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Why We Need to Follow the Fruit and Veggie Rainbow

By Sandy Schroeder

Health experts often tell us to fill our plates with brightly colored vegetables, but do we really do it? I do and I don’t. I often leave the store with bags of fresh green beans or Brussels sprouts, and bright orange nectarines and carrots, but forget to buy bright red sweet peppers, deep wine beets and raspberries or purple eggplants. So why is that so important?

EasyHealthOptions cites research that these vegetables help fight cancer and reduce aging. Previously, researchers have found these vegetables reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke, and diabetes and fight obesity.

That’s a lot of health power, thanks to one central compound, anthocyanins. This powerful element is really a pigment found in red, purple, and blue fruits and vegetables. It's part of the flavonoid family which are powerful antioxidants that fight free radical damage. Researchers say this helps turn off inflammation at the core.

If you find this more than enough evidence to put them on the shopping list, here are the best choices.

  • Strawberries - Make a strawberry yogurt sundae
  • Blueberries - Make blueberry muffins for a weekend breakfast
  • Blackcurrant - Try this as a jell
  • Purple cauliflower - Make soup or a cheesy side dish
  • Lingonberry - Look for a recipe to try this rare berry
  • Purple sweet potatoes - Cook them for supper to serve with fish and a salad
  • Beets - Pickle them with healthy vinegars and serve them in salads
  • Pomegranates - Look for a sugar-free juice
  • Red cabbage - Whip up a fiber-filled coleslaw to top fish tacos or serve with a pork roast dinner
  • Black carrots - Fix them with orange and white carrots grilled with olive oil and oregano
  • Apples - Carry them for snacks. Make an apple tart or fresh applesauce.
  • Plums - Pack them in lunches or make a plum tart
  • Peaches - Enjoy peach pie, peach slices with yogurt, or a whole peach for lunch.
  • Oranges (especially blood oranges) - Serve for snacks or breakfast
  • Red onions - Slice them into salads or roast them with carrots, peppers and yams for supper
  • Radishes - Put them out for snacking with carrot sticks and celery
  • Eggplant - Find a good recipe for eggplant parmesan or create a simple healthy dip roasting a whole eggplant, peeling and mashing with garlic powder, salt and pepper
  • Black rice - Find a tasty Thai recipe and serve on the side

As you head out with your shopping list, check Epicurious.com for some good recipes. When you pair these fruits and vegetables with whole grains, fatty fish, lean meats, poultry, nuts, low-fat dairy and healthy oils, you may be on the fast track to better health. You may know you are there when your energy goes up, your skin glows, and you just feel a whole lot better. Enjoy.

To learn more about your health, wellness, and fitness, see your local chiropractor at The Joint Chiropractic in Maple Grove, Minn. 

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