Colours of Food
Colours of Food - a great insight on fruits and veggies. health knowledge from the masters of a thousand years ago!
STORY OF THE WEEK
Body fuel: the colour of life
You know you need your greens, but don’t forget your reds, yellows, oranges, purples and blues. The easiest food rule to remember? Pile your plate with as many different colours as possible — bright pigments (scarlet chillies, yellow pawpaw, purple plums) are a clue that the food is rich in antioxidants and other nutrients which help prevent disease. The evidence is that nutrients work best as a team, so the broader the mix, the better you’ll look and feel.
Green
Broccoli.
Sea vegetables. Eat sushi or toss pieces of nori into soups for extra beta carotene, plus iron, zinc and B12.
Bok choy. For more vitamin C and iron, plus a calcium bonus for bones.
Spinach. A good source of lutein, an antioxidant now scoring points for protecting eyesight against the ravages of age and sunlight. Like other dark green leafy veg, spinach is a good pick for folic acid and beta carotene.
Peas. For protein and iron.
Herbs. More than a garnish: parsley, mint, basil and rosemary are all rich in antioxidants.
Kiwi fruit. Tiny, but big on vitamin C — more than twice the daily RDI (recommended daily intake) in a single fruit.
Yellow
Turmeric.
Sweet corn. Fibre, iron, and more of the antioxidant lutein to protect your eyesight.
Yellow capsicum. As well as vitamin C and beta carotene, capsicums contain flavonoids (compounds working in partnership with vitamin C) to keep blood vessels healthy.
Pineapple. The bloat fighter. Along with vitamins and other nutrients, contains bloat fighting bromelain, an enzyme which helps you digest protein.
Orange
Dried apricots.
Sweet potato, carrot, pumpkin. Orange is a reliable sign of beta carotene, so eat at least one orange vegetable (or fruit) daily. Like broccoli, carrots release more goodies when cooked.
Pink grapefruit. Even more nutritious than yellow. Eat the white membrane between the segments too as it contains pectin to help lower cholesterol.
Rockmelon. All melon is good, but rockmelon delivers the most beta carotene.
Red
Tomatoes.
Radicchio. These salad leaves provide a folate boost for salad.
Strawberries. For vitamin C, folic acid and a cancer fighter called ellagic acid thought to deactivate carcinogens before they can cause harm.
Red Delicious apples. Who needs pills when you can eat an apple? One Red Delicious contains so many different plant chemicals that it has the antioxidant power of 1500mg of vitamin C.
Dark red/purple
Beetroot.
Plums. One of the few fruits to contain vitamin E, an antioxidant which prevents “good” cholesterol turning bad.
Black/blue
Black grapes. Contain boron to help calcium absorption, as well as antioxidants which fight heart disease. Whether this means grape juice is as heart healthy as red wine isn’t clear — both are good, but science is still working out which works best.
Prunes. A good source of phosphorus for healthy bones, some iron and potassium to help regulate blood pressure. Also a good source of fibre.
Olives. Their monounsaturated fat helps lower cholesterol.
Blueberries. With one of the highest antioxidant scores of all fruit, these are worth eating all year round (frozen if you can’t find fresh). Like cranberries, they also contain anti-bacterial compounds that help fight cystitis.
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