Color Your Plate (:

Here's a Wellness Wednesday tip for your readers: Color your plate with at least three different colors of fruits and vegetables.

 

Why, you ask?

Because fresh produce is known to be very low in fat, packed with fiber, and rich with natural chemicals that help protect against diseases. Follow today's Wellness tip to ensure that you and your family are getting the best nutrition from your daily meals.

Our food color chart explains how each color represents different vitamins and minerals, their benefits, and examples of food they can be found in.

Color	Nutrients, minerals and benefits	Food sources
Red	Lycopene antioxidant may help reduce risk of cancer	Tomatoes Watermelons Guava
	Anthocyanins antioxidant keeps heart healthy	Strawberries Red grapes Red apples (do not peel) Cranberries
Orange/ Yellow	Beta-Carotene keeps eyes healthy protects the skin against free-radical damage promotes repair of damaged DNA	Carrots Mangoes Cantaloupe Papaya Pumpkin Squash Sweet potatoes
	Vitamin C strengthens immune system	Oranges Lemons Pineapples Cantaloupe
	Folate (Vitamin B) reduces risk of birth defects fights anemia supports cell production	Oranges Cantaloupes Mangoes
Green	Folate (Vitamin B) reduces risk of birth defects fights anemia supports cell production	Romaine lettuce Spinach Asparagus Malunggay Parsley Broccoli
	Lutein for healthy eyes	Peas Green peppers Spinach Okra Avocado Pechay
	Indoles (cruciferous vegetables) reduces risk of cancer	Broccoli Cabbage
	Iron, calcium, magnesium, vitamin K	Most green vegetables
Blue/ Purple	Anthocyanins antioxidant keeps heart healthy	Duhat Grapes Raisins Eggplant Plums Prunes Blueberries
White	Anthoxanthins Lowers cholesterol Lowers blood pressure Reduces cancer risk Keeps heart healthy	Garlic Mushrooms Cauliflower Onions
	Potassium electrolyte keeps heart healthy good for digestion muscular function	Bananas Potatoes

We hope you find this food color chart useful!

Source:

http://ww1.nestle.com.ph/wellness/wellnesssite/articles.aspx?id=15