Look for the colors to eat is the way of rainbow diet. Some people believe that colorful food can strengthen the immune system and make the body fit. Studies show that pigments that confer the color to fruits and vegetables are laden with phytochemical compounds and antioxidants. Inside our body, chemical changes in the cells that use oxygen give birth to free radicals. Antioxidants, in theory, counteract and neutralize these harmful radicals.
There are five colors to eat (not necessary to has them daily):
- RED pigment – find in red peppers, pimientos, tomatoes, apples, pink grapefruit, watermelon, etc. It contains the lycopene antioxidant, from the carotenoid family of pigments, which helps improving short and long term memory, protects and prevents from heart disorders and some types of cancer, e.g. breast and prostate cancer. Besides the antioxidant properties, lycopene is also a detoxifier of the waste in the body and inhibits cholesterol formation.
- Yellow-orange pigment - find in in pumpkins, pears, carrots, saffron, oranges, tangerines, grapefruit, pineapples, bananas, mango, etc. It is given by the betacarotene, improves eyesight and helps heart to function accurately, strengthens the immune system, prevents against cancer and is an anti-aging and anti-wrinkling agent for the skin. Betacarotene is a photopigment usually related and connected to the vitamin A in plants. It is stock-piled in the epidermis, most precisely in the membranes of skin cells and in the subcutaneous fatty tissue. It absorbs the UV rays radiation (Carotene can also be stored in the liver and, when the body needs it, converted into vitamin A).
- Green pigment – find in cabbage, lettuce, broccoli, endives, asparagus, spinach, nettles, kiwi fruits, green apples, beans, peas, parsley, pepper grass, green tea, etc. It is given by lutein, that improves eyesight, the bone system and also the teeth, protects and prevents our organism from cancer. Lutein is found all throughout our body, but it is very concentrated in the macula of the eyes. Moreover, the chlorophyll in green plants has antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effects and also purifies the blood from toxins and other waste.
- Blue-violet pigment – find in grapes, plums, red cabbage and red beet, currants, figs, all kinds of berries, etc. It contains anthocyanines, which inhibit the cholesterol level in the blood and helps maintaining the flexibility of the blood vessels. Mixed with the beneficial effects of vitamin A or C, anthocyanins improve visual accuracy, improve blood circulation to the eyes and the nervous system.
- White pigment – find in garlic, onion, mushrooms, celery, parsley root, cauliflower, etc. It contains one or more of the antioxidants mentioned before, depending in the fruit or vegetable. White plants have an anti-infalmmatory and anti-allergenic effect and also prevent cancer.
