We are very complex creatures and our brain capacity beyond other animals so that we need higher levels of many micronutrients and antioxidants compared to other species. More than 50 different micronutrients needed for human optimum health! The sources of them are fruits and vegetables. Below are benefits of eating rainbow fruits and vegetables explanation. Featured picture: Pexels.
What Is A Nutrient?
A nutrient is a component in foods that an organism uses to survive and grow. Macronutrients provide the bulk energy an organism’s metabolic system needs to function. We need it in a lot of amounts. We get the macronutrients from carbohydrate, protein, and fat.
Micronutrients are various types of chemicals that are found in trace amount in the foods we eat. It provides the necessary cofactors for metabolism. The other name is vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.
What Is The Roles Of Micronutrients In Our Body?
- breaking down carbohydrates, proteins, and fats into energy
- protecting the brain
- synthesizing DNA
- helping keep a strong metabolism
- helping with hormone production
- allowing cells to rejuvenate
- slowing oxidation damage or signs of aging caused by free radicals
- allowing muscles to move and helping with tissue repair
- producing digestive enzymes
- aiding in bone mineralization
Micronutrients are essential because they protect our bodies from disease, slow the aging process and help every system in our bodies function properly.
Let us watch a video about vitamins and minerals below:
[VIDEO]
Picture 1. Human Brain ( credit to Pixabay ).
The best sources of micronutrients, including antioxidants (also called phytonutrients), vitamins and trace minerals are natural foods or unprocessed foods: vegetables, fruit, nuts, seeds, ancient grains, legumes and quality animal products.
Picture 2. Legumes ( credit to Pixabay )
Fruit should be eaten alone or with other fruit on an empty stomach.
The digestive process works very quickly and our body uses different enzymes to digest the fruit. When fruits are eaten alone, our stomach can more easily process all of the nutrients, fiber and the simple sugars contained in the fruit and our body can completely absorb the simple sugar.
If we eat fruit close to a meal, it’s held in the stomach too long along with other foods and will rot and ferment in the gut. If we experience digestive discomforts, it could be the combination of the food, the fermentation with fruit that causes our upset stomach. If left uncontrolled it could lead to other health problems that stem from the digestive tract.
Picture 3. Colorful Fruits or colorful foods ( credit to Pixabay )
Chemists have been doing qualitative testings and quantitative testings to know the types of nutrients and how much the specific nutrients in various foods. Usually, the testings are complicated and need high skill and knowledge. Only the experts can operate chemical analytic instruments and analyze the data. Fortunately, we can get their smart work resume and use it as our health guidance.
For practical application in our daily life, we can use information in the text below to make a plan of our diet/menu for specific purposes depend on our necessities.
What Are Benefits Of Eating Rainbow Fruits And Vegetables?
We get benefits from eating rainbow fruits and vegetables based on micronutrients contained in it.
Micronutrients In Red Foods
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Watermelon is the best source of lycopene, a substance that plays a role in maintaining healthy cells and can protect the body from cancer and keep our heart healthy. Antioxidants like lycopene neutralize free radicals that cause age-related diseases. Lycopene’s can protect our body from the damage induced by pesticides.
The red color in foods also contain anthocyanins that are used to prevent infection. Anthocyanins are water soluble pigments that, depending on their pH, may appear red, purple or blue. Foods that have red colors include red guava, red wine, red pepper, tomato, watermelon, cherry, red beans, red apples and brown rice.
Strawberry, raspberry, pomegranate, cranberry are red foods rich in ellagic acid, a phenolic compound that has been shown to exert strong anticancer and antioxidant activity.
Picture 4. Strawberry ( credit to Pixabay )
Raspberry, cranberry, tomatoes, raw red onion, peppers are top quercetin sourced foods. Quercetin is a type of flavonoid antioxidant plays an important part in fighting free radical damage, the effects of aging and inflammation. Quercetin and other flavonoids are the antiviral, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and anti-allergic agent ( credit to the Department of Pathology and Diagnostic at the University of Verona in Italy ). Quercetin can help us exercise and even live longer.
While the vegetables, such as red cabbage and red amaranth contain flavonoid, substances that protect the body from cancer. Even the red cabbage contains vitamin C two times more than white cabbage. Eat more red foods to reduce the risk of stroke, reduce inflammation, and promote heart health.
