Enrich Your Health With Colored Food
By Bae Ji-sook
Staff Reporter
If you have never heard of the colored food diet or therapy, then look at your dinner table. If the dishes are filled with at least three colors, then you are already having it.
Color food became popular in Western society where they started a ``5-A-Day'' campaign, a plan to encourage people to eat about five to nine vegetables or fruits a day with at least five colors. According to GrowingKids, those foods are loaded with the vitamins, minerals, fiber, and phytochemicals that your body needs to maintain good health.
Pop princess Christina Aguilera openly praise her color food diet that maintains her body fit as well as giving satisfaction to her eyes. Anyone who wants to have a slender body like her or is tired of looking at monotone dishes may want to change their menu right away using these color foods.
Red:
Lycopene and anthocyanin are abundant in red colored foods. They are related to your heart and prevent cancer. In oriental medicine, they say the redness purifies your blood and increases your appetite. The foods are good for hypertension as well as arteriosclerosis. Some experts say red fights against ageing, too, by getting rid of activated oxygen radicals.
Tomatoes, red peppers, red beans, pomegranates, strawberries, radishes, rhubarb, cherries and red apples are wonderful red foods.
White:
Anthoxanthine fights bad germs, cancers, viruses, allergic reactions and inflammation. It also works against oxidization in the body. Also the foods lower bad cholesterol levels and prevent heart disease.
Onions, white beans, mushrooms, garlic, turnips, cabbages and bananas are some of the well known white foods.
Blue/Black:
Black foods are in a boom these days. Black beans and sesames are made into drinks, cakes and other kinds of dishes. They say black foods fights against oxidization and for people going bald, eating black sesame is advice from doctors. They also work against ageing and contain lots of lecithin that helps blood circulation. Black beans also contain isoflavone, which prevents osteoporosis.
Black beans, rice, sesame seeds, and aubergine, buckwheat, blueberries, grapes, sea cucumber and soy sauce are just a few of the black foods for your dinner table.
Green:
Chlorophyll in green foods enhances the metabolism and reduces fatigue. Green food helps in the regeneration of cells while their fiber lowers the cholesterol in blood and gets rid of constipation.
Spinach, broccoli, cucumbers, green tea, seaweed, Japanese apricots, avocados and olive oil are good green food ingredients.
Yellow/Orange:
Betacarotene is one of the strongest anti-oxidization materials. It helps remove fight against aging, cancer and adult diseases. Also, the material makes vitamin A, which helps your body grow, strengthens your immune system and relieves hypotension. It is also well known for preventing night blindness and is good for the intestines. When your face or body gets swollen, try some pumpkin, and you will see the difference for sure.
Carrots, pumpkins, ginger, sweet potatoes, mandarins, apricots, grapefruit, lemons, mangoes, oranges, peaches, persimmons and sweet corns are some of easy-to-find yellow/orange foods.
References: Women Donga, GrowingKids, and ``Let's Eat Color'' written by Yoon Byung-moo.