Eat Your Colors

Nature provides us a glorious rainbow of colors. Besides being visually inviting, colors are nature's guardians for our bodies.  A food rich in color (pigment) means it is packed with antioxidants that protect against free-radical damage and disease.  Which diseases?  All of them.  It is true that certain foods do treat specific disharmonies and benefit certain areas of the body, yet without getting into too much minutia (which often drives away joy in eating) adding in a variety of vibrant foods will give your body the opportunity to become stronger. Each season also has colors that are dominant - bringing with them that season's blessings. 

Recommending clients add more variety of color is often a simple, empowering tool for some.

Those with particular health concerns or digestive difficulties often feel there is nothing they can eat. Wide ranging advice in the media, fad diets and trying to address their body’s own needs can confuse and frustrate many. It can be helpful to step back, simplify, eat what you know your body can digest and then refine based on personal needs.

After getting a background and an understanding of a client’s pattern, I start presenting options and ideas. This might be listing foods that they can eat vs what to not eat. Perhaps they have forgotten some foods, or dropped them because they were told they were bad. Sometimes it’s habits - they eat pretty well, but need to slow down and chew more for example. Sometimes we get stuck in ruts and a little exploration can do wonders. Playing with colors one way to offer some more variety and play into the diet. Have fun eating colors. Real colors - nothing from a chemical concoction, please.

This game can be amusing on several levels. Metal clients sometimes layout very monochromatic plates, or to keep the colors separated on the plate. Fire and Earth folks like to have rainbows on their plates. It’s not a set in stone trait, just an interesting observation. Enjoy, play, explore, and have some fun.

Let’s play with the rainbow, shall we?

Roy G Biv, right? Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet.

Red - Apples, cherries, berries, cranberries, tomatoes, beets, strawberries and peppers. Red foods are filled with antioxidants like lycopene and anthocyanins that curb free radicals and protect the body from diseases and cancers. The reds all benefit the heart and blood vessels. Cranberries, in particular have been shown to kill cancer cells and H Pylori, and are particularly beneficial to the Bladder. In Asian medicine (Chinese medicine) red belongs to the Summer season and the fire organs of Heart, Pericardium, Triple Burner and Small Intestines. Think of your relationships and connections to others. More on Apples?

Orange – Orange fruits and vegetables are bursting with beta-carotene, Vitamin A & C which are great for your eyes, heart, skin and reducing risk of cancers. They also boost the immune system strongly. Oranges fall under the rule of the Earth element in Chinese medicine, benefiting the Spleen and Stomach, helping to build a strong foundation. Find orange in carrots, pumpkins, yams, lentils, winter squash, oranges and other citrus.

Yellow & Gold – The color of sunshine! Yellow fleshed foods are packed with bioflavonoids and carotenoids–more antioxidants. They are also abundant in vitamin C and nutrients essential for digestion, immunity, vision, healing, bones and teeth, skin and heart health. Yellow is the color of the Earth element in Asian medicine (Chinese medicine), benefiting the Spleen and Stomach. These foods strengthen the core and body overall. Find yellow in eggs, corn and polenta, squash, squash blossoms, pineapple, mangoes, gold lentils, yellow peppers, yellow plums, plantains, bananas, golden berries, and dandelions.

Green – Almost a perfect DNA match for our blood, chlorophyll is the ‘go to’ color for purifying the blood and treating anemia. The greener the plant the better. In Asian medicine (Chinese medicine) green corresponds with the season Spring and the GallBladder and Liver, and the Spring is– and is all about clearing out toxins, improving digestion and reducing stagnation. Enjoy dark leafy greens like kale, collards, dandelion and arugula. Micro and macro algae like kelp and kombu are rich in chlorophyll along with your superfoods like barley and wheatgrass. Read more on chlorophyll.

Blues, Indigo & Violets – Luscious blues and deep purple foods contain an antioxidant called anthocyanin – another strong protector against free radicals and cancers. Flavonoids protect the heart and cardiovascular system. In Chinese medicine terms, the purple color will help break through patterns of stagnation that might appear as a purple hue on the tongue, lips and the nails. The purple foods help fight off depression and aid skin repair too. Find purple in grapes, blackberries, blueberries, black raspberries, beets, boysenberries, elderberries, violets, lavender, purple cabbage, purple basil, plums, figs. Purple also pops up in heirloom roots like varieties of potatoes, yams and sweet potatoes. Purples are a melding of blue and red - therefore Fire and Water. Blue falls under the rule of the Water element along with Black - continue reading.

Black – Black foods are richer in isoflavonoids and minerals than most other foods. Belonging to the Water element, black foods benefit the Bladder and the Kidneys and the winter season. They benefit the bones, teeth, knees, back and the libido. Try out black sesame seeds, black fungus, blackberries, black raspberries, dark cherries, plums, black rice, black beans, and wild rice.

White – White foods represent the Metal element, the season of Autumn and the Lungs and Colon.  Most are easy to digest and nourish Yin. Look for foods with a white flesh–like the insides of apples, turnips, radish and onions, all of which nourish Lung Yin and help drain phlegm. Also find white in yogurt and other dairy products, seeds, rices, grains, lentils and legumes. 

Here’s to brighter meals.