The Color Wheel Diet

The color wheel diet groups fruits and vegetables by the colorful, beneficial chemical substances they contain. Developed by Dr. David Heber, director of the UCLA Center for Human Nutrition and author of "What Color Is Your Diet," it incorporates the seven colors of health: red/purple, red, orange, orange/yellow, yellow/green, green and white/green. The category system makes it easier for people to consume the proper amounts and types of nutrients needed in diets.

Theory

Foods have colors because they contain phytonutrients, which have special bonds that are capable of absorbing light as well as potentially damaging free radicals. Each colored fruit or vegetable provides a unique benefit to the diet, and there is also evidence of interactions between colors that provide benefits. As a result, the color wheel diet advises the intake of as much color and as many different colors as possible. Consuming a variety of fruits and vegetables will ensure a diverse intake of more than 25,000 different phytonutrients.

Food Groups

The red/purple group is made up of foods including grapes, berries, plums, cherries, eggplants, beets, raisins and red apples. The red group consists of tomato and tomato products, watermelon and pink grapefruit. Carrots, mangoes, cantaloupes, pumpkins, squashes and sweet potatoes belong to the orange group. The orange/yellow group includes oranges, lemons, peaches, papayas, pineapples and nectarines. The yellow/green group is comprised of green leafy vegetables, corn, avocados, honeydew melon and some beans. Cruciferous vegetables like broccoli and Brussels sprouts are in the green group. Finally, the white/green group consists of garlic, onions, celery, asparagus and mushrooms.

Phytonutrients

The red/purple group contains longevity-promoting flavonoids, while the red group is a good source of the cancer-fighting lycopene. The orange group is rich in beta carotene, a compound essential for healthy skin and eyes. The orange/yellow group contains significant amounts of vitamin C, an immune booster. High amounts of lutein, a substance that helps protect vision, are found in the yellow/green group foods. The green group contains glucosinates that have powerful organ detoxifying effects, and the white/green group boasts potent stores of the anti-tumor allicin and other anti-bacterial sulfurs.

Health Benefits

According to Heber, the color wheel diet will help you obtain fruits and vegetables that provide a plethora of health benefits. The various phytonutrients help prevent blindness, macular degeneration and strokes, fight common forms of cancer, protect your DNA, reduce inflammation and strengthen your immunity. Adding fruits and vegetables to your diet can also help you achieve a healthy, permanent weight loss since these foods will replace refined grains and high-fat meats that add extra calories that may be hard to burn off.

Recommendations

Heber suggests aiming for one food item from each color group per day and to eat seven or more servings of fruits and vegetables per day. Since variety is so important, be sure to incorporate many different foods into your diet so that you can get the full spectrum of phytonutrients and their benefits. The USDA recommends a minimum of five servings a day of fresh produce.