Picture 5. Red Cabbage ( credit to Pixabay )
Micronutrients In Yellow / Orange Foods
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Yellow and orange fruits and vegetables have beta-carotene and alpha-carotene. Both of these substances are converted by the body into an active form of vitamin A. The body uses it to maintain eyes and skin health. Beta-carotene help keeps our immune system.
Fruits and vegetables that yellow or orange are: sweet potatoes, oranges, carrots, pumpkin, peach, mango, apricot, cantaloupe, pimenta cambuci, and papaya. Pimenta cambuci is a Myrtaceae fruit contain ellagic acid in higher level compare to camu–camu, red guava, and white guava.
Picture 6. Cantaloupe ( credit to Pixabay )
Yellow and orange are also identical to the content of vitamin C and potassium, which is responsible for keeping blood pressure. Yellow foods promote anti-inflammation also provide electrolytes and anti-inflammatory compounds to reduce post-exercise sore muscles.
Micronutrients In Green Foods
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The color of green foods in vegetables or fruit contains lutein and zeaxanthin. Both substances are found in the eye and help prevent eye damage in old age. Both are very important eye nutrients that may reduce our risk for macular degeneration and cataracts. Leek, rich in vitamin A, also very good to avoid cataracts. The United Nations has agreed that 60+ years may be usually denoted as old age.
Dark green vegetables, such as broccoli contain indoles and isothiocyanates that help prevent cancer by increasing the production of an enzyme that works to eliminate toxins in the body. The darker the green color of vegetables means it contains more chlorophyll and antioxidants.
Broccoli, kale, brussels sprouts also contain vitamin K to support :
- Heart health
- Improve bone density
- Restore oral health
- Fight cancer
- Reduce infections
Top green vegetable source of sulforaphane, a compound that has been found to have several health benefits, including powerful anti-cancer properties, are :
- Broccoli sprouts, the immature seedlings of the broccoli plant, usually eaten raw, contain more sulforaphane than any other vegetables, including full-grown broccoli. Research has found that they contain anywhere from 10 to 100 times more of the compound than broccoli. Cooking vegetables containing sulforaphane reduces the amount of sulforaphane. Boiling is the worst way to cook vegetables if we want to preserve nutrients.
- Broccoli
Eat it raw or lightly steamed for maximum benefit.
Picture 7. Broccoli ( credit to Pixabay )
- Savoy cabbage contains high levels of sulforaphane. The less we cook it the better.
- Kohlrabi, another type of cabbage, it tastes great raw, is also a great source.
- Kale
Try adding raw kale to green smoothies, lightly saute it, or steam it. - Collard Greens
Add raw collards to a green smoothie along with a banana and some kale or use a raw collard leaf as a delicious sandwich or burrito wrap.
Other green foods are lettuce, spinach, pok choy, mustard greens, green beans, bitter melon, avocado, green apple, melon, and kiwi.
Eat green foods to up-regulate detox enzymes in the liver, slow macular degeneration, improve eye health, reduce the risk for colon, bladder and breast cancer.
Micronutrients In Blue / Purple Foods
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Blue / Purple fruits or vegetables contain anthocyanins and proanthocyanin. In addition to optimizing brain function, both substances is also an antioxidant that is able to maintain a healthy heart. Blue / purple vegetables and fruit also contains anthocyanin which helps reduce the risk of high blood pressure and cholesterol.
Fruits and vegetables that have the purple color are blackberries, blueberries, eggplant, sweet purple, plum, cranberry, grape, and raspberry. The grapes contain magnesium, the fourth most abundant mineral in the body, which needs to move feces out of the body.
Picture 8. Eggplant ( credit to Pixabay )
The more blue/purple color of fruits and vegetables, indicating the higher amount of antioxidants. Eat blue/purple foods to promote anti-inflammation in the heart and blood vessel, support the immune system, maintains muscles, improve skin health and help prevent wrinkles.
Micronutrients In White Foods
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White vegetables such as bananas, soursop, longan, and lychee contain fiber and vitamin C is high.
Picture 9. Longan ( credit to Pixabay )
While on white vegetables such as mushrooms, cauliflower, white radish, bean sprouts, and cabbage contain vitamin E and C as well as anti-cancer compounds.
Horseradish contains sulforaphane which the functions mentioned in Green Foods. Add a bit of horseradish to our recipes and we’ll get a health boost.
