Eat Your True Colors: How a Rainbow Diet Helps Keeps You Healthy
For generations, mothers have urged their children to eat their vegetables and snack on fruit. And of course, the concept is familiar, but mostly people associate eating these foods as a way of managing their weight.
But there are many more reasons how routinely eating fresh produce can benefit your health. Beyond fiber, vitamins, minerals and slow carbs, fruits and vegetables contain special compounds in their colors that many studies have shown provide numerous health and wellness benefits if eaten regularly.
Look at your normal diet and think of inviting Roy G. Biv, the mnemonic to help you remember the colors of the rainbow, to dine with you daily. Intentionally eating Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo and Violet foods as a habit will improve all aspects of well-being, by increasing immune efficiency, and ensuring optimal resilience to stressors.
Overall, a new study suggests that women who eat a diet rich in pigmented foods such as spinach, peppers, carrots, tomatoes, kale, watermelon, and berries can improve health and immune resistance as they get older. They say that eating more bright-colored fruits and vegetables can help support women’s health. And women’s requirements for carotenoids are higher than men’s, so women should eat more produce.
Colored molecules in foods are carotenoids and anthocyanins.
In the plant kingdom, there are more than 600 known carotenoids, which are also found in algae and sea plants like kelp and other edible seaweeds. Carotenoids, which are a class of antioxidants, are broken down into two major types called xanthophylls, which have oxygen and carotenes, which don’t.
Foods rich in xanthophylls are eggs (with yolks), corn, spinach, pumpkin, squash, kale, avocados, and fruits with yellow flesh (such as peaches).
Carotenes are orange and red and provide several benefits. For example, lycopene is known to support cardiovascular function, while beta carotene helps support vision and maintain a healthy skin. Foods containing carotenes are chili peppers, carrots, tomatoes, pumpkin, papaya, tangerines, and sweet potatoes.1 Chili peppers also contain a unique collection of the carotenoid capsanthin.
Anthocyanins are deep red, blue, and purple, and have been shown to help support a healthy heart. One scientific review suggests that anthocyanins also help to manage blood pressure. These compounds are found in high amounts in plums, most berries, grapes, red onions, black beans, purple cauliflower, eggplant skin, black rice, and in red wines.2
Fruits are easy -- just wash, peel, chop and eat, or simply wash and eat.
Vegetables, however, are often daunting in their raw state. They often need more time and attention to elevate their appeal. Here’s some great news: it is often said that cooking veggies kill off all nutrients. However, this isn’t always the case like in frying, for example. Cooking helps release the colored nutrients in the cell walls, making them more readily available for the body to use. The trick is to use minimal amounts of water, to maintain the skins (this is where the healthy hues gather) and cover the foods so they steam during the cooking process.
Steaming vegetables may reduce flavor but adding savory elements such as a touch of Himalayan salt, seasonings, and spice, such as cayenne or chili can dramatically improve taste, and enhance texture. Hummus works very well and has the added advantage of being high in protein, fiber, vitamins and minerals from its base ingredient, chickpeas.
Peppers, carrots, and celery all tend to be quite tasty raw. Slice them up and dip them in any of a variety of sauces or flavored olive oils and even hot sauces. If you like the heat but aren’t keen on using a hot sauce as a dip, mix olive oil with red pepper flakes and a pinch of salt for dipping.
For dessert, a healthy berry parfait tingles the sweet tooth. Start with layering Greek-style yogurt, then a layer of granola of choice and berries of choice. Chill in the refrigerator and enjoy. If you want a little nutty flavor, blend in a few drops of almond extract into the yogurt.
In the winter, when availability of locally grown produce is much more limited, relying on frozen fruits and vegetables is fine because no nutrients are lost in the freezing process, especially if they are frozen at peak ripeness. Produce will lose its nutrient potency when they begin to age.
You may not be able to “eat an entire rainbow” each day, but if you consume more Roy G. in one day, emphasize more Biv the next. The more you experiment with fruits and vegetables, the more you will see how many various ways you can enjoy them without feeling deprived of enjoying your diet. And of course, the better you will feel.
OmniTrivia: Although high in nutrition, the durian has the distinction of being the smelliest fruit on the planet, so much so that countries such as Thailand, Japan, Singapore, and Hong Kong have banned it on public transport.3
1 https://www.healthline.com/health/carotenoids
2 https://health.clevelandclinic.org/anthocyanins/
3 https://theculturetrip.com/asia/singapore/articles/8-things-you-need-to-know-about-durian-the-worlds-smelliest-fruit/