Don’t Just Eat Your Greens, Eat a Rainbow

By Dietitian, Juliette Kellow BSc RD

Most of us know that to stay healthy, we should eat five portions of fruit and vegetables every day – and there are lots of good reasons why we should follow this advice.

Most are low in calories and fat, making them a great choice for including as part of a reduced-calorie diet to help us lose weight. They’re packed with fibre, which helps to fill us up and prevents or eases conditions such as constipation. And they’re a great source of vitamins and minerals.

But fruit and veg also contain naturally-occurring plant chemicals called phytochemicals that when eaten in good amounts, have been found to protect us from a range of health problems including cancer, heart disease, eye problems and urinary tract infections. These phytochemicals – of which there are hundreds – act as antioxidants and so mop up potentially harmful molecules called free radicals before they get a chance to damage cells, which in turn can lead to diseases.

Eating plenty of foods rich in phytochemicals is therefore a good idea if we want to stay fit and healthy. And the easiest way to ensure a good mix of phytochemicals is to eat a variety of different coloured fruits and vegetables that typically match the colours of the rainbow! So whilst it’s important to ‘eat your greens’, it’s just as important to eat your reds, oranges, yellows, blues and purples, too.

Here’s how to do it:

Red Food
Orange and Yellow Food
Green Food
Blue and Purple Food
White Food