The Color Of Food And Its Nutritional Value

“Eat at least one dark green and one orange vegetable a day”. These are the recommendations of the Department of Health in Canada. But why is this claim so specific? What does the color of foods have to do with their quality and nutritional value?

We have to say that not all foods of the same color have the same properties. In terms of nutrition, it is difficult to compare cow’s milk with onions, tuna with tomatoes and nuts with wholemeal pasta.

However, there is something about fruits and vegetables and their colors. Their color thus gives us some information about their properties.

Phytochemicals – vegetable pigments

All foods contain macronutrients (carbohydrates, lipids and proteins) and micronutrients. You may know them by the names vitamins and minerals. But in addition, vegetables also contain other non-nutritive components: Phytochemicals.

Phytochemicals are present in plants for their own sake. But it is such that they also have a nutritional impact on our bodies. Most of them play an important antioxidant role and protect us from diseases such as cancer and degenerative diseases and cardiovascular diseases.

There is an in-depth research going on around this, which over time will allow us to dive deeper into what the color of food means, in terms of their health benefits for us.

What does the color of food tell us?

In general, we can divide the phytochemicals that give color to foods into three major groups:  carotenoids, chlorophyll, and anthocyanins.

Carotenoids – Not just the skin

Carotenoid pigments are important to us, but we cannot synthesize them ourselves. That’s why we need them from food. They are present in orange, yellow and red fruits and vegetables.

Scientific evidence indicates that a carotenoid intake is associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular problems. They are also powerful antioxidants, protect the skin and contribute to healthy eyes.

You need to know that the health benefits of carotenoid only come from food. Currently, researchers have not observed the same effect from commercial supplements.

The types of foods richest in carotenoids are, among others:

• Red:  Tomatoes, cherries, raspberries, watermelon and red peppers.
• Orange:  Carrots, papaya, apricots, peaches, nectarines, squash and sweet potatoes.
• Yellow:  Netmelon, mango and corn.

Chlorophyll

Foods rich in chlorophyll are easy to recognize because of their green color. They basically help us to give our body oxygen, promote the excretion of heavy metals and help keep our intestinal flora in good condition.

In addition, some studies claim that:

There is chlorophyll in many green leafy vegetables such as leaf beets, spinach, broccoli, asparagus, cabbage and artichokes and also kiwi. These vegetables are usually also rich in vitamin K, folic acid and magnesium.

Besides this, most of them have a hidden secret: They are rich in carotene. It’s just that  the yellow pigment is hiding behind the green color of the powerful chlorophyll.

Little anthocyanins

As the latter, anthocyanins can be easily recognized on the purple and blue color they give fruits and vegetables. The best source is thus blueberries, blackberries, grapes and red cabbage. Although some red fruits, such as strawberries, are also rich in this component.

The antioxidant effects of anthocyanin have been linked to a lower risk of heart attack in young and middle-aged women. Epidemiological studies also associate regular intake of some sources of anthocyanin with:

• Lower risk of cardiovascular disease
• Lower incidence of type-2 diabetes
• A neuroprotective effect
• Effective maintenance of body weight
• Lower death rates

The color of food – What about white vegetables?

We cannot round off the color scale without knowing what the color of white foods is trying to tell us. These harnesses often go unnoticed because they are not as colorful. However, they also provide many specific nutrients, which we should emphasize.

Leeks, radishes, onions and garlic are all rich in indoles. The latter two are also a source of quercetin and allicin, which are substances that can improve cardiovascular health.

The color of food and diet

When it comes to following a proper diet, one should base it not only on the color of food but on the nutritional value of each fruit, vegetable stew and cereal as it is also dependent on other components. There are actually many plant nutrients in vegetables that cannot be recognized simply by their color.

Nor can we say that orange fruits are better than the purple ones. Or that in order to prevent cardiovascular disease, one should eat only red foods.

What is interesting, from a chromatic point of view, is that the possible combinations of foods we can eat every day are endless. Because  the more varied your diet is, the more likely it is that it will contain many specific nutrients.

We must therefore ensure a balanced contribution of all plant nutrients so that we can benefit from the health benefits of them. Keep in mind, of course, that there are many more than those we mentioned here, in this article.