Would you like to try a diet plan, consisting of different coloured plant-based foods, packed with antioxidants, phytochemicals, and nutrients that promote mood regulation and brain function?
To follow the rainbow diet, you have to eat a wide range of different-coloured vegetables and fruits every day. It is critical to note that most bright-coloured veggies and fruits have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties that may be beneficial to our health.
According to nutrition experts, we should incorporate a splash of colours into our plate to boost cognitive and body function. If you are planning to swear by the “Eat the rainbow” mantra, follow the guide below to find out what colourful plant foods you need to add to your meals. So, instead of eliminating carbs, fat and gluten—your focus should be—adding some vibrant veggies and fruits to your weekly diet.
The rainbow diet should have red plant-based foods that contain anti-inflammatory and antioxidant molecules—to prevent oxidative imbalance and inflammation. Try veggies like tomatoes, red cabbage, red potato, bell pepper (red), and Beetroot.
You may also add some mouthwatering red fruits, packed with healthy plant nutrients. Have some berries or top your breakfast oatmeal with pomegranate seeds. Other nutritious options include watermelon, pink guava, grapefruit, cherries, strawberries, and red plums.
Red plant foods have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties that may improve heart health and minimise the risk of skin damage caused by the sun.
Orange plant foods are rich in phytonutrients—just like red rainbow foods—packed with beta-carotene, which offers vegetables and fruits a vibrant red-orange pigment. Orange veggies and fruits help maintain sugar levels, and cholesterol levels and improve heart health.
Eat oranges, carrots, pumpkin, bell pepper, sweet potatoes, mango, yams, papaya, peach, and apricots. If you want to turbocharge your consumption of orange foods, try pumpkin soups, and roasted sweet potatoes.
Orange foods contain anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties which may improve heart and eye health.
Yellow plant-based foods are exceptionally beneficial for our digestive tract and gut health. They are packed with prebiotics that boost our gut bacteria to create short-chain fatty acids—these special molecules help our gut cells to sustain. Your belly needs some sunshine and you can add delightful yellow veggies and fruits like corn, yellow bell pepper, squash, ginger, bananas, pineapple and lemons.
Yellow foods contain vitamin C and beta-carotene—which can improve immune function and brain health.
Add some green plant foods to your rainbow diet—that are rich in nutrients and protect the cardiovascular system by preventing oxidative imbalance. When choosing green plant foods, you will be spoilt for choice. Think leafy greens, peas and leafy greens, avocado, kale, spinach, broccoli, olives, kiwi, pears, green apples and artichokes. There’s something nutritious for everyone.
Green veggies and fruits are rich in minerals, vitamins, and antioxidants—which may help improve your vision and immune system, and strengthen your teeth and bones.
Blue and purple plant-based foods have similar plant nutrients—which also offer the unique pigment. You might be thinking, there are no purple and blue veggies, but your mind will change after you check some of our best suggestions.
For dinner, have hummus infused with beetroot or roast some purple potatoes or turnips and savour alongside purple cauliflower. You can also top your breakfast oatmeal with some blueberries, and blackberries, or enjoy a fruit salad made with plums, elderberries, and concord grapes.
Including these purple fruits and veggies will enrich you with anthocyanins, which have neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory properties.
Our diet has a direct link to mood regulation—and if you can fathom the connection, you can make necessary changes in your meals to boost productivity and emotional and physical well-being.
