Perhaps you have heard in the past that you shouldn't eat white foods, that they provide little nutritional benefit. While this is true about things like sugar and refined flour, it is not true about white hued produce.
Flavonoids, one of the largest groups of phytonutrients, have amazing antioxidant power but many of them are actually colorless. As you are building your colorful plates don't forget to leave some space for nutrient dense white vegetables like cauliflower, onions, turnips, mushrooms, and parsnips.
Add More Color
Although you might first think about fruits and vegetables as the best source for rainbow colors in your diet, there are other foods that count as color too. Grains can come in a variety of colors like black forbidden rice, red rice, red quinoa, or blue corn. In general, the more color in a food, the more anti-inflammatory and health promoting properties the food provides.
You don’t have to seek out new foods to add color. More groceries stores and farmers markets are carrying “rainbow” versions of some pretty standard foods. Look for carrots in purple and yellow as well as orange (studies show that purple carrots have 20 times more phytonutrients than the typical orange carrot). Seek mixed variety containers of tomatoes and radishes. Did you know that cauliflower is available in purple and orange hues? Baby potatoes can be red, gold or purple. Green beans can be purple or yellow!
Eat the Rainbow Challenge
Want to know how well you eat the rainbow in each day? Give yourself a little eat the rainbow challenge. Count how many colors you see in your meals and snacks for the next 3 days. Are you hitting every color in the rainbow each day? If you are that is amazing! Keep it up and try different foods in each color category for even more variety. If you aren’t hitting every color, which ones are missing? Add a food with the missing color to your next grocery list. Take a look above for some ideas or do a quick search online. This is a great challenge to get the kids more interested in fruits and vegetables too!
The information provided is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not intended to be medical advice or to diagnosis, treat, cure or prevent any disease. This information does not replace a one-on-one relationship with a physician or healthcare professional. Dietary changes and/or the taking of nutritional supplements may have differing effects on individuals.
To learn more about how working with a nutritionist could help you, schedule a free 15 minute call.