Whole Health Nutrition and The Power of Color
By Georgianna Donadio, MSc, DC, PhD –
The living world around us is filled with color. Blue sky, green grass, aqua oceans, and an unlimited array of trees, flowers, and plants bursting with intense, vibrant color. The power of these colors may be key to whole health nutrition.
Why Color?
Health is associated with color. When we are healthy, we have pink cheeks, bright eyes, and a healthy flush to our skin. Quite interestingly, aging is the slow loss of color – a fading of color- that marks the slowing or ebbing of life vibrancy.
Healthiest Foods for Whole Health Nutrition
It is no wonder that colorful foods are the healthiest foods we can nourish our bodies with. They have nutritional benefits in the form of phytonutrients, which means plant nutrients. The vivid colors of the fruits and vegetables that contain the highest amount of these important plant nutrients act as a table of contents for the phytochemicals found inside the plant.
Listed below is a color guide for choosing the fruits and vegetables which provide these powerfully healing plant nutrients:
- Orange = beta-carotene an antioxidant = supports immune function
- Yellow-Orange = vitamin C = detoxifies and inhibits tumor cell growth
- Red = lycopene an antioxidant = reduces cancer risk
- Green = folate and iron = builds healthy cells and genetic material
- Green-light = indoles, lutein = eliminates excess estrogen & carcinogens
- Green-white = allyl sulfides = destroys cancer cells, supports the immune system
- Blue (fruits) = anthocyanins = destroy free radicals
- Red-purple (fruits) = reservatrol = plaque reducer, mineral chelator
- Brown (legumes, whole grains) = fiber = carcinogen remover
Being sure to fill your diet with many colorful, fresh fruits and vegetables is a way to ensure your body is getting all the vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients your body needs to stay healthy, happy, and vibrant. Recommend the same to your clients.
Think RAINBOW the next time you prepare your plate!
The National Institute of Whole Health offers online Accredited Nutrition Programs.
