National Nutrition Month: Eat Right With Color®
 March is National Nutrition Month®. This year's theme is "Eat Right with Color". National Nutrition Month ® was developed to help increase awareness of nutrition and to help people make informed choices about the foods they eat.
Stay focused on your health goals and add color to all your meals. Adding color to your plate adds variety and nutrients. Foods that are colorful contain beneficial vitamins and phytochemicals. Phytochemicals or phytonutrients are naturally occurring compounds in foods that have additional health benefits. Phytonutrients are what gives food color, aroma and flavor. Of the thousands of phytonutrients, more than two thousand are plant pigments that put color on your plate. So paint your plate with color!
Some Phytonutrients benefits:
· Slow the aging process.
· Reduce your risk of chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease and some cancers.
· Act as antioxidants (they protect cells from damage).
· Enhance immunity.
· Anti-inflammatory properties.
Test Your Color Knowledge.
1. Orange and deep yellow foods (examples- sweet potatoes, carrots, apricots, and mango) get their color from:
a. The type of soil it's grown in.
b. Beta Carotene
c. Paint
d. Lycopene
2. Red foods, such as tomatoes, pink grapefruit, watermelons, cherries and pomegranates, get their color from:
a. Lycopene
b. Colored wax
c. Beta Carotene
d. Zeaxanthin
3. Dark greens, such as spinach, collard greens or romaine lettuce, get their color from:
a. Zeaxanthin and lutein
b. Beta Carotene
c. Lycopene
d. Anthocyanin
4. Purple and dark red foods, such as eggplant, blueberries, raspberries and beets, get their color from:
a. Lycopene
b. Zeaxanthin
c. Anthocyanin
d. Beta Carotene
Phytonutrients: A quick Glance.
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Phytonutrient
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What they do
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Where they're found
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Carotenoids
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* Beta carotene
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Antioxidant, slow aging process, reduce risk of some cancers, may improve lung function
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Yellow-Orange fruits and vegetables: papayas, cantaloupes, carrots, pumpkins, winter squash and sweet potatoes.
Green Vegetables such as broccoli, spinach and kale.
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* Lutein
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Maintain healthy vision, reduce risk of cataracts and macular degenterations, and decrease risk of heart disease and prostate cancer.
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Green vegetables such as kale, spinach, romaine lettuce, Brussels sprouts.
Kiwi
Egg yolk
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*Lycopene
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Healthy vision
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Most Red fruits and vegetables: tomatoes, tomato products, pink grape fruit, and guava.
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*Zeaxanthin
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Healthy vision
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Corn, spinach, winter squash, citrus fruits, green vegetables.
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Flavonoids
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|
|
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*Anthocyanins
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Antioxidant, reduce some cancers, prevent urinary tract infections
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Blueberries, blackberries, cranberries, cherries, strawberries, red grapes, kiwi, eggplant.
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*Catechins
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Antioxidant, may reduce risk for cancers of stomach, skin and esophagus
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Tea (black, oolong or green)
Wine
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Answers:
1. B
2. A
3. A
4. C
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