I’m sure you can remember being forced to eat your greens as a child and you might even do the same to your children now but the future seems to be in for a change. Eating your reds, blues, yellows and purples might now be just important as getting your traditional greens.
We should probably be thankful that as children all we had to do to get our dessert was finish just one portion of veg. The youth of today can look forward to having one portion of at least three different coloured vegetables, if this trend continues the way it’s going.
This industry if full of fads that grow to unbelievable heights of popularity but unfortunately fail to deliver in what they promise. But we aren’t talking about some product here that companies can’t wait to force down our throats.
So what is the point of trying to make your plate resemble a rainbow? Well it isn’t just for aesthetics, that’s for sure. The idea is that the chemicals that are responsible for determining certain colours in our food are also responsible for preventing a number of diseases, as well as promoting a number of positive physical changes.
So let’s have a look at what each different colour has to offer:
Blues & Purples
These foods get their colour from the presence of anthocyanins and possess a number of properties that are linked to benefits in several areas of the body, including:
Reds
The phytochemicals that you find in brightly red coloured foods, like deep blue foods, supposedly help with memory and circulation, in addition to:
Yellows
Yellow foods gain their colour from the presence of another chemical, carotene, and therefore are associated with a whole other set of health benefits. These include:
Oranges
Like yellow foods, they can thank carotene for their distinctly bright hue. Unsurprisingly, they therefore share a lot of properties that we see in yellow foods but also include:
These aren’t the only colours that you want to include though, if possible you want to vary the colours that you eat with every meal. And as a standard rule if you try to include three different colours of fruit and veg per meal then you will be doing well.
We all know about greens of course and just because the other colours are growing in popularity doesn’t mean that they should suffer. So don’t think you can get away with ditching brussell sprouts!
And in case it wasn’t already clear, we are talking about the naturally occurring sugars here. There is little point in trying to beat the system by treating yourself to three different coloured starbursts.
So if you are guilty of eating the same seven meals every week then don’t be afraid to experiment and vary what you eat, especially in colour. For all we know rainbow plates could be the future of human cuisine, so try to be one of the early innovators!