A final magical instalment from Margareta Serfozo, Integrative Nutrition Health Coach & Corporate Mental Health Facilitator, for Magic Members' Week on the benefits of eating a colourful diet!
3 minute read
Disclaimer: This article is not intended to diagnose, treat, or cure any conditions. If you are seeking medical advice, please consult your GP or a licensed healthcare practitioner. Any decision to use supplements to support your specific needs should be considered in partnership with your licensed healthcare practitioner. For specific dietary advice, please consult a registered nutritionist or dietitian.
Fruits and vegetables are crucial components of a healthy diet. According to a research published by Public Health England in 2018, only 31% of adults, 32% of 65- to 74-year-olds and 8% of teenagers meet the 5 A Day(1) recommendation for fruit and vegetables(2). Fruits and vegetables are essential sources of vitamins and minerals, dietary fibre, as well as plant sterols, flavonoids and other anti-oxidants(3). Having a variety of fruits and vegetables helps to ensure that you get an adequate intake of these essential nutrients. Eating local, seasonal and minimally processed plants of a great variety of colours have a wide range of health benefits, including a potentially reduced risk of some diseases(4), such as cardiovascular diseases(5).
So be adventurous and eat the rainbow!
Based on the detailed research conducted by Dr. Deanna Minich, amongst other amazing benefits, red foods have great anti-inflammatory properties, orange foods are having a positive impact on your endocrine-regulating activities and fertility, yellows are rich in fibre to support your microbiome, greens are great for cardiovascular health and blue-purple shades are polyphenol-rich foods to assist with learning, memory and mood(6). A great, more detailed summary table is available here.
Don’t just eat the usual suspects you regularly put into your shopping basket. You can pimp up your salads with some new colours, enjoy a rich soup, stew or stir-fry and start snacking on fruits, carrots, cucumbers or even some homemade vegetable or fruit crisps. Make it into a family game with your children, who could get a star for each colour of the rainbow that they’ve tried that day. This is an amazing technique to get children to experiment with fruits and vegetables and certainly works well with my mine! Include those rainbow colours into their fruit bowls, add spinach to their banana smoothie, throw some red fruits on their morning porridge, or add some vegetables to their rice or omelette. Studies demonstrate(7) that experience with a variety of vegetables early in childhood can promote later consumption as early dietary habits often track into adulthood(8).
Eating the rainbow can have many health benefits to you and your family, so take them all with you on this exciting adventure of experimenting with colourful fruits and vegetables.
Integrative Nutrition Health Coach & Corporate Mental Health Facilitator @ The Endearing Project
Specialising in women's health and fertility, Margareta created The Endearing Project to support, guide and enable her clients to follow their own path to wellbeing through lifestyle and behavioural guidance, and wellness, health and fertility coaching.