Eat A Rainbow – Eat Healthy

Eat A Rainbow – Eat Healthy

Disclosure: I am participating in a paid for promotion campaign sponsored by TakePart.com

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A few months back I shared a small blurb and the photo above called – Eat A Rainbow… I really didn’t put much time at all into the post and as time passed I realized I was driving people away from my site that wanted to learn more about eating a rainbow for health.  Do you remember the old food pyramid?  It broke down the amount of serving of the different types of foods we should eat but what it didn’t do was go beyond the basic guild to help us understand what we were eating.  I’ve been encouraging my children to eat a rainbow as much as we can and I love looking at our dinner plates and seeing all the different colors.  Here’s some more information about eating a rainbow for health.

 

Rosy-hued Fruits & Vegetables:

Contain the antioxidant known as lycopene – lycopene protects the skin from sun damage and protects against cancer and heart disease. They also include ellagic acid, Quercetin, and Hesperidin, just to name a few.  Red foods promote hearth health and supports joints, they also aid in lowering blood pressure.

Red Foods: Beets, blood oranges, cherries, cranberries, guava, papaya, pink grapefruit, pomegranates, raspberries, radishes, red apples, red bell peppers, red chilli peppers, red grapes, red pears, red potatoes, rhubarb, strawberries, tomatoes, watermelon

Orange Fruits & Vegetables:

Most often known for their high vitamin C content, these fruits & vegetables are excellent for the immune system and the skin. They are also rich in beta-carotene (the main orange pigment we see in these foods), an antioxidant that converted in the body to vitamin A. We often flock to these fruits when we are already sick instead of incorporating them in our daily diets to build up our immune system so we are better equiped to fight off illness.

Orange Foods: Butternut squash, apricots, cantaloupe, carrots, oranges, papayas, persimmons, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, tangerines

Yellow Fruits & Vegetables:
Yellow foods are very close relatives to orange foods, thus they contain many of the same antioxidants such as carotenoids. Yellow foods help your heart, vision, digestion and immune system. Growing up I lived in the Caribbean and we always enjoyed mangoes, but we never though about the benefits of having fresh fruit for a snack instead of candy full of sugar.  It keep us healthier than I could ever imagine.

Yellow Foods: Bananas (could also be classified as white as well – what do you think?), lemons, mangoes, nectarines, peaches, pineapples, corn, yellow apples, yellow beets, yellow figs, yellow pears, yellow peppers, yellow potatoes, yellow summer squash, yellow tomatoes, yellow watermelon (moon & stars!), yellow winter squash

Green Fruits & Vegetables:
Green fruits and vegetables are loaded with antioxidants, minerals and vitamins, making them some of the most potent detoxes of the human body. Green vegetables are high in chlorophyll, a molecule that is often compared to the hemoglobin molecule in our own blood.  Chlorophyll supports our blood system by increasing the number of red blood cells, reducing anemia and enriching the blood. It also eliminates heavy metals and other toxins and acts as a deodorant by neutralizing bacteria that cause body odor and purifies the breath and mouth.

Green Foods: Artichokes, arugula, asparagus, avocados, broccoli, brussels sprouts, celery, chinese cabbage, cucumbers, endive, green apples, kale, green beans, green cabbage, green grapes, green onion, green pears, green peppers, honeydew, kiwi, leafy greens (romaine, leaf lettuce, iceberg, etc.), leeks, lettuce, limes, okra, peas, spinach, watercress, zucchini

Blue/Purple Fruits & Vegetables:
These foods contain a unique set of antioxidants called flavonoids.  Blue pigments contain resveratrol which has been found to include many benefits such as anti-aging properties, weight loss, cancer prevention and anti-inflammatory effects.  Lots f blue/purple fruits and vegetables are getting credit for being super-fruits.  Blueberries in particular has before very popular in weight management and healthy eating diets in recent years.  It’s a great snack for kids as well and it’s important to start kids on them early so they are more likely to eat them.

Blue/Purple Foods: Black currants, blackberries, blueberries, dried plums, eggplant, elderberries, grapes, plums, pomegranates, prunes, purple belgian endive, purple potatoes, purple asparagus, purple cabbage, red onion, purple carrots, purple figs, purple peppers, raisins

White Fruits & Vegetables:
White foods are incredibly supportive of the immune system. They contain beta-glucans, substances that increase production of white blood cells and increase cellular mobilization. Garlic is one vegetable that can be used in a number to different ways to help with natural health fixes.  My mother in law takes garlic oil to help decrease her blood pressure and include fresh garlic in all her meals.  I’ve read that garlic tabs and even peeled garlic cloves can help stop yeast infections in their tracks and help balance a woman’s PH.

White/Brown Foods: Brown pears, breadfruit, cauliflower, dates, garlic, ginger, jerusalem artichokes, jicama, mushrooms, onions, parsnips, potatoes, shallots, turnips, white corn, white nectarines, white peaches. 

Many families have a hard time providing their families with healthy food options, especially with fresh and nutritious fruits and vegetables.  Take Part has created a campaign to help spread awareness and encourage citizens to sign a petition to tell government officials that we want more affordable and widely available healthy and organic foods.  You can help spread the word.  Start by signing the petition below.  Share this post on Facebook with one of my sharing buttons, encourage your friends to sign and re-tweet the message below.  Together we can get the word out.

@takepart in raising your voice to congress to support organic farming. Sign the Petition! #spon nickisrandommusings.com/2013/04/09/eat…

— Nickida Stephens (@nickicoupons) April 9, 2013

 

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