Sunday, November 16, 2008

Preppin’ 101 - Part 3 - Health - Eating the Rainbow


Have you ever tried eating the rainbow? It is not an actual diet, but refers to choosing foods that are the colors of the rainbow. By including fruits and vegetables that are the colors of the rainbow in your daily diet, you can assure yourself of the proper servings of fruits and vegetables in order to maintain good health. Fruits and vegetables come in different colors and each of the different colors gives us different types of vitamins and nutrients. Eating the full rainbow of foods on a daily basis helps give your body the essential nutrients that it needs. These nutrients help strengthen your immune system and help to prevent or lessen the risk of certain diseases. What color is your food?

The Color Red

Red fruits and vegetables improve your memory, help to maintain a healthy heart, and lower the risks of some types of cancers.

Sources include red apples, cranberries, red grapes, pomegranates, raspberries, strawberries, watermelon, grapefruit, tomatoes, radishes, red peppers and red onions.

The Color Blue

Blue fruits and vegetables help fight the effects of aging, help to improve urinary tract function, and can also reduce the risk of some types of cancers.

Sources include raisins, blackberries, plums, purple grapes, eggplant and purple cabbage.

The Color White

White fruits and vegetables help lower cholesterol levels and improve the health of your heart.

Sources include bananas, white nectarines, white peaches, garlic, cauliflower, mushrooms, onions and potatoes.

The Color Green

Green fruits and vegetables help maintain good vision, work to build strong bones and teeth and are good sources of antioxidants.

Sources include green apples, green grapes, kiwi fruit, honeydew melon, avocado, broccoli, spinach, zucchini, lettuce, celery and asparagus.

The Color Yellow / Orange

Yellow or orange fruits and vegetables help strengthen your immune system.

Sources include yellow apples, apricots, cantaloupe, oranges, peaches, nectarines, mangoes, pineapple, yellow peppers, pumpkin, sweet corn, lemons and sweet potatoes.


Along with regular exercise, eating properly is one of the best ways to maintain your health. Eating the rainbow will help create a healthier lifestyle. It is something you can do on a regular basis without a lot of extra effort.


Staying above the water line!

Riverwalker

6 comments:

Patricia said...

What an interesting article, RW. I hadn't really thought about food like that, but it is a neat idea.
HM

riverwalker said...

I try to get my regular servings of fruits and vegetables by doing this. It's pretty simmple to do. I also limit meat portions to around 3 ounces or so. I don't have any serious health problems such as high blood pressure,over-weight, diabetes etc. at almost 60 years of age. Works foe me! Thanks.

RW

scoutinlife said...

Great way to look at it!

gott_cha said...

great rule of thunb

riverwalker said...

To: scoutinlife

Too many healthy eating regimens are too hard to kep track of properly. making sure you eat the rainbow at each meal is easy to accomplish.

RW

riverwalker said...

To: gott_cha

I bet you already knew about it or something similar! It's simple for me to do and has worked pretty good so far. Thanks.

RW

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