Jacksonville's Neighborhood Garden

Color Me Healthy!

The Doctor's Office

One of the first things you may notice about this week's produce bag is the variety of beautiful colors present.  We humans are naturally drawn to bright colorful foods and there is good reason: these colors actually signify health promoting properties. Phytochemicals are compounds produced by fruits, vegetables, beans and grains that give these plants their colors, smells, and tastes.  These same phytochemicals provide our bodies with a host of benefits including protection from disease and aging.

Phytochemicals are grouped in families, many of which you may be familiar with.  Examples of these families include carotenoids like beta-carotene and lutein and polyphenols like anthocyanins.  You don't have to be able to pronounce these names, or even know what they are to reap their benefits.  It is enough to know that they are responsible for the beautiful colors in our fruits and vegetables and by selecting a wide variety of color for your diet you will protect your health.  A diet rich in these phytochemicals (think colors) provides your body with many different health benefits including prevention of cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and aging.  You will be able to protect your eyesight, skin, brain and sexual function simply by eating a (naturally)colorful diet! (No, skittles do not count!)

The proof is in the science.  The interactions of these phytochemicals in our bodies is immensely complex and difficult to study.  Nevertheless scientists are dedicating large amounts of time and money to understand how these important chemicals work to maintain health and prevent and reverse disease.  There are countless studies showing beneficial effects of individual nutrients on cells grown in petri dishes and on health markers in the ultimate test tube, our bodies.  But to demonstrate an impact on disease is more difficult, especially when evaluating only one chemical at a time.  This is why studies on single isolated nutrients or food items have often been disappointing in human trials despite promising preliminary evidence for the next cure for cancer or heart disease.  It is most likely that the protection we get from our diet is based on multiple factors and food choices interacting together over periods of time.  We should get away from the mindset that we need to add one superfood or juice in massive quantities and embrace a varied diet rich in color and therefore rich in phytonutrients.  By eating the rainbow we will provide our bodies with many potentially healthful chemical compounds and our bodies will take what they need to maintain and restore our health.  It's really simple and that's the beauty of it.  Eat your fruits and vegetables.