Your mother, the lunch lady in your elementary school's cafeteria and the cartoon character Popeye all had it right: Eating vegetables will make your body healthy and strong. And while different vegetables offer different nutrients with their own unique benefits, choosing the right vegetables can be as simple as picking the right color. The Center for Disease Control recommends, "To get a healthy variety, think color. Eating fruits and vegetables of different colors gives your body a wide range of valuable nutrients."
Leafy, Green Vegetables
If plants are the most basic building block of the food chain, then leafy, green vegetables should be the plants at the foundation of your diet. Vegetables such as spinach, broccoli, kale, collard greens and leaf lettuce are high in Vitamin A, which keep skin and eyes healthy, and Vitamin C, which boosts the immune system. According to author and nutritional medicine expert Dr. Joel Fuhrman, leafy, green vegetables are also a prime source of alpha-carotene, an antioxidant which "defends the body's tissues against oxidative damage, a known contributor to chronic disease and aging."
More Than Just a Quick Fix
Aside from the infusion of vitamins and nutrients, leafy, green vegetables are staples in the fight against high cholesterol and high blood sugar. Because they are packed with nutrients, green vegetables keep you feeling full longer after a meal and steady the body's blood sugar levels. According to Fuhrman, "Many whole plant foods are high in antioxidants and fiber and have a low-glycemic load, characteristics that make them effective at preventing diabetes...A high-nutrient plant-based diet, focused on green vegetables and beans, along with exercise, is even more effective at reversing diabetes."
Orange Vegetables
Orange vegetables such as carrots, squash and sweet potatoes are, like green vegetables, high in alpha-carotene and beta-carotene, siblings in the carotenoid family of antioxidants. Beta-carotene has been proven useful for keeping skin healthy, maintaining sharp vision and even preventing certain kinds of cancer. Carrots and sweet potatoes are also high in potassium, which regulates blood pressure.
Red Vegetables
Tomatoes, peppers and other red fruits and vegetables draw their color from the antioxidant lycopene. According to the National Institute for Cancer, 80 to 85 percent of the average American's intake of lycopene, a powerful antioxidant used for heart health and cancer prevention, comes from tomato consumption. Lycopene is most often associated with prostate cancer prevention, but Fuhrman says it has other uses, too.
"Tomatoes don't only protect the prostate; eating tomatoes regularly also helps to prevent heart disease," Fuhrman says. "The antioxidant properties of lycopene contribute to reducing oxidation of LDL cholesterol, an early and important event in atherosclerosis."
References
- "The Record Delta" newspaper; Tomatoes Protect Not Only the Prostate, But the Heart Also; Dr. Joel Fuhrman; August 2010
- "The Record Delta" newspaper; By 2050, Diabetes Prevalence Will Double or Even Triple; Dr. Joel Fuhrman; November 2010
- "The Record Delta" newspaper; Green and Orange Vegetable Consumption an Indicator of Longevity, So Eat Your Carrots!; Dr. Joel Fuhrman; January 2011
- Center For Disease Control; Fruit and Vegetable Benefits
- National Cancer Institute; Antioxidants and Cancer Prevention: Fact Sheet; July 2004
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