By Janalou Phelan, MS, RD, LD
Last month was National Nutrition Month and the theme was “Eat Right with Color.” That may sound like a simple thing to do, but have you looked at your plate lately? How many colors do you see?
Fruits and vegetables are some of the most colorful foods. The American Heart Association recommends at least 4.5 cups of fruits and vegetables a day for a healthy heart. Those colors are not there to just look pretty, they serve a purpose!
Phytochemicals are plant chemicals that include flavonoids, which give fruits and vegetables their many different colors. Flavonoids help your heart by serving as antioxidants and anti-inflammatory agents. In other words, they help protect your cells from damage and injury, which can lead to heart disease.
Some specific colors that help your heart include:
- red (from red wine or red grape juice) – find out more from this recent Texas Health Heart blog post https://texashealthheart.wordpress.com/2011/01/03/red-red-wine/
- green (from dark leafy vegetables) – here’s a great way to cook heart healthy spinach http://www.baldwinpublishing.com/content/details.php?t=Warm-Spinach-with-Portabella-Mushrooms-Recipe&g=Search-Results&d=recipe&w=texashealth_inf&cid=127&aid=152
- blue (from blueberries, eggplant) – anthocyanins in these foods serve as an antioxidant; cook fresh or frozen blueberries into your morning bowl of old fashioned oatmeal
- orange (from sweet potatoes, carrots) – sweet potatoes are a great source of antioxidants and soluble fiber for heart health; try these “guilt free sweet potato French fries” http://www.baldwinpublishing.com/content/details.php?t=Guilt-Free-Sweet-Potato-French-Fries-Recipe&g=Search-Results&d=recipe&w=texashealth_inf&cid=127&aid=165
- brown (from dark chocolate) – learn more from this recent Texas Health Heart blog post https://texashealthheart.wordpress.com/2011/02/24/good-news-for-chocolate-fans/
These are just a few examples of how you can “eat right with color” for a healthy heart. Now it’s your turn to get some color on your plate!
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