Week 36: Nutrition and the Color of Foods

Diversity is any kind of variety that makes our world a better place.

Being able to calculate your intake of calories, fats, and vitamins is an important part of healthy eating. This would be much more difficult to do were it not for laws requiring nutrition labeling on food products. Those laws took effect 17 years ago this week.

Now fruits and vegetables, they need no labeling. You can be assured that they are healthy. But did you know that the color of a fruit or vegetables acts as a kind of label of its health benefits? That’s what researchers at Tufts University in Boston believe.

According to them, all fruits and vegetables have cancer-fighting qualities. On top of that, RED foods (like tomatoes and watermelon) protect against heart disease. BLUE/PURPLE foods (like blueberries and plums) slow age-related memory loss. GREEN foods (like spinach and broccoli) help preserve eyesight. And YELLOW/ORANGE foods (like carrots and pumpkins) boost the immune system and protect our eyes. Now that’s diversity you can live by!

Remember, you don’t have to travel as far as a local farmers market to find diversity. There are hundreds of opportunities to celebrate diversity right here at your own school. Find one today!