Power Food #2 COLORFUL FRUITS AND VEGETABLES

The actual color of your fruits and veggies is created by their unique phytotnutrient content. Eating a variety of colors every day maximizes your anti-aging, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer effects in addition to giving you maximum energy to get the most out of every day.

ORANGE foods, such as orange peppers, sweet potatoes and carrots, are high in beta-carotene. Beta-carotene is a precursor to vitamin A and is an important antioxidant and helps boost the immune system.

RED foods all share the phytonutrient Lycopene, that is a strong antioxidant used to prevent hardening of the arteries by acting as an antioxidant for your LDL particles. It is also know to protect you against various types of cancers. The most famous Lycopene containing food is tomatoes, but other forms include pink grapefruit, apricots and watermelons.

YELLOW foods are mostly in the citrus category. Citrus foods are high in vitamin C, which acts as an antioxidant, immune stimulant and aids us in dealing with stress. A German study placed people in front of a huge room of people and had them do math problems. They found that people taking 1 gram of vitamin C a day had lower blood pressure and produced less cortisol (a stress hormone).

PURPLE foods such as berries, grapes and olives are high in Resveratrol, a plant nutrient that has promising qualities in the area of anti-aging, anti-inflammatory, and blood sugar lowering effects. Even when rats were fed a diet high in hydrogenated trans fats, their risk of death was reduced by 30%.

GREEN foods contain chlorophyll. Chlorophyll acts as an anti-carcinogen and has been shown to nourish the intestines by having a soothing effect on the mucous linings of the body. Chlorophyll is contained in numerous vegetables such as broccoli, leafy greens and green beans.