The Importance of Color and Food Variety
Color Variety: What’s on your plate? Eating healthy is important. A big part of eating healthy means eating a variety. Each different plant has something special to offer our bodies. All the different antioxidants, phytochemicals, vitamins, and minerals work together to prevent cancer, cellular damage, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, blood pressure and many other diseases that rob us of a high quality of life.
Check out the list below and see how your daily diet fares. Are you getting the variety your body needs? I would encourage you to write out a chart and mark each color you consume every day. Then at the end of the week, you can see what your rainbow looks like. If it’s balanced, then you can look forward to a pot of “healthy” gold!
- White fruits and vegetables are colored by pigments called anthoxanthins, some of which also contain allicin, potassium, and selenium.
- Blue/purple fruits and vegetables are colored by natural plant pigments called anthocyanins. They also contain lutein, zeaxanthin, resveratrol, vitamin C, fiber, flavonoids, ellagic acid, and quercetin.
- Green fruits and vegetables are colored by natural plant pigment called chlorophyll. They also contain fiber, lutein, zeaxanthin, cacium, folate, vitamin C, beta-carotene. Find out more about dark leafy greens.
- Orange/yellow fruits and vegetables are usually colored by natural plant pigments called carotenoids. They also contain beta-carotene, zeaxanthin, flavonoids, lycopene, potassium, and vitamin C.
- Red fruits and vegetables are colored by natural plant pigments called lycopene or anthocyanins. They also contain ellagic acid, Quercetin, and Hesperidin, plus many more!
Foods with Color
White:
- Bananas
- Cauliflower
- Parsnips
- Potatoes
- Turnips
- Garlic
- Ginger
- Jicama
- Mushrooms
- Onions
Blue/purple:
- Figs
- Juneberries
- Plums
- Prunes
- Blackberries
- Blueberries
- Eggplant
- Purple grapes
- Raisins
Green:
- Spinach
- Zucchini
- Green apples
- Artichokes
- Asparagus
- Avocados
- Green beans
- Green cabbage
- Cucumbers
- Green grapes
- Honeydew melon
- Broccoli
- Brussels sprouts
- Kiwi
- Lettuce
- Limes
- Green onions
- Peas
- Green pepper
Orange/yellow:
- Pineapple
- Pumpkin
- Yellow apples
- Cantaloupe
- Carrots
- Grapefruit
- Lemons
- Apricots
- Butternut squash
- Mangoes
- Nectarines
- Oranges
- Papayas
- Peaches
- Pears
- Yellow peppers
- Persimmons
- Rutabagas
- Yellow summer or winter squash
- Sweet corn
- Sweet potatoes
- Tangerines
- Yellow tomatoes
- Yellow watermelon
Red:
- Strawberries
- Tomatoes
- Watermelon
- Cranberries
- Pink grapefruit
- Red grapes
- Red peppers
- Red apples
- Beets
- Red cabbage
- Cherries
- Pomegranates
- Red potatoes
- Radishes
- Raspberries
- Rhubarb
