The Color Diet

It turns out your grandmother was right about eating your greens. And yellows, oranges, reds and purples. The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention says Americans are not eating nearly enough fruits and vegetables and we’re putting ourselves at risk for all kinds of diseases, from cancer to diabetes and heart disease.
    Scientists have known for years that fruits and vegetables are packed with healthful fiber, fatty acids, vitamins and minerals. Now they’re onto a whole new set of healthful compounds called phytochemicals (“phyto” is Greek for plant) that give plants their color and play a vital role in helping them recover from damage. Those phytochemicals help the human body do the same thing. Red tomatoes and watermelon contain lycopene, which can help prevent strokes. Purple Concord grapes offer flavonoids which lower “bad” cholesterol, while blueberries may help keep the brain young. Green broccoli contains sulforaphane, which can help fight cancer.
    Sheri Zidenberg-Cherr, Ph.D., is a nutrition specialist at U.C. Davis. She says in the past decade there’s been an emphasis on looking at the role of natural plant pigments in our diet. “There are thousands of different phytochemicals in different classes. Consuming them reduces the risk for any number of diseases. We don’t know for sure how they work. We do know that people who eat a colorful variety of fruits and vegetables have fewer incidence of disease. The problem with phytochemicals is that there are so many yet to be studied. That’s why eating a colorful variety of produce is important because we don’t know enough about each phytochemical.”
    California’s Department of Health Services is working hard to persuade us to eat more fruits and vegetables through its 5 a Day campaign. Desiree Backman, Ph.D., the campaign’s director, says she believes in the color diet. “Science is emerging to help us understand what color means in terms of disease prevention. When it comes to fruits and veggies, you want to eat as many deep-colored ones as possible: deep greens, dark oranges, reds, purples and yellow-orange ones. They’re low in fat if not fat-free, low in sodium, have no cholesterol and they tend to carry fiber for good digestive health. They’re Mother Nature’s little health package. We’re beginning to understand that we really need seven to 13 servings a day of vegetables and fruits. That translates into 3-1/2 to 6-1/2 cups a day. We’re falling short of those goals. Part of a high-quality life is to be as disease-free as possible.”
    Connie Guttersen, Ph.D., teaches nutrition at the Culinary Institute of America in St. Helena. She’s also author of The Sonoma Diet (Meredith Books, $24.95), The New York Times bestseller that promotes losing weight by eating a balanced diet of power foods, especially colorful fruits and veggies. She says the more color on your plate, the more antioxidants you’re eating.
    “More color is the basis for my diet philosophy. At the top of my power foods list are plant foods—bell peppers, blueberries, broccoli, grapes, spinach, strawberries and tomatoes. Their power comes from phytonutrients—almost magical plant chemicals. They’re responsible for the unique colors, flavors and textures of fruits and vegetables. You also get a dream-team combo when you combine certain foods like bell peppers and tomatoes and olive oil. The premise of the Sonoma Diet is not low-carb or low-fat. It’s about eating the best carbs and good fats such as extra virgin olive oil, pine nuts, almonds and avocados. Antioxidants perform better in the presence of fat because they’re fat-soluble. Pigments also taste better with olive oil. You’re just making the food more nutrient-rich and more flavorful. It’s color at its best. The Sonoma Diet is becoming known for those dream-team combinations of foods, power foods that are very colorful, combined with good fats.”
    Guttersen points out that phytochemicals work in lots of ways but the one that stands out is their antioxidant action. “Antioxidants protect the body from potentially harmful substances, known as free radicals, that cause damage to the body’s cells. That can lead to certain forms of cancer, diabetes, cataracts, arthritis, Alzheimer’s disease and a buildup of cholesterol in the arteries that causes heart disease.” She also says that while some phytonutrients play starring roles in fighting disease, they almost always work in unison with vitamins and minerals. “That’s why it’s important to eat a variety of whole foods in various combinations.”
    Guttersen provides a detailed guide to those food combinations with recipes she’s included in The Sonoma Diet as well as in her new book, The Sonoma Diet Cookbook (Meredith Books, $24.95).
“It’s a way of leveraging healthy foods. With healthy eating, you see improved energy, you sleep better and you reduce risk factors that are food-based. It goes beyond weight loss. More color on your plate is the basis for my philosophy.”
    Our experts definitely agree. You can put together a healthy and flavorful diet if you just follow the rainbow.

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