Eat Your Colors for National Nutrition Month

You might not see many bright hues in your garden yet, but National Nutrition Month has arrived with just that theme— “Eat Right With Color.”

The American Dietetic Association went with color for March’s nutrition month to highlight the nutrients and phytochemicals—contained in the colors of plants—that can help protect us from certain diseases.

Studies have shown that eating a variety of fruits and vegetables, as part of a diet low in saturated fat, cholesterol and sugar, can help control blood pressure, lower cholesterol, and may reduce risk of osteoporosis, dementia and certain cancers while also boosting your immune system. Plus, their high fiber and water content will fill you up, keep you satisfied longer, and help you maintain a healthy weight.

Keeping this in mind, we decided to explore two of our local supermarkets to see what colors are available to entice the palette and keep us eating our five to nine servings of fruits and veggies a day. (1 serving=1 small orange or apple, ¼ cup dried fruits, 1/2 cup cooked or 1 cup raw vegetables.)

Both Fairway and Costco have a wide variety of deep, rich nature-colored fruits and veggies. At Fairway, you can choose from a dizzying array of options—organic Rainbow (pink, white, red and yellow) Swiss Chard, tri-colored gourmet tomatoes, orange and yellow beets and exotic mushrooms displayed among the variety of forest green lettuce and herbs.

If you don’t have time for all the washing and chopping, let Fairway do the work for you. Every fruit and veggie on our hit list was cut up, packaged and ready to go.

When choosing your produce, aim to turn your plate into a color wheel so you get a wide variety of phytochemicals and their antioxidant power.

Red Group: The lycopene in the reds may provide immunity, protect against prostate cancer as well as heart and lung disease. You’ll get a hefty dose of this nutrient in tomatoes , watermelon, red grapes, radishes, red peppers, pomegranates, and pink grapefruit.

Red/Purple/Blue Group: This group contains anthocyanins and phenolics that may lower the risk of coronary heart disease and reduce the negative effects of sun damage, help with memory function, and lower the risk of certain cancers. Seek these benefits from figs, beets, eggplant, purple cabbage, purple grapes, cranberries, blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, and apples.

Orange/Yellow Group: These fruits and vegetables contain carotenoids and bioflavonoids that preserve night vision and is high in vitamin C, another powerful antioxidant. Get this good stuff from carrots, mangoes, apricots, oranges, pineapple, papaya, and nectarines, peppers, cantaloupe, winter squash, and sweet potatoes.

Yellow/Green Group: These are the best sources of the chlorophyll and the carotenoids, lutein and zeaxanthin that promote eye health and prevent cataracts and age-related macular degeneration. Make sure to eat your spinach, collard greens, yellow corn, peas, avocado, and honeydew.

Green Group: This group, high in the vitamin folate  (especially important in child-bearing years) may also protect against certain cancers and detoxify chemicals in the liver. Gobble up some broccoli, Brussels sprouts, asparagus, bok choy, kale, and spinach.

White/Green Group: The phytochemical ally sulfide in onion, leeks and garlic may promote heart health and provide antibiotic, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal and anti-tumor properties. So don’t forget your celery, pears, soybeans, cabbage, endive, green grapes, turnips, mushrooms, and chives to get the benefit of the flavanols and quercitin, along with various other potent plant phytos

For more information on how to "Eat Right with Color," visit ADA's National Nutrition Month website for a variety of helpful tips, fun games, promotional tools and nutrition education resources.

Laurie Goldberg, MS, RD, CDN is a registered dietitian-nutritionist who practices in Manhattan and Riverdale.