Eat white foods to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and cancers, support healthy bones, reduce osteoporosis risk, support immune system, reduce free radical damage, lower blood cholesterol levels, antifungal, and antibacterial benefits.
Below is the video about antioxidants and phytochemicals (part 2):
[VIDEO]
Read more about the most powerful antioxidants here:
Conclusion
Picture 10. Rainbow color ( credit to Pixabay )
So that we can conclude that our daily foods should be as many colors as we can or rainbow color in order we can get the optimal benefits for our health.
Do you want to know how long it takes for common foods (including some fruits and vegetables) to spoil in the pantry, fridge, and freezer? Feel free to check out the guidance here.
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Great information. I love the purple foods part.
We need to consume various color of fruits and vegetables every day. But some people have the special necessity of a certain food’s color.
Hope that you can email me!! Thanks alot!!!
I have sent the email to you already 😊
Hi there may I know if I could get the links of the sources you got these facts from? Thank you!!!
(:
Really appreciate your reply!!! (:
Hello, the links have already in the article. Try clicking the red or green texts.
Eating healthy food keeps us healthy always.
True. There are many factors we must consider to keep our health. Eating healthy foods is an important factors.
Hello! i really liked your post. Please share some more
Thank you. I will. Wish you get a lot of success with your fruits business.
The more colourful fruits and veggies on our plates the better! Thanks for sharing such a wonderful, informative post :). We should all be eating the healthy rainbow!
That is a simple way to complete our micronutrient necessities,Sara.Thank you for your comment.
Superb!!! I can see colors make a healthy( which pretend to be boring ) food interesting!!! Keep Sharing!!!
Thank you for the encouragement.
Great post! I love to learn about healthy lifestyle and nutrition. Very informative article!
Thank you, Diana.
Great info to remind us how important veggies are. Thanks for sharing!
If we know why we should eat colorful fruits and vegetables, it is easier to consume them. The tastes are great too.
I love learning about new ways to eat healthy. Thanks for sharing these!
That is useful to know that we should eat colourful fruits and vegetables to keep healthy.
This is a very informative post. Thanks so much for sharing. I love the idea of the rainbow fruits & vegetables.
Colorful fruits and vegetables are the best sources of micronutrients we need to keep healthy.
Healthy Living is the safest way to go and eating Fruits and Vegetables can be beneficial to us. I was told that I should choose different colors when I buy vegetables but have never taken the time to find out why. Now that I have read your post it has all the information I will need.
I agree that the rainbow colors are important if we want to get all the nutrients we need from them. Thanks for the post, it is helpful.
Glad you like it, Luna. Thank you.
Informative article, with my little ones I always strive for a colorful plate so they can get as many nutrients as possible. Great post.
You can try to create various colorful forms such as balloon, animals, etc to attract your daughter appetite.
Such an informative article. Will be sharing with my FB fitness group. I love fruit. Most of them. But I can’t stand vegetables. Have to make an effort to include them in my diet.
I did not like eating vegetables when I was a child, but since I knew my body needed them I try to eat them a lot. Then I awared that many vegetables are 😋 delicious. We only need to add our favourite spices.
OH this is such good advice, eating a variety of colors in your diet is SO important!
You are right, Erica.Thank you for the comment.
Really you cracked the fruits and vegetables and its nutrients with the colors. Really an informative article. Is there any timing for certain nutrition rich fruits to eat?
The best time for eating fruits is when our stomach still empty. Don’t eat fruits together with eating big meal. It can cause bloating stomach.
It seem that there is an error so that I can not read your comment. Would you like to pm me and add your post link so that I can add my comment to your post ?
Thanks for breaking down food by color and nutrient. It helps us to know what specifically applies to us, based on what is going on in our body.
I agree with you that if we eat a rainbow of colors we are more likely to get everything we need to maintain our health.
Thanks again for the clarity.
Glad you like the article. Since recover from a surgery I really aware of the importance of keeping our health. We need consuming more than 50 different micronutrients to get optimal health.
Hi Melani,
What a wonderful article. I never realised just how much the colour of a fruit or vegetable could tell you about the micronutrients.
I always new that fresh fruit and vegetables was the best way to get the necessary micronutrients into our diet.
