Taste the Rainbow of Health with Colorful Fruits and Vegetables

Bioactive compounds provide fruits and veggies with their vibrant colors, aromas, and flavors. They also assist in warding off many age-related diseases.While they are not necessary for survival, they have significant health benefits.Adding color to your meals helps you live longer, free of age-related diseases. Dark green leafy vegetables are a source of folate. Contrastingly, red and orange fruits and veggies are a source of vitamin A.Carotenoids, flavonoids, glucosinolates, and isothiocyanates are some of the bioactive compounds found in them. Some of their benefits include reducing the risk of many chronic diseases, certain types of cancer, age-related macular degeneration, cognitive decline, and more.That is why consuming a rainbow of color in fruits and veggies helps you obtain essential vitamins and minerals important for health.But how do you identify which fruit and veggie provides you with each nutrient? Well, color coding might be the solution you need.The Produce for Better Health (PBH) Foundation recently published a large umbrella review summarizing the health benefits of fruits and vegetables. They attributed certain benefits to particular colors of fruits and veggies.Let’s explore the perks of including each color on your plate!

Red and orange

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Bioactive compounds are responsible for giving fruits and veggies their pigmentation. The red tones on this pomegranade are thanks to them.[/caption]Red and orange product is rich in carotenoids like lycopene, which can act as a strong antioxidant. It’s known as a “provitamin” because your body converts it to vitamin A.They are also a known source of vitamin C and a flavonoid called hesperidin. This flavonoid has been shown to reduce inflammation in the body.

Examples

• Tomatoes
• Watermelon
• Apricots
• Guava
• Carrots
• Peppers
• Cantaloupe
• Peaches
• Sweet potatoes
• Oranges
• Lemons

Benefits

• Maintain a healthy heart
• Keep a healthy urinary tract
• Boost memory
• Lower the risk of certain cancers

Green

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ears are some of them most common green fruits you can add to your diet.[/caption]Green foods are an abundant source of beneficial nutrients. Vitamins, minerals, and bioactive compounds all live within them.Nitrogen, sulfur, folate, magnesium, and vitamin K can all be found in this these kinds of natural produce.They also contain fiber and other carbohydrates that support your digestive processes and safeguard your digestive tract.

Examples

• Brussel
• Sprouts
• Broccoli
• Cabbage
• Spinach
• Kale
• Collard greens
• Arugula

Benefits

• Prevent the onset of various heart diseases
• Boost anti-cancer defenses
• Maintain a heartful digestive health

Blue and purple

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Blueberries were called “star fruits” by the indigenous people of North America because of the five-pointed star shape at the blossom end of each berry.[/caption]Fruits and veggies of this kind got their color from a pigment called anthocyanin.They are arguably the most highly researched bioactive compound out there, and they’ve been proven to have multiple health benefits.

Benefits

• Improve blood sugar regulation
• Lowe cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol levels
• Boost the immune system
• Decrease inflammation
• Reduce the risk of heart disease, gastrointestinal tract cancer, cognitive aging, and age-related muscular degeneration

If you’re picky with the kinds of natural products you add to your diet, I suggest you go for blue and purple fruits and veggies.In addition to their numerous health benefits, they also contain flavan-3-ols. As you might remember from our previous flavonoids article, these kinds of nutrients help you with aging, blood pressure, and chronic diseases!

Examples

• Blueberries
• Blackberries
• Concord grapes
• Plums
• Eggplant
• Purple potatoes
• Purple cabbage

White and brown

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White button mushrooms the most common and mildest-tasting of all mooshrooms. They’re the go-to choice when you want to start adding mooshrooms to your diet.[/caption]Fruits and veggies of this subgroup are typically high in potassium and fiber. They also contain bioactives like beta-glucans, lignans, and flavan-3-ols.Some other important contents in this subgroup are anticancer compounds, flavonoids, and potassium!

Benefits

• Benefiting your heart health
• Cancer prevention
• Digestive tract health
• Metabolism
• Regulation of blood sugar

Examples

• Onions
• Garlic
• Potatoes (NOT French fries or potato chips)
• Cauliflower
• Leeks
• Mushrooms
• Berries
• Apples
• Cocoa

Final recommendations

Increasing the number of fruits and vegetables on your plate is an immense step toward improving your health. They are among the most versatile, convenient, and affordable foods you can eat.And the best part is that you can eat all forms of fruits and veggies! Fresh, frozen, canned, dried, and 100% juice can all be part of a healthy diet.Just be sure to pick those with little to no added salt or sugar!Not only are they low on calories, but they help satiate your tummy during times of hunger. That’s due to their fiber and water content, which also helps you maintain your weight.Try including as many plant-based colors in your meals as possible. Each of them has unique nutritional benefits, so no color is superior to another.

Helpful tips to add fruits & veggies into your daily meals

1. A half cup of fruit or chopped raw vegetables makes one serving. Leafy greens take up more space, so 1-cup is considered a serving
2. If you’re dining out, try having at least one fruit or vegetable per course
3. Frozen produce is more cost-effective and tastes good all season. That’s because the produce is picked fresh (vs. unripe) and quickly frozen before shipping
4. Hungry between meals? Try grabbing a piece of fruit or baby carrots as a snack
5. When grocery shopping, try to ensure your cart is as colorfully diverse as your plate
6. Toss a banana or a few strawberries into your favorite chocolate whey protein shake after a workout
7. Think of other favorite healthful foods that help you to get more colorful fruits and vegetables into your diet

Choosing fruits and vegetables displaces other unhealthy foods from your plate. With only 5 servings per day, you’ll have a powerful income of nutrients that will lead you to a healthier lifestyle!To learn more about the wonders that fruits and veggies do for you, head over to my personal courses on nutrition and food science.I have a specific course on the role of anthocyanins in health and disease prevention that will help you unveil the benefits of nature’s bold and beautiful colors in combatting cardiometabolic disease. The perfect place to expand your knowledge and get a general intake recommendation!