Eat a variety of colors

Eating fruits and vegetables of a variety of different colors can give you the best all-round health benefits; each contains a distinctive blend of super nutrients that are fantastic for our well-being.

Red: Fruits and vegetables with the color red contain a super anti-oxidant in the carotenoid pigment lycopene. Lycopene is found in tomatoes, red & pink grapefruit, guava, watermelon, papaya, red bell pepper, and gogi berries. A fruit grown in Southern Asia called "gac" is considered the most lycopene rich food with over 70 times the amount of lycopene as tomato products per volume.

Lycopene is absorbed most effectively when it is combined with a fat source. Gac contains saturated and unsaturated fatty acids making it naturally bioavailable. Tomato sauces or tomatoes with extra virgin olive oil are another bioavailable source. Lycopene is noted for its powerful ability to scavenge free radicals and inhibit cancer cell formation and arterial inflammation.

Orange: Orange containing fruits and vegetables are rich in the potent anti-oxidant beta-carotene. Beta carotene is found in sweet potatoes, yams, mangos, carrots, & apricots. The Vietnamese superfood "gac" has the most beta-carotene with over 10x the amount as carrots.

Beta carotene helps prevent night blindness and other eye problems while working to help improve eye function. It also acts to enhance skin health and immune system stability. Beta carotene has powerful anti-oxidant properties which help clean the body of free radicals that damage tissue and cause cancer.

Greens: The color of life is derived by chlorophyll which is one of the most powerful life-giving substances on the planet. The chlorophyll content of a food is a major indicator of the health attributes of any given plant based food. Chlorophyll rich foods have a very deep green and are extraordinarily useful in building new blood cells and purifying the body from cancer and radiation.

Additionally, green foods contain the carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin that are being studied for their ability to protect your eyes by keeping your retina strong. They are also rich in folate, magnesium, copper, B6, & potassium. Many green vegetables like kale and collard greens contain powerful glucosinolates and methyl cysteine sulfoxides. These super-nutrients help to activate detoxifying enzymes in the liver that play an important role in neutralizing carcinogenic substances.

Blue/Purple: These darker pigments add beautiful shades that enrich your plate. They are also rich in flavonoids, phytochemicals, and anti-oxidants. The phytochemical pigment responsible for the dark color is called anthocyanins. Foods that are rich in anthocyanins include blueberries, plums, red cabbage, eggplant, blackberries, raspberries, & cranberries.

These super nutrients have an especially powerful ability to minimize cancer-induced DNA damage, stall the growth of pre-malignant cells, accelerate cancer cell death, and reduce inflammatory mediators that initiate cancer cell growth. Berries are one of the richest sources of anthocyanins and many experts believe that our ancestors ate far more anthocyanins than we do. In comparison, many researchers believe we are deficient in anthocyanins.

White: The onion family which includes leeks, scallions, onions, & garlic all contain the sulfur containing compound called allicin. This is a powerful anti-microbial that destroys bacteria, viruses, & fungi. Allicin is also a powerful anti-inflammatory that destroys cancer, lowers cholesterol, and reduces inflammatory damage to the heart and vasculature.

Mushrooms contain beta-glucan, selenium, vitamin B6, zinc, & copper that are critical for healthy immune function and the formation of the cellular anti-oxidant glutathione. Cauliflower contains the phytochemicals Indole-3-Carbonyl and Sulforaphanes which are some of nature's most powerful cancer fighters.

Learn more:http://www.naturalnews.com/030546_food_colors.html#ixzz1QZIehQR0

Fruit Myths

• “If I drink one glass of apple juice and one glass of orange juice that counts 2 servings of fruit” – A glass (200ml) of 100% fruit juice only counts once towards the 5-A-DAY target for fruit and vegetables, regardless of how much you drink – this is because fruit juice has very little fibre.

• “Some fruits are healthier than others” – Different fruits contain different amounts of vitamins, mineral and phytochemcials. The best way to make sure you get the full range of all these beneficial compounds is to eat a variety of fruit. When you’re planning meals aim to fill your plate with colour – think of the colours in a rainbow and try to eat at least one serving of fruit or vegetables from each of the colour bands each and every day.

• “Organic fruit contains more vitamins than fruit grown with pesticides” – While some studies show that organic fruit does contain higher levels of vitamins and minerals, others show there is no significant difference. All fruit, however it is grown, provides useful amounts of vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals.

• “Pesticide residues in fruit increases the risk of cancer” – Experts agree that health benefits associated with eating more fruit and vegetables far outweighs any potential risk from pesticides.

• “Some fruits such as watermelon and tropical fruit have a high Glycaemic Index (GI) so they are best avoided” - The GI is only one measurement of what makes a food healthy. Other factors, such as the vitamin content and the amount of fat it contains are also important. Watermelon actually has an intermediate GI value (as does pineapple and paw paw) and it is an excellent source of anti-oxidants.

• “Bananas are fattening” – Bananas contain slightly more calories than many other fruit (1 small banana contains 76kcals) but they are not high in calories and are certainly not fattening. Bananas make a great snack and are a rich in vitamin B6 and potassium ( which helps control blood pressure).

Funny Fruit Pictures

Visit Our Site

Funny caption of the day

A Few Interesting Fruit Facts

Avocados have the highest calories of any fruit at 167 calories per hundred grams.

Apples contain an antioxidant that fights cancer .

The banana plant is in the same family as the lily and the orchid.

A medium-sized orange contains the amount of vitamin C that a healthy adult should eat daily.

Olive trees can live for more than 1,500 years.

Kiwis are packed full of cancer fighting Beta-Carotene and contain twice as much Vitamin C as an orange.

People who eat a lot of fruit need to consum less water.

Lemons are popular for cleaning because they are high in acid – which kills bacteria.

Grapes have grown wild since pre-historic times.

Pear wood is hard and can be used to make furniture.

There are more than 100 varieties of bananas, some even have red skin.

Grapes explode when you put them in the microwave.

100% percent fruit juice is a great way to get started every morning.

Kiwi fruit is said to promote respiratory health and ease wheezing and night coughing.

The largest fruits are giant pumpkins, specially grown and bred for their size. The largest ones can weigh over 1,000 pounds!

Growing giant pumpkins is a fine art, and there are many different ideas about how to do it best. Many growers keep their methods secret. Some use heating cables to protect against cold weather, or special fertilizers for maximum growth. Giant pumpkin vines are pampered and watched carefully.