Shannon Wright
Aug 23, 2011
We continue our series for National Nutrition Month on Eat Right with Color.
We now have talked about the benefit of adding green and red foods to your diet; this week we are talking about the benefits of yellow and orange foods.
Is Fresh Best?
Before we start discussing the yellow and orange foods, let’s talk about the different forms you can choose from. This is a debate that has been going on for decades. Fresh, frozen or canned fruits and vegetables, which is better? The primary concern is to be eating your 6 + servings per day of these nutrient-packed foods. Next you need to remember the more processed a food is, the less nutrients the food has. In general, a fresh apple will have more nutrients than apple sauce. Then you must read the labels. Do your frozen vegetables have butter added? How much extra sugar and salt are in your canned fruits and vegetables? These additions need to be calculated in your overall meal plan. Many foods are now canned and frozen right in the fields to preserve nutrients. So sometimes a frozen vegetable may actually have more nutrients than a fresh one that was picked weeks before it reached your market.
Yellow and Orange Fruits and Vegetables
You have probably heard of beta-carotene. It’s a carotenoid and the nutrient responsible for the yellow and orange colors in foods. Beta-carotene is the reason we grew up hearing that carrots were good for our eyes, converting to vitamin A in the body. These fruits and vegetables also contain other carotenoids that function as antioxidants in the body and have been associated with the health of eyes, skin, the heart, red blood cells and your immune system. You will also find vitamin C, the B-vitamins, and a wide array of minerals in this group of foods.
Make it a point this week to include yellow and orange fruits and vegetables in your diet.
Chop yellow and orange peppers into your salad (already full of green and red vegetables). Saute summer squash in olive oil or add a nice fruit salad of mango and pineapples for a tropical treat!
As you start to think more specifically about nutrients and the color choices in your diet, you can know the foods/nutrients you need to start including on a daily basis. Even the healthiest eaters have nutrient gaps on some days. That’s where supplements come in. Consider talking to your personal licensed health care professional about adding a beta-carotene or vitamin A, lutein, vitamin C, a B-complex and/or a multivitamin that includes many of these vital nutrients.
Continue to think about a wide variety of colors in your daily food choices and we’ll be talking about the blue/purple foods next. Good luck in your quest for health!