When you are feeling stressed, blue or bored have you ever found yourself reaching for chocolate, a slice (or three!) of pizza, or perhaps that carton of ice cream? You are not alone. Emotional eating occurs when we use food to make ourselves feel better. When we undergo prolonged stress, as many of us have during the COVID-19 pandemic, our cortisol levels increase which can lead to continued overeating, including cravings for foods high in sugar and fat.
Let’s kick start a better 2021 by taking a bite out of healthy eating. Make it your mission to eat the rainbow! A diet rich in a variety of vegetables and fruits helps ensure that you are getting the nutrients your body needs. Just what do different colours provide? Here’s your guide to colourful eating.
Green
Green leafy vegetables (also known as salad greens) are essential to a healthy diet. Leafy vegetables are full of fiber, along with vitamins, minerals, and plant-based substances that may help protect you from heart disease, diabetes and even cancer. Fruits such as honeydew melon, kiwifruit and limes are good sources of vitamin C - a wonderful antioxidant that helps wound healing and keeps the gums and teeth healthy! Green apples are well known for their benefits, fighting digestive disorders, their low levels of good cholesterol, regulating glucose levels, and improving your appetite!
Red
Many red fruits and veggies are loaded with powerful, healthy antioxidants that may do everything from fight heart disease and prostate cancer to decrease the risk for stroke. Red fruits & vegetables also contain phytochemicals, substances found only in plants, which help your body fight disease and promote good health!
These bright coloured fruits and vegetables contain tons of nutrients including flavonoids, potassium, Vitamin C and Vitamin A, to name a few. From our eyes to our bones, orange coloured fruits/vegetables promote healthy joints, aid in eye health and reduce the risk of macular degeneration of the eye, and help boost our immune systems.
Yellow
Yellow fruits/vegetables are full of antioxidants which help to protect our bodies from disease. These sunny-coloured foods also carry an abundance of vitamin C. Studies suggest that the nutrients in yellow fruits/vegetables will help your heart, vision, digestion and immune system. Other benefits of naturally yellow foods include maintenance of healthy skin, wound healing, and stronger bones and teeth.
Purple/Blue
Did you know that the darker the food, the higher the antioxidant level. The purple pigment in these fruits and vegetables contain flavonoids, which can help decrease your blood pressure. Produce with purple hues can also reduce inflammatory responses in the body.
This mission is not imposs-apple! Aim to fill half your plate at each meal with veggies & fruits and try to incorporate all 5 colours over the next 5 days. It’s a healthy habit you will be glad to sink your teeth into!