I remember my grandmother always saying how you should have a range of colours on your plate at meal times. But never realised just how important and accurate that was until I read your post.
Thank you again
Brendan
I’ve heard it said that one of the best things you can do is to grow your own food. I guess that the store bought fruits don’t always contain the same amount of Micronutrients in them as the ones you grow yourself do, due to the sheer amount that major produces grow in the same plot of land year after year.
Do you think taking supplemental vitamins is an okay way to help your body get some nutrients it might not have? Or is it much better to get those from healthy vegetables?
Thanks!
In my opinion the best way is by consuming from natural fruits and vegetables because fruits and vegetables very rich of the micronutrients and the tastes are very delicious too. Usually supplements only contain one or two micronutrients and it is expensive enough. Supplements can be consumed only if we can not get it from the natural source. It is difficult to grow our own foods if we live in big cities, work full time and don’t have enough land. Thank you for leaving your comment.
This reminds me of the years I lived in Japan. My Japanese friends explained that they didn’t worry so much about vitamins, they just concentrated on eating fruits and vegetables from the entire color spectrum. It was fun eating there because they always served many small portions of different vegetables with each meal.
Can you really monitor your nutrition just by paying attention to the colors you eat?
I think so. At least I can remember what colour of foods that I had not consumed yet and try to eat that colour foods but your question had inspired me to do the deeper research. Thank you so much.
Have you got recipe books for sale? or a book on these topics we could download. Its just so amazing to have it all here.
Not yet. That is a good idea. Thank you for your advice and comment.
I had no idea this was possibleRaspberry, cranberry, tomatoes, raw red onion, peppers are top quercetin source foods. Quercetin is a type of flavonoid antioxidant plays an important part in fighting free radical damage, the effects of aging and inflammation.
Your site is filled with helpful tip. Its like I accidently stumbled on a treasure trove of knowledge. I’m not done reading yet so I’ll go finish that and be back with questions
Thank you
You can get more information from draxe.com and livestrong.com, the earlier established website.
That is a right decision. Colourful foods ensure that we gain various micronutrients we need. Thanks for the comment.
Very informative post. Thanks for sharing. I do make a point to make my meals as colorful as possible. Not only are the meals healthier and more balanced but they are much more inviting.
This rainbow on a plate principle has actually helped a lot since I’ve gone vegan, as fruits and veggies are just enticing to me now. Its all in the prep and presentation.
Hi there Melani,
I have just finished reading your post. I have been reading a lot about nutrician lately as I have just reached the ripe old age of 55. Getting older means taking more care with what I eat. Your article was so very helpful in terms of this process for me.
Thank you
I am glad you think the article helpful for you. Thank you for leaving a comment.
Thank you for the positive comment. Keep our health well, because healthy is the first wealthy.
You know I’ve never even thought about this concept before! Thank you for opening my eyes. I had no idea that the color of a food could reveal so much. Great post!
You know I really had no idea that the color different foods share would translate to common micronutrients within them. Very interesting read. Thank you for this post! 🙂
You’re welcome.
We try to make our food as colorful as possible and it is said that the darker the color, the more nutritious, so we have been going for blueberries and black beans in our daily meals. Now drinks are getting fanciful too, with fruits and vegetables mixed in. Nice article to read, thank you!
It is true. I had surgeried in 2016. Since that time I awared about the importance of my health and try to supply my body with colourful natural foods.
Hello and thanks for sharing, I have written several articles on healthy living. I focus mostly on fruits and vegetables. I like your post that takes about micronutrients from food color. I think that this is very neat and will help person’s get a better understanding. I love how you break this all down, your post is well detailed and very informative. thanks again for sharing.
Thank you. Would you like to send me your website address ?
This looks like an interesting website only for some reason the content wouldn’t load for me. Maybe you have a glitch on your site? All I could see was “Dedicated to over 40 women in order we live healthy and happy lifestyle although our health risks increase.” Was looking forward to reading the article but couldn’t see anything else.
I have changed a plugin setting, hope the post can be read. Please PM me if it still can’t be read.
Yep all good now! Great post, and great website. I have just turned 40 myself so these kinds of things are on my mind. 😉
Thank you for the comment.
This is a really great information and I think everyone should read this post. It is really great that one could identify the nutrients in the food just from the food color. It is really an amazing post and I did share it with my friends and they liked it as well! Thanks.