This year, the American Dietetic Association is encouraging to “Eat Right with Color”. Now what does this mean? Well, for starters, it means that NOW is the perfect time to start taking control of your diet and eating right so that you can live a much healthier lifestyle.
Did you know that in 2010, the USDA recommended that Americans focus their eating behaviors toward a plant-based diet? It’s true. When it comes to our diets, things are changing. We no longer need to eat the heavy amounts of starches that we used to under old food pyramid guidelines. Instead, it’s been proven that it’s most healthy for us to have at least half of our plate at every meal filled by fruits and vegetables. Seriously – no more heavy grain diets.
Eating a rainbow of colors has become the focus of this year’s National Nutrition Month campaign. As a rule of thumb, the brighter and more deeply colored the fruit or vegetable, the higher levels of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants it contains. So, to take advantage of all of these nutrients, people are encouraged to try to incorporate all the colors of the rainbow into their diets. Green broccoli, red apples, purple grapes, orange sweet potatoes, yellow peppers…these are just a few of the foods that are recommended for a healthy diet. Not to mention, fruits and vegetables are generally low in calories and high in fibers, which means their better for weight control, digestion, and the maintenance of a healthy body.
Not sure what nutrients most common fruits and veggies have to offer? Let’s take a closer look:
- Blue fruits like blueberries, blackberries, and black grapes are rich in antioxidants which can be a potent ally for your overall immunity.
- Dark leafy greens like kale and spinach contain great levels of calcium, magnesium, iron, potassium, zinc and vitamins A, C, and E.
- Green, yellow, and orange vegetables can be great sources of calcium, magnesium, potassium, iron, beta-carotene, and vitamins B, A, C, and K.
- Red fruits, like raspberries and apples can be rich in lycopene, quercetin, lutein, melatonin, vitamins A and C, and various antioxidants.
At OVitaminPro.com, we highly encourage you to start enriching your diet by adding more fresh fruits and vegetables. See if you can eat produce of every color of the rainbow in your diet all month long. From there, it just might be the way you eat for the rest of your life! (Trust us – we’ve seen the benefits!)
To learn more about National Nutrition Month, check out the official site.
