The so-called ”eating the rainbow” diet has become increasingly popular given its health benefits. Foods of different colors provide diverse minerals, vitamins and antioxidants. The knack of ensuring that each of our meals has fruit and vegetables of varying colors, is gaining ground in the US.
But one culture, has been doing this for centuries. We know that the Japanese have an instinct to beautifully arrange food. Stacked vegetables, fish parcels, with perfect mounds of rice. The Japanese have always used food of different colors in their meals. It is pleasing to the eye and healthy and for the Japanese, it shows that you care.
It has taken us a while to embrace it over here. But now lots of books and doctors recommend putting more color into our daily meals. To improve our health and perhaps to live longer.
The books on colorful food diets are great. Personally, I’m a little less strict than some of them advise. I don’t try to get eight different colors on each plate for each meal. Who has time to do that anyway?
I’m averse to calorie counting too. I don’t like to work out my nutritional intake either. But one thing I’ve learned from my Japanese friends, is that they try to eat a lot of different colored foods. So, as long as I have various colors of food, and change it up each day, I’m fine. I feel better. My food tastes better, it looks and smells better. I get different textures too, with the added benefit of sound effects. Think of the crunch from celery. I’m stimulating all five of my senses. What’s not to love?
Science is fast catching up with what the Japanese have long believed and what now, seems common sense. The list of benefits from eating a range of colorful food is long. Here are a few headliners, by color, that are important.
Red foods are powerful as they bring a wide range of benefits. Cancer preventing, reducing blood pressure, minimizing the likelihood of strokes and heart disease. Even lowering cholesterol. Tomatoes, peppers and apples. Even Japanese fermented pickled plums, umeboshi. They are great to give a hint of savoriness and a flavor hit. The Japanese love these in their breakfast rice porridge.
Blue, black and purple foods have super antioxidants called anthocyanins. Food items which are dark in color seem to be less attractive to us. Eggplants, cabbage, plums can all help with reducing the amount of free-radicals which damage our cells. We don’t always have to go to fruits. Soy sauce is dark and can also be added to our diet. The Japanese writer, Junichiro Tanizaki wrote of soy sauce, “how rich in shadows is the viscous sheen of the liquid, how beautifully it blends with the darkness." Amazing words in praise of the dark tones of soy sauce. Let's include darker toned foods in our cooking. To taste fantastic, yes. But there are significant health benefits, as they can help with conditions such as arthritis, and other inflammatory diseases.
Everyone knows that you must eat your greens to get fiberinto your diet. Green foods are similarly an important supply of sulforaphane, lutein and zeaxanthin. Peas, zucchini, broccoli all appear to help with heart disease. Green foods are also reputed to prevent some eye diseases too, such as macular degeneration. Go green.
Last but definitely not least, yellow and orange foods. Satsumas and peppers, packed with beta-carotene are great to include in your diet. Beta-carotenoids convert to vitamin A in our bodies. Which in turn is a major player in producing our hormones. Most of our citrus fruits fall into this color range. Let’s not forget that vitamin C is a key supporting element to produce a vast range of our cells.
Each year we discover more and more science to support what some cultures have known all along. That some of the most powerful medicines, to keep our bodies healthy, are right in front of us.
Want an easy route to health? Mix it up when it comes to the colors on your plate. The more the better. We don’t need to rely on exotic fruits to gain the benefits. We can just use the colorful ones in our local food stores.
But, if you get a chance, try those pickled plums. Yum.
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