Don't settle for boring brown of meat, blahs potato chips and worthless white refined carbohydrates, like white bread, white rice and white sugar. Paint your lunch plate with fruits and vegetables in a variety of colors at least every 2-3 days. Color often signifies valuable nutrients that can help in fighting cancer, raise antibodies, and fill your hunger spot, longer.
Although we don't fully understand how these chemicals work individually, we do know that eating a well-rounded diet by combining a variety of colorful fruits, vegetables and legumes creates a synergistic effect that helps to promote good health and lower disease risk.
Lycopene, an antioxidant that may help to protect against cancers of the prostate, stomach and lung, lends some fruits and vegetables their reddish cast.
Orange-colored foods may contain beta-cryptoxanthin, beta-carotene and alpha-carotene, nutrients that can be converted into vitamin A. The beta-carotenes in some orange fruits and veggies also may play a role in reducing risk of lung, esophagus and stomach cancers.
Nope, we're not talking about a big hunk of meat. Lentils, black beans and chickpeas can play a big role in preventing heart disease. They are all full of folate, a B vitamin that counteracts homocysteine, an amino acid that can help blood clots to form.
Cruciferous vegetables, such as broccoli and cabbage, are rich in isothiocyanates and indoles -- two phytochemicals that may have anticancer properties. Leafy green vegetables also have been linked to reduced risk of heart disease. Green vegetables are powerhouses of nutrients; they're also packed with folic acid, vitamin K, carotenoids and omega-3 fatty acids.
Purple and blue fruits and vegetables draw their color from anthocyanin, an antioxidant. The antiinflammatory properties of anthocyanin may be beneficial for lowering risk for cancer and heart disease, while also lessening the painful effects of arthritis.
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