“Eat at least one dark green and one orange vegetable daily” … This is how specific the recommendations of the Canadian Ministry of Health are. But why is this statement so specific? E Does the color of food have something to do with its quality or its nutritional properties?
Broadly speaking, we can say that not all foods of the same color have the same properties. Nutritionally speaking, it is difficult to equate cow’s milk with onions, tuna with tomatoes, or walnuts with whole wheat pasta. However, something changes in the case of vegetables. When we talk about fruits, vegetables and vegetables, the color of food does give us information about some of its properties.
Phytochemicals: plant pigments
All foods contain some macronutrients (carbohydrates, lipids and proteins) and some micronutrients. These are the vitamins and minerals. But in addition, plant foods also contain other non-nutritive components which are phytochemicals.
Phytochemicals are present in plants for their own benefit. But ultimately, they also have an effect on health. Most of them have a powerful antioxidant action and have been shown to protect against diseases such as some types of cancer, degenerative or cardiovascular diseases.
There is extensive research in this field that has to allow us, in the future, to delve into what the color of food tells us for health.
What the color of food tells us
Generally, we can group phytochemicals q ue color to food into 3 groups : carotenoids, chlorophyll and anthocyanin.
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