PLATEFUL OF RAINBOW
Varied food colours on your
plate can keep aging at bay, and aid in weight loss
Jazz up your food with
colours. Sticking to a par ticular coloured food could be depriving you of
nourishment, and also keeping you from shedding that extra flab, say experts.
Colourful food is much more than just plain pretty. It is super healthy!
Doctors around the world are recommending the Rainbow Diet eating as many
colours as possible on a daily basis. This is because the deep greens, vibrant
reds, deep purples, bright oranges and yellows, that we consume every day,
provide far more than just `a rainbow' of colourful visual stimulation. They
mean serious sustenance.
YOU CAN'T EAT JUST ONE
Just like no one food can
give you all the nutrition you need, no one colour can do much for the body.
You need to devour an entire spectrum of colours to be vibrant and healthy.
“Every colour represents a specific phytochemical (chemical compounds that
occur naturally in plants ) or flavonoids (colours) that nourish and protect
the body (yellow orange indicate carotene, green indicates chlorophyll etc.).
Since each colour serves a different function, it is essential to include all
colours in the diet,“ says nutritionist Dhvani Shah. According to holistic
nutritionist Priya Dhammi Sharma, `Eating the rainbow'' is a catchy term and an
easy reminder to include a variety of fruits and vegetables in the diet. Since
all fruits and vegetables contain different micronutrients, eating the rainbow
ensures that you are consuming the entire spectrum.
GET YOUR COLOUR QUOTIENT RIGHT
The phytochemicals and
flavonoids in food protect the body against infections and cancers, enhance the
quality of skin and hair, keep the blood healthy and aid in enzymatic actions.
Dark leafy greens such as lettuce, spinach, rocket leaves are particularly
crucial foods.These are rich in chlorophyll, which boosts haemoglobin. Green
vegetables are also what you might term `low calorie, high nutrient' foods so
they help significantly with weight loss too. Shah adds, “Carotenes
(yelloworange) keep the skin healthy and glowing, while anthocyanins (purple
blue) have excellent memoryboosting and anti-aging properties.“ So make sure
you add those flavourful and astringent blueberries, grapes, plums and figs to
your diet right away.
MOOD AND FOOD ENHANCERS
Each coloured food item has
a unique composition and works differently on taste buds. Humans, largely,
experience six tastes salty, sour, sweet, bitter, pungent and astringent.
While chlorophyll stimulates the bitter taste, carotene stimulates the sour
taste and flavonoids tickle the salty taste buds. “Colours not only affect and
reflect our mood but also influence our hunger and the quantity we consume. For
instance, food served on grey, black, dark brown and purple tend to suppress
appetite, while orange and green are appetite stimulants. Turquoise, yellow and
red plates are best kept away if one is trying to lose weight since these
colours might encourage you to overeat,“ says Sharma.Blue is an appetite
suppressant. No wonder then that a lot of weight loss plans suggest putting
your food on a blue plate.
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