🍅Colourful Foods🍅

My sons recently are both taking a real interest in their nutrition just lately and how what they eat can help enhance their performance and overall health.  The most recent question from my youngest, ‘mum why are carrots good for you?’ this lead me to this weeks blog ….

Have you ever thought about food colours and how are the colour indicate it has nutritional value? Have you ever heard that it is important to “eat a rainbow” of foods? This may be a good way to think about your diet because numerous functional foods can be recognised and grouped together by their colour.

Functional foods are foods or dietary components that may provide a health benefit beyond basic nutrition. Examples can include fruits and vegetables, whole grains, fortified or enhanced foods and beverages and certain dietary supplements. So when you’re next making your meal think about colour and unlock the health benefits by filling half your plate with veggies & fruits full of vibrant colour.

Orange/Red

Supports the function of white blood cells (boost your immune system) plus promotes bone growth.

Green Dark

Green vegetables are a functional food component powerhouse! Leafy green veg are an important part of a healthy diet. Packed with vitamins and minerals and fiber but low in calories. Eating a diet rich in leafy greens can offer numerous health benefits including reduced risk of obesity,heart disease and high blood pressure.

Blue, Purple, crimson, brown

These colours contain what’s known as flavonoids which are beneficial to our health because they may contribute to the maintenance of proper brain function and blood flow.

Tan not beige

Not the most inviting colour in the spectrum but going for your whole grain colour foods in pasta, bread, rice is most definitely the way forward. The fibre content may help with the maintenance and function of the digestive tract and some tan foods may also help reduce the risk of cancer.

White

Just because a food is white, doesn’t mean that it isn’t nutritious.  Milk, some cheeses and yogurt are packed with vitamin D, calcium, and phosphorus.  These vitamins and minerals aid in bone health and may help us maintain a healthy body weight.  Yogurt also contains probiotics, which are bacteria that offer a health benefit, like promoting digestive health or supporting immune function. Obviously a shed load of cheese means a shed load of weight but as always balance is key.

So…. next time the kids turn their nose up to the colours displayed on their plate just tell them their eating a magic rainbow to keep them strong, healthy & focused on their work 🍒🍆🍓🍇🥑🥦