A Healthy You: 5 Vegetable Colors and Their Benefits
By Cindy Gates
The local Farmer’s Market is now open, and buying fresh vegetables is a great way to give your diet a “Plant Slant,” as the Blue Zones encourage us to do.Vegetables are a great source of fiber and fiber helps keep us fuller longer, in addition to slowing down the rise in blood sugar, lowering LDL cholesterol, and keeping our GI tract healthy. Vegetables are also a great source of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and phytochemicals.If you’ve never been to the Farmer’s Market, all of the choices that you have there can be overwhelming at first. When shopping for vegetables, their colors tell a lot about them, and that can be an easy way to pick out what you want.To get you started, here are five colors that you should search for, and what benefits they hold:
- #1: Beta-Carotene is found in orange and green leafy vegetables such as carrots, sweet potatoes, spinach and broccoli. It helps keep your immune system strong, supports healthy vision and may help reduce cancer and heart disease.
- #2: Lycopene is found in red peppers and tomatoes. Lycopene is a powerful antioxidant and may help reduce prostate cancer and heart disease. Cooked tomatoes have a higher amount of lycopene than raw tomatoes.
- #3: Lutein is found in green vegetables such as lettuce, spinach and broccoli. Many studies show that lutein may help decrease the risk of age related macular degeneration. It may also improve heart health and prevent cancer.
- #4: Quercitin is found in white vegetables such as onions. They help inflammation and helps prevent plaque build-up in arteries.
- #5: Anthocynanin is found in purple vegetables such as eggplant and purple potatoes. They are antimicrobial, antiviral and helps prevent cell damage.
- #2: Lycopene is found in red peppers and tomatoes. Lycopene is a powerful antioxidant and may help reduce prostate cancer and heart disease. Cooked tomatoes have a higher amount of lycopene than raw tomatoes.