Pack your plate full of red and boost your daily intake of important, and often overlooked, nutrients. Colourful fruits and vegetables contain many of the vitamins and antioxidants we need.
The red colour in fruits and vegetables come from anthocyanins which are members of the flavonoid group of phytochemicals. Besides being powerful antioxidants, anthocyanins are also potent cancer fighters. Anthocyanin-rich diets have been found to lower the risk of colorectal cancer and heart disease.
Anthocyanins also help to reduce the risk of developing high blood pressure and can improve brain function. They are known to be anti-diabetic, anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial.
To boost your intake choose from these …
Red Vegetables: tomatoes, radishes, red cabbage, beets, red chilli, red capsicum, radicchio, red leaf lettuce, red onions, red potatoes, red carrots, red yams.
Red Fruits: red grapes, strawberries, watermelon, cherries, raspberries, pomegranates, cranberries, red apples, tamarillos, plums, red pears, blood orange, pink grapefruit, figs, rhubarb, red dragon fruit.
Here in New Zealand we are in the winter months so red cabbage is abundant right now and usually not too expensive. This underrated vegetable is actually two superfoods in one. It has all the cancer-fighting indole-carbinol and isothiocyanates of green cabbage, