5 Reasons Why You Need To Eat Colorful Plant Foods

JAKARTA – Consumption of the same menu every day is often done. Sometimes even just eat big, without vegetables or opened and closed with fruit. Contrary to expert recommendations, they suggest eating colorful foods like rainbows. What is the reason?

To get enough nutrients, the body absorbs them from the food we eat. It's easy, if we just eat the same thing with the same menu then the nutrients that the body needs can not be met. But don't worry, rainbow-colored food will actually be cheaper if you calculate it. Although it is necessary to shop frequently or look for ingredients that are in season and freshly harvested.

1. Fresh food of various colors contains nutrients and phytonutrients

Eating fresh food with a variety of colors is often known as the Mediterranean diet. According to Francesco Sofi, professor at clinical nutrition, University of Florence, phytonutrients are chemical substances produced by plants that help us process more nutrients and play an important role in eliminating toxins in the body.

Choosing food needs to consider the color, said Sofi reported by the BBC, Tuesday, November 16. Sofi also suggested the need to choose colorful food ingredients from local harvests, fresh, in season. He also recommends cooking only by boiling, following the rules of the Mediterranean diet, and avoiding frying, which has a nutrient-degrading effect.

2. A diet of fruits and vegetables nourishes the brain

The colorful foods referred to in this article are from vegetables and fruits. Not food that is colored with preservatives and excessive processing. Deanna Minich, functional nutritionist and faculty member at the University of Western States, Portland, Oregon, says that the abundance of nutrients in a diet rich in fruits and vegetables benefits the brain and heart.

In addition to phytonutrients, plant foods contain thousands of natural compounds including carotenoids and flavonoids. Benefits as an anti-inflammatory.

3. Blue and purple foods help lower the risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes

Minich adds to the richness of the benefits of specific fruit colors, such as bluerberries and purples. This fruit is associated with a reduced risk of heart disease because it contains anthocyanins.

4. Benefits of yellow vegetable foods

Yellow plant foods contain flavones that can help reduce the risk of heart disease. In addition, yellow and green foods also contain lutein. These plant pigments contain beneficial compounds that travel to the macula at the back of the eye and help reduce the risk of macular degeneration or impaired vision with age.

5. Reduce cognitive decline and dementia

In the study of Tian-shin Yeh, epidemiologist researcher at Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, 50.000 people who followed a colorful diet for 20 years experienced lower rates of cognitive decline and dementia. Foods consumed by participants included oranges, celery, peppers, grapefruit which are rich in flavonoids.

In addition to eating colorful foods, explains Victoria Taylor, senior dietitian at the British Heart Foundation, we also need to eat from other food groups to get macronutrients, such as protein.

Minich also added that colorful foods should not only be vegetables and fruit. Can be varied with spices, nuts, and seeds, even tea.