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Table of Contents  ||   Previous:   Feeding the Family  ||   Next:   What is in a Cup of Tea?

Are You Getting Enough Color in Your Diet?

—by Jean Fisher


Vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals and fiber--the good guys in the food we eat. They make our bodies strong to help us fight disease and slow the natural aging process. So how do you know if you are getting enough of these food superheroes? Think color!

White

  • Bananas are well-known to be an excellent source of potassium. They are also high in vitamin C, vitamin B6, magnesium, and manganese. One large banana contains 15% of the recommended daily allowance of fiber.
  • At just over 6 calories, one-quarter cup of raw cauliflower provides almost 20% of the daily recommendation of vitamin C and is high in fiber. Cauliflower is also an important source of folate.  A member of the cruciferous family of vegetables, it is recognized as possessing cancer-fighting properties.
  • Adding onions and garlic to your meals can boost calcium intake, and provide chromium, a trace mineral important in maintaining blood sugar levels. Regular consumption of onions and garlic has been shown to significantly lower cholesterol levels and blood pressure.
     
  • America's favorite white vegetable, the potato, is an excellent source of vitamin C, potassium, Vitamin B6, niacin and thiamin. (Don't think that makes it okay to pig-out on fast-food fries, or bury your baked potato under butter and sour cream! You know better.)

Today's Dietitian Magazine

Yellow/Orange

  • Yellow fruits, such as pineapple, and papaya, contain large amounts of both vitamin C and vitamin A giving a generous boost to your immune system. One half cup of pineapple delivers almost half the daily recommendation of manganese yet weighs in at only 40 calories.
     
  • Think yellow bell peppers for vitamin C. A one-half cup serving provides 300% the daily recommendation of vitamin C. That's a lot of antioxidant power.
     
  • Most of us associate beta-carotene, one of the earliest identified anti-oxidants, with carrots. But you can also find beta-carotene in oranges, apricots, squash and other orange fruits and vegetables.
     
  • Not just candied yams at Thanksgiving anymore, sweet potatoes are an amazing package of vitamins and minerals as well as being high in fiber. One baked sweet potato with provide significant amounts of phosphorus, vitamin E, thiamin, iron, copper, magnesium, pantothenic acid, potassium, vitamin B6, manganese, vitamin C and vitamin A (over 1,000% RDA).

Are you getting enough color in your diet? - Page 2


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