6 Excellent Reasons You Need Your Colored Vegetables and Fruits
My 17 year old is on a healthy eating binge. Now we eat healthy pretty much BUT she is like wanting to eat healthy and learn as much as she can about different foods and why or why not they are good for you! Yay! I have been trying to get my family to eat WAY MORE fruits and vegetables…forever! One of these such ways is why you need your colored vegetables and fruits! There are many Excellent Reasons You Need Your Colored Vegetables and Fruits!
All of these years of serving veggies that nobody liked is paying off!! This new eating phase I’m sure has nothing to do with me but I’m taking credit anyway…I’m boosting my own morale as a mother!
I like to feel important! LOL
6 Excellent Reasons You Need Your Colored Vegetables and Fruits
So I’ve been talking to her about the nutritional value of eating colored fruits and vegetables and how they are packed with nutrition. I thought you may be interested in what I’ve been teaching her and I’ve created a printable to go along with it for quick reference!
Eating a plant-based diet can enhance your health and there is every reason to believe that it can prolong your life. Many nutrition experts recommend a colorful plate as the more variety in colors of produce the more nutrients you get into your body.
Many color vegetables and fruits can be grown in your garden or of course purchased at your local grocery store. However if you grow your own your are sure to provide fresh, pesticide free produce for you, and your family.
Both fruits and vegetables have their own natural color that will impart many health benefits. They are low in calories and can be purchased or grown and picked when they have a maximum amount of nutrients. Here are 6 excellent reasons to eat more colorful fruits and vegetables and why you should be incorporating them into your diet every day for maximal health and wellness.
Here is a breakdown of the “technical” details and the reasons we need to be eating them!
Red Fruits and Vegetables
- These include healthy foods such as tomatoes, guava, raspberries, red cabbage, watermelon, cherries, kidney beans, beets, and strawberries. All of these fruits and vegetables are extremely rich in antioxidants such as anthocyanins and lycopene.
- Antioxidants stop the chain reaction of oxygen free radicals from the body, which has the potential to damage cells, including cellular DNA.
- One medium fresh tomato will provide you with 3 milligrams of lycopene. Lycopene is also considered a carotenoid, which helps you make and use Vitamin A in the body.
Orange and Yellow Fruits and Vegetables
- These are vegetables and fruits like yellow peppers and cantaloupe. They are rich in beta-carotene, which is a precursor to making vitamin A. Vitamin A is a healthful nutrient that helps your vision at night and is helpful in controlling the health of your skin, bones, and teeth.
- Yellow and orange vegetables and fruits also contain folate, which is an antioxidant that also is a preventative against neural tube defects in growing fetuses. You need about 500 mg of vitamin A per day, which can be more than gotten from a couple of cups of yellow cantaloupe. The same amount of cantaloupe provides about 65 mg of folate, of which you need about 320 mg per day.
Green Vegetables
- There are many green vegetables you can grow in your garden including greens, peas, and green beans if you like (and remember a pot is just as much of a plant as a huge garden) These are especially good for the health of your bones, teeth, and eyes. You need these vegetables as adequate sources for vitamin K, which helps you clot blood better. Just two cups of raw spinach gives you more than double the amount of vitamin K you require each day for optimal health.
- Green vegetables contain great amounts of vitamin C and vitamin E, which aid in decreasing your overall risk for certain chronic disease. They also provide you with the phytonutrients called zeaxanthin and lutein, which are protective against macular degeneration.
Blue and Purple Vegetables
- These include blueberries, other berries, and eggplant. They contain anthocyanins, which prevent heart disease through their antioxidant properties. It is known that they contain certain flavonoids and Ellagic acid that can destroy cancer cells, including cells that make lung cancer, pancreatic cancer, stomach cancer and breast cancer. These compounds also have anti-inflammatory properties, which are protective against colon and esophageal cancer.
White Fruits and Vegetables
- White fruits and vegetable include pears, apples, cauliflower, cucumbers, and bananas. These foods are fiber-rich which can aid in your digestion and which can bind cholesterol so it doesn’t reach your bloodstream. They also contain antioxidants like quercetin, which is particularly prevalent in pears and apples. White fruits are helpful in lowering your stroke risk.
The Home Garden
Try to incorporate as many colored vegetables as you can in your daily diet. They all act differently on your body and have known health benefits you truly need. That’s the way God created it! This is made easy by growing an organic vegetable and fruit garden at home. It does not take a lot of space, and it is a rewarding and beneficial activity for the whole family, even if it’s a pot or two!
One of the greatest benefits to growing your own produce is that you can avoid ingesting pesticides that are used in commercial fruits and vegetables. Organic produce is available in stores, but it costs a lot more and that is another great reason to start a garden.
Print out the below PDF for future reference to remind you what fruits and vegetables to eat. When you do this, eating becomes all the more important. Especially if you hate veggies…this could be the incentive you need.
Have a blessed healthy day!! HN
