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Alternative Health Blog
Put More Colors on Your Plate--and Boost Your Brain
Most people know about the federal government's recommendation to eat five servings of fruits and vegetables each day. And some of us know that, a few years back, the government upped that number to nine servings per day.
Five, nine -- it all takes some planning to fit produce into your days. However, there are some convenient steps you can take to increase your intake without much trouble:
# Add diced baby carrots to your spaghetti sauce -- it won't affect taste.
# If you tend to skip breakfast, try blending milk, frozen fruit and ice. Adding protein and flax meal makes it a power meal.
# Another idea is make a habit of slicing strawberries, kiwi or grapes into your salad; you also can use dried fruits such as raisins or cranberries.
# And the best shortcut for maximizing the nutritional power of your fruits and veggies: think deep pigment, as in blueberries, pomegranate, dark leafy greens, red grapes, beets, blackberries, kiwi and more.
The more pigment, the better to protect against disease and aging. Color and pigment in your fruits and veggies represent a greater concentration of substances that fight cancer and prevent artery-clogging cholesterol, among other healthful duties.
Deeper pigment indicates more flavonoids (purple, red and blue potatoes have a surprising amount), carotenoids (think yellow, orange, red and green) and anthocyanins (reds, most blues and purples).
Researchers are perhaps most excited about the potential to stay younger with pigment on your plate for meals and snacks.
"What strikes me about the substances associated with pigment in fruits and vegetables is (their) ability to change motor behavior for the better," said James Joseph, chief of the neuroscience lab at the U.S. Department of Agriculture Human Nutrition Research Center at Tufts University in Boston. "There is virtually nothing else out there that can change motor behavior in aging."
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Along with bringing the latest news and trends about alternative health, Bob will help you get the most of your Internet health research. Bob is the Living Well Columnist for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.He covers health and quality of life for the Hearst-owned newspaper and writes regularly for national magazines. He is a former syn...
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