Essential to making easy changes to your diet in order to make it healthy and fresh, is sticking to a colorful plate. The benefits of a colorful diet are boundless. And one of the main reasons that this diet has been proven so healthy is that foods that are naturally colorful also tend to also be foods naturally rich in vitamins and other healthy components useful for a healthy diet and preventing sickness.
Most foods that are colorful and make a healthy diet are in the fruit, vegetable, and leafy greens food groups. Greens, including lettuces like kale and spinach, as well as green fruits and vegetables like broccoli, kiwi, and zucchini, have many of their own health benefits. Similar to berries, which are also on this list, leafy greens and green produce can reduce the risk of cancer and help to heal tissue, detoxify your body, help with digestive enzymes, and give you energy for your immune system. Other foods rich in these benefits include brussels sprouts, collard greens, and bok choy. They’re rich in vitamin K, which regulates normal blood clotting and liver health.
Berries are also near the top of this colorful list for multiple reasons. Depending on the berry’s color, you can locate what sorts of health benefits it will provide. When you want to try something that will have more long-term positive effects on your health, you should look for berries that are either blue or purple in color. Fruits and vegetables that contain these types of colors are rich in certain pigments, like anthocyanin and resveratrol, which can reduce the risk of cancer and Alzheimer’s. Other foods rich in these pros include eggplant, purple cabbage, and plums.
Raspberries and strawberries are also great and known for their rich, red color. They have long-term positive effects and some effects that are more accessible. Eating raspberries and strawberries can help to protect you against certain cancers, lower the risk of vision impairment, improve skin quality, reduce the risk of diabetes, and lower the risk of heart problems like disease and stroke. Some other red foods that provide these benefits include red peppers, tomatoes, and watermelon.
Another essential to a colorful, healthy plate is the group of orange and yellow foods. These bright and vibrantly colored foods are not only healthy for you; they are also beautifully colored and can make a great addition to a meal. Foods like tangerines, oranges, lemons, passion fruit, pineapple, mangoes, corn, and sweet potatoes are extremely healthy for your skin and eye health, due to their Vitamin C content, potassium levels, and richness in folic acid.
Colorful diets are essential to good nutrition. You might try adding some colorful vegetables and peppers to a plate of meat or carbohydrates that might otherwise look bland. Or you could just start your colorful diet by picking out some fruits that you particularly enjoy eating. However you choose to go about it, though, make sure to keep a wide variety of foods on your plate so you don’t miss out on any essential components to a long-lasting, healthy diet.
