Summer meals packed with superfoods
By nature, humans are social creatures. So there is no doubt that when quarantine mandates are relaxed, friends and families will reunite again. Self-isolation has been difficult, with many important life events having to be cancelled or postponed. Now that summer is in full swing, small gatherings in backyards around the BBQ become a heavenly oasis that we may have taken for granted in the past. Providing guests with healthy food is now seen as an act of love. We want to fill the bellies of our friends and family with the nutrients they will need to maintain an optimal immune system.
Add more superfoods to your daily life
This is the constant message we receive from nutritional scientists who study the effects of food on health. They tell us that naturally colourful plant foods are not only beautiful, but are downright essential for healthy living.
The many pigments (colours) in plant foods are nothing less than tiny chemical factories producing hundreds of their own phytonutrients (plant nutrients), including polyphenols and flavonoids. They don't really do it for us, but for themselves, to protect themselves against disease.
It turns out that what's good for the plant is good for us too! All these colours also protect us from disease. Which is very important with the global pandemic we have endured and may eventually relive. Now is the time to maintain optimal health, and eating colourful foods is a sure way to ensure you get important nutrients.
Breaking the colour code
What's in the colour of a food? Take the reds. The reds that colour strawberries, raspberries, cranberries, and cherries are the same reds that give us the antioxidants that prevent cancers and age-related diseases.
What about blues and purples? Well, these are obviously the colours that blueberries, elderberries, grapes, and blackberries give us. They contain resveratrol and anthocyanidins, the phytochemicals that help prevent heart disease and brain aging.
The greens?
We all know what greens are. Really, the whole colour story started with greens. Greens are the foods that made us all think of colours in the first place and the need to eat them to be healthy. Wheatgrass, barley grass and green algae are the concentrated green foods that led the way. Rich in chlorophyll, vitamins, amino acids and minerals, it is mainly greens that cleanse and alkalize.
What about yellows?
Think lemons and pineapples. The puckering effect from the bitterness of lemon comes from a family of phytochemicals called limonoids, while phenols are part of the phyto-power of pineapple. These compounds are anti-cancer, cholesterol-lowering, antiviral and anti-inflammatory agents.
Do the math
The greater the variety of colours in the foods we eat, the more likely we are to be healthy. The way they add up by adding more colour to our diet is truly remarkable.
The effects are not just mathematical (like adding 1 + 1 + 1 to get 3). The benefits are exponential! Eating a wide variety of colourful foods together multiplies the positive effects they have on our health, such as supporting the Canadian Food Guide. Learn more about this guide in the article on the topic.
Hopefully, summer entertainment activities will return to normal. If the opportunity arises, serve your guests a rainbow of colours by offering healthy options, including fruit and vegetable platters and plant-based meals. Make sure your barbecue toppings always include fresh purple cabbage, tomatoes, dark green leaves, and pineapple!
And, of course, support your local farmers and health food stores when buying fruits and vegetables and groceries. They need your help, and we need their healthy options!