Eating fruits and vegetables that are rich in color gives your body an assortment of nutrients it needs to function such as fiber, folate, lutein, lycopene, potassium and vitamins A and C. These nutrients found in colorful fruits and veggies provide special health benefits such as protecting you from chronic diseases among others.
To get a variety of nutrients you need, choose color fruits and vegetables such as green spinach and collards, orange carrots and sweet potatoes, black beans, blue berries, yellow corn and bananas, purple plums, red berries and watermelon and white onions.
Below is a listing of certain nutrients and how they contribute to your health. You may also learn more about the fruits and veggies that are excellent sources of these nutrients.
Fiber: Diets rich in fiber can often decrease your risk of coronary heart disease. Excellent vegetable sources for fiber include navy beans, kidney beans, black beans, pinto beans, lima beans, white beans, soybeans, split peas, black eyed peas, lentils and artichokes.
Folate: Folate can reduce a woman’s risk of having a child with a brain or spinal cord defect. Excellent choices for folate are black eyed peas, cooked spinach, great northern beans and asparagus.
Lutein: Lutein helps maintain a healthy vision. Choose kale, collards and spinach for a healthy source of lutein.
Lycopene: Lycopene helps maintain a healthy heart. Choose tomatoes, watermelon and red/pink grapefruit to get this nutrient that your body needs.
Potassium: A diet rich in potassium helps you maintain a healthy blood pressure. Good fruit and vegetable choices for potassium include oranges, bananas, cantaloupe, prune juice, sweet potatoes, tomato paste, tomato puree, beet greens, white potatoes, white beans, lima beans, cooked greens and carrot juice.
Vitamin A: Vitamin A helps keep your eyes and skin healthy and helps to protect against infections. Excellent fruit and vegetable sources for vitamin A include cantaloupe, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, carrots, spinach, turnip greens, mustard greens, kale, collard greens, winter squash, red peppers and Chinese cabbage.
Vitamin C: Vitamin C helps heal cuts and wounds and keeps your teeth and gums healthy. Excellent fruit and veggie choices for vitamin C include mangoes, oranges, cantaloupe, pineapple, strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, kiwi, sweet potatoes, red and green peppers, kale, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, tomato juice and cauliflower.
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, www.fruitsandveggiesmatter.gov