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Friday, February 6, 2009

Add Some Color to Your Diet!


Beyond just watching the carbs and fat content in your daily diet, you really could add a boost, not on in your quest to maintain a healthy weight, but also to fight off diseases and give your body some powerful fuel to help it run better and keep you healthy all the way around. The easiest way to do this is to make sure that colorful foods are a regular part of your daily diet. No, I'm not talking about pizza or cotton candy! I'm referring to the colorful veggies rich in antioxidants and other agents that speed and maintain cellular repair, strengthen your immune system, and help to improve all your bodily functions.



Here are a few that should absolutely be on your daily diet list:

Green foods:
Cucumbers, field greens, broccoli, alfalfa, green beans, okra
These foods can contain chlorella, kelp, dulse, green algae and spirulina, just to name a few. These can help eliminate toxins in your body, reduce high blood pressure, give you energy and also improve the look of your skin, hair and nails. Okra contains vitamin B6 and C, fiber, calcium, and folic acid. Stop saying that it's slimy! Just eat it! ;)

Yellow foods:
Yellow squash, peppers,
Contain querecin and lutein which can help improve your eyesight and also can be anti-inflammatory. Yellow squash contains vitamins B1 and C, folic acid, pantothenic acid, fiber, potassium, vitamin B6 and niacin. Yellow peppers are high in bioflavanoids and vitamin C.

Red foods
Tomatoes, red peppers
Red foods can contain lycopene, which is a powerful antioxidant helpful in preventing cancer.

Orange foods
Carrots, oranges, peppers
You can find vitamin A and carotenes (which the body converts into vitamin A). With these you can improve and maintain the health of your eyesight,fight off cancer and also help facilitate enzyme production in the liver and sex organs. Oranges contain betacaortene, folic acid, potassium, thiamin, and vitamin B6, all of which provide innumberable health benefits to the body.

Purple foods
Blueberries, eggplant, grapes
Antioxidants such as anthocyanines found in purple foods can help improve vision and blood circulation. Eggplant is high in fiber and contains potassium, folate, magnesium and niacin as well as copper, manganese and thiamine, and can aid in digestion and protect against heart disease. Grapes contain polyphenols, which can help protect against heart disease.

So put down that drab, brown burger, and get some color on your plate! Aside from being rich in antioxidants and vitamins, these colorful foods can help you maintain a healthy weight, improve your physical appearance and prolong your life!



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21 comments:

Matt said...

As usual, some terrific information from you, Diva. I have a hard time making myself eat so many fresh veggies, although I do love almost all veggies. I just need to DO it!!

Oh, I love the Italian BMT, too! Good stuff.

Matt said...

Dang! Now I can't stop singing that silly jingle.... ♫ ♫ ♫ Five dollar foot loooongs.... ♫ ♫ ♫

HEALTH NUT WANNABEE MOM said...

You are so right and I know how important it is to add these to my diet but sometimes have a hard time. I live on cucumbers though!

Wenny said...

It's great if we can add colour to the food we consume everyday. Not only for their respective nutritional value, but according to the Law of Attraction, its enhances our thoughts and emotions too. Colours can enhance our feelings or it can dampen in adverse. When it brightens our feelings, we will be positive towards our intentions, probably to stay healthy or to lose weight?
Check out in my entry at: http://insidemybubbletoday.blogspot.com/2009/01/law-of-attraction-bring-colour-therapy.html

Anonymous said...

I love all these colorful veggies! We always say a good diet should including great color, smell and taste!

Hi Diva, I know how you work hard on your blog. So I have a Passionate Blogger Award for you, PLS check it here: Are You A Passionate Blogger?

gLoR!e said...

i love all those vegetables you showed however i just can't include most of the time in my daily meals!:(

durano lawayan a.k.a. brad spit said...

Hi Fitness Diva,

Very informative-excellent post. Just right for the times. America needs a lot of healthy eating, and most importantly, to live within their means rather than the fantasy (now nightmare) of living on credit way beyond their capacity to earn.

Thanks a lot for the visits and messages you sent to ny blog. I haven't been very active online on the blogs but fully overloaded on work - including online communication with associates globally on account of the recession sweeping all countries and the attendant hunger, disease and suffering it brings.

I know it's too late for me to wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, even the Chinese New Year of the Ox is over. But I realize i'm still on time to wish you a Happy Valentine! :-)

I greatly admire you Fitness, and I love what you do here. The effort is tremendous. It is for me one of the most, if not the most creative and well researched fitness and well-being blogs ever! Happy Valentines then, and I hope you and your partner or beau have a great time on the 14th of the month. :-) --Durano, done!

Anonymous said...

WOW! What a nice post, its really superb great information Thank you..
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Azure Accessories said...

I agree...we all need to add more color to our diet...but I'm sure many of us have a difficult time with this...making the decision is sometimes difficult...even though it is best for our health.

Cheers

Naye said...

You gave some great and important healthy eating tips. There is no way on earth that I will ever all of these but I try hard to. I eat a good majority of them, except you got me on the purple one's, outside of grapes I haven't even tasted the others in the group, shame on me.

Naye

Jackie said...

Wonderful information. That's exactly the same thing my DR. told me.

Buy Bright. I love veggies anyway so that's an easy thing to do.

The problem comes in when I add the other things that I like to go with the veggies...lol!!:-)

Davida said...

I have to eat the same vegetables over and over because I don't like a lot of them. I know they are good for me though. Would it count if I dipped squash in chocolate first? :)

Davida

Kevin said...

Another nice post. I've found that after years of aversion to veggies, I can eat steamed broccoli once or twice a week.

Kevin (StrongandFit)

scarletbreeze said...

colourful foods..a wonderful way to teach ths importance of good food!

Unknown said...

Great information on adding colorful foods to our meals. I appreciate all the work you put into your blog and the informative tips.

Happy Valentine's Day coming up.

Anonymous said...

Great Post with amazing tips. Keep up the good work, love posts like this.

Anonymous said...

excellent consults. I really have to change my way of life

Anonymous said...

Interesting post. You are really fitness expert. Thanks for sharing valuable information.

Michael said...

What an appetising list! Pleased to see chlorella in here among the greens with it's wealth of nutrients for optimum health. Chlorella is one of nature's most effective detoxifiers, helping to keep your digestive system in balance and ward off a variety of illnesses and conditions. Rich in B12 and iron, chlorella is also a good supplement for vegetarians.

Custom labels said...

Great information. And you're definitely right about the importance of a colorful plate. My mom preached this to my family for years and it isn't until recent years that I've actually gotten better.

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you are a real person that we say genius you are really a fitness expert

 
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