All these different foods and different colors provide different nutrients for our bodies. More than 600 different anthocyanins found in nature; apart from which the chlorophyll and anthroxanthins give color to food.
Healthy colors
The American Dietetic Association is encouraging the public to eat a rainbow of foods, such as these fruits and vegetables:
- Green:Avocados, apples, grapes, honeydew, kiwi fruit, limes, artichokes, asparagus, broccoli, green beans, green peppers, spinach. The pigment is chlorophyll that imparts this color.
- Orange and deep yellow:Apricots, cantaloupe, grapefruit*, mangoes, papayas, peaches, pineapple, carrots, yellow peppers, yellow corn, sweet potatoes. These are rich in beta-carotene, zeaxanthin, flavonoids, lycopene, potassium, and vitamin C etc.
- Purple and blue:blackberries, blueberries, plums, raisins, eggplant, purple cabbage, purple-fleshed potatoes. These are rich in lutein, zeaxanthin, resveratrol, vitamin C, fiber, flavonoids, ellagic acid, and quercetin etc.
- Red:Cherries, cranberries, pomegranates, red/pink grapefruit*, red grapes, watermelon, beets, red onions, red peppers, red potatoes, rhubarb and tomatoes. These contain lycopene, ellagic acid, Quercetin, and Hesperidin etc.
- White, tan and brown:Bananas, brown pears, dates, white peaches, cauliflower, mushrooms, onions, parsnips, turnips, white-fleshed potatoes, white corn. Beta-glucans, EGCG, SDG, and lignans are found in these.
