Spring 2009 fashion and home décor trends are filled with colors. On our plates, the rainbow of colors is not only cheerful, it is healthier.
If you are looking for recipes filled with colors, check the 22 Best Healthy Recipes Ever produced by F&W Test Kitchen. It includes a bunch of cool appetizer ideas.
Medical researches point to the fact that the best prevention against cancer is to eat a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. Invite mushrooms to your table at least 3 times a week. Make sure you mix a wide variety of mushrooms. So far, researches link particular mushrooms to specific cancer. Since we are just beginning to understand how the complex human body chemistry works, it is best to cover all your bases.
On Food and Wine, you will learn that:
- White/green contain allicin, which helps ward off cancer
- Darker Green are rich in compounds that help prevent cancer
- Yellow/light green are high in lutein and zeaxanthin, which protects your eyes
- Orange/yellow help prevent heart disease
- Orange contain alpha carotene which help protect against cancer and beta carotene is converted in vitamin A
- Red are high in lycopene, which eliminates free radicals that damage genes
- Red/purple are loaded with flavonoids, which can delay cellular aging.
Refer to the Guide to Eating by Color in Food & Wine for the list of fruits and vegetables with higher contents.
If you are looking for more insights of the nutritive properties of fruits and vegetables, I wrote an article for the Food Network last year.
CREDITS:
+ Top images: Food and Wine – photography by John Kernick, food styling by Alison Attenborough, prop styling by Jessica Romm
