Nutrition - Color Can Be a Strong Indicator of the Nutritional Value of a Fruit Or Vegetable

The colors of fruits and the colors of vegetables give you nutritional information at a glance just by their appearance. The color pigment determines the amount of plant substance that is naturally contained in the plant that will be an agent in the prevention or protection from disease. From the following list you will see that different colors have different nutritional benefits. When preparing meals, color is always a consideration for making your recipes eye appealing. Color is also a consideration for included foods in your recipes that will potentially provide preventative qualities against disease.

ORANGE:
Vegetables like carrots that are orange in color contain a lot of beta carotene. Fruits that are orange in color like mangoes and cantaloupes also have quantities of beta carotene. Beta Carotene is actually a red or orange pigment that the plants contain that is important to nutrition. Besides mangoes and carrots, beta carotene is found in papayas, yams and even green leafy vegetables. Like spinach, kale and sweet potatoes leaves. Beta carotene is known to be a preventative agent fighting against several major diseases and also fights against aging. Eating carrots will not only help your eyesight but will slow down the aging process.

RED:
Fruits that are red like pink grapefruit, watermelon and tomatoes contain lycopene which is a very important ingredient as it is a potent antioxidant. The antioxidant is used in dietary supplements for the purpose of preventing heart disease and cancer. Ingesting foods that are high in natural antioxidants is an amazing preventative measure against disease.

YELLOW:
The yellow in vegetables and fruits like oranges, peaches and pineapples have quantities of beta cryptothanxin. Foods that contain beta cryptothanxiun are a possible preventative measure against heart disease. The list of these foods include apricots, golden beets, yellow grapefruit, yellow passion fruit, persimmons, summer squash, kumquats and nectarines.

GREEN:
Green vegetable like Brussels sprouts, cabbage, and broccoli all contain indoles. Indoles are good for detoxifying tissues and also encourage hormone balance as they nourish the cells. This is believed to be a valuable preventative measure against breast cancer.

PURPLE:
Everyone knows about the benefits of blueberries now. Included in this group are purple vegetables and fruits like eggplant and grapes. These contain amounts of anthocyanins which is the pigment that produces the dark violet or purple color of the plants. Anthocyanins are high in ORAC or oxygen radical absorption capability which fights free radicals of the body. These properties are known to be a protective agent against several different diseases like heart disease, cancer and even eye diseases.

Why not put together a savory dish of mixed vegetables that are not only colorful and tasty but will provide significant quantities of nutritional benefits that assist you body's immune system. For dessert, why not mixed fruits making sure to include the colors of fruits that provide large amounts of disease preventing agents? Your body will thank you.