Colors in Foods Have Different Health Purposes
Most Americans eat far too few foods with any color in them,’ says David Heber, M.D., Ph.D., director of the UCLA Center for Human Nutrition. Instead, we tend to eat a high-fat, highly processed ‘beige diet’ full of snack foods and refined grains (bread, cake, pastries) that don't fit the requirements of our genes. The average intake of fruits and vegetables is only 3 servings a day, when it should be 7 to 11 servings a day.
According to Heber, the varied colors in fruits and vegetables indicate ‘specific beneficial substances that help to prevent the common diseases that affect many of us as we get older.’
Damage to DNA leads to changes in our genes as we age that can result in diseases such as heart disease, cancer, and Alzheimer's disease. Substances found in plant foods protect our DNA.
Red and pink fruits and vegetables help protect the heart by controlling high blood pressure and protect against circulatory problems resulting from diabetes. Examples of these fruits and vegetables include watermelon, pink grapefruit, tomato, watermelon, strawberries, raspberries and beetroot.
Green fruits and vegetables help to protect the liver. They are common in everyday food and should not be hard to get. Greens aren't just about leaves and veggies. You can also include avocado, green apples, green grapes, kiwifruit, lime, green pears, green peas and honey dew in your diet.
Black fruits and vegetables, especially black beans, protect the kidney by lowering cholesterol and controlling blood sugar levels after a meal. So other then protecting the kidney, they are also good choice for people who suffer from diabetes or insulin resistance. Other examples include Chinese olives and black currants.
White is for protecting the lungs. Examples include garlic, parsnips, white peaches, potatoes, pears, white mushrooms and white corn.
fruits protect the spleen, especially oranges, which are rich in vitamin C and Vitamin A, which are good for the spleen. Other orange fruits include tangerins, Hami melon, papaya and pumpkin.
Purple foods are good for protecting the brain. They also help to control cholesterol intake by the blood stream when one is given a high cholesterol diet. Examples of purple fruits and vegetables include onions, blueberries, blackberries, grapes and purple cabbage.
Source:trap17.com
Other links:
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Best and Worst Brain Foods (Part B)
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