ROY G BIV

Do you remember Roy G Biv from school?

It’s not a person but a mnemonic that helps you remember the order of the colors of the rainbow. So it's red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. I don’t know why I remember this but I just do.

When it comes to nutrition Roy G Biv is good to know. I’m sure you’ve heard that you should “Eat the Rainbow.” But what does that mean exactly?

Superfoods are awesome and I do make room for them in my budget but they're not required for healthy eating. Instead focus on everyday, affordable superfoods in all colors of the rainbow. Think red peppers, kale, spinach, broccoli, sweet potatoes and other nutrient-dense plant foods along with immunity-boosting and disease-fighting foods like onion, garlic and ginger.

Most grocery stores have their produce section right as you enter. That’s because we are drawn to the fresh vibrant colors of the food. Foods that are vibrantly colored are generally more appealing. A bright yellow banana appeals to us more than an unripe green banana. Red onions are visually more appealing than white. Purple cabbage is more appealing than green.

The same food can have a different nutritional profile for each color:

Red peppers pack the most nutrition, because they've been on the vine longest. Green peppers are harvested earlier, before they have a chance to turn yellow, orange, and then red. Compared to green bell peppers, the red ones have almost 11 times more beta-carotene and 1.5 times more vitamin C.

Although all types of grapes are healthy, red grapes and Concord grapes are higher in flavonoids and phytonutrients, including resveratrol than green grapes.

Sweet potatoes with orange flesh are richest in beta-carotene. Sweet potatoes with purple flesh are richer in anthocyanins. Beta-carotene and anthocyanins are naturally occurring plant phyto- chemicals that give vegetables their bright colors.

Orange carrots have high levels of beta-carotene while purple carrots are packed with anthocyanins, which may prevent heart disease. Red carrots contain lycopene, linked to lower risk of certain cancers.

Red onions are more effective at killing human cancer cells compared with other onions thanks to their higher levels of the antioxidants quercetin and anthocyanin.

These are just a few examples of the power of the rainbow in whole foods. When building your meals, keep in mind that the more colorful your meal is, the more likely it is to have an abundance of cancer-fighting nutrients.

You may not often see some of these colorful foods available at your local grocer but when you do I encourage you to try them out.

This week, challenge yourself to make your meals colorful.

I’d love to hear about your colorful meals - leave a comment below.

*and hit the “like” button :)