Eating by color is one of the easiest ways to load up yourself with vitamins and other important substances, especially needed in spring. People should try to get all the colors with their food because each of them represents different compounds. For example: blue color of blueberries, eggplants and cranberries tells that these foods are especially needed and associated with human’s heart and the brain. However, though all the colors are needed, nutritionists recommend for people to concentrate their attention on three most powerful colors: orange, red and dark green.
Red fruits and vegetables, such as tomatoes, red bell peppers, strawberries etc., are rich in lycopene. If you want to decrease the risks of prostate and breast cancers, this phytochemical may help. Carrots, baby carrots, pink grapefruit and sweet potatoes are so beautifully orange because of the alpha and beta carotene that are converted straight away into vitamin A. As you know, vitamin A helps in keeping eyes, bones and immune system healthy and strong. Lypopene and vitamin A also act like antioxidants and help to minimize the effect of free radicals admitted to be promoting various disease. You must get about 6 cups of red and orange vegetables each week.
Another color is green: green vegetables, such as broccoli, help to prevent the cancer because of the production of enzymes admitted by nutritionists to clear toxins from the body. Celery and chard have also been found to be rich in beta carotene. Other dark, leafy vegetables, like arugula or spinach, are especially rich in lutein and zeaxanthin. Surprisingly, these two compounds are accumulated in the eyes and help prevent blindness in the process of aging. Remember, you must get one cup of cooked greens or 2 cups of raw fresh greens or a half of broccoli head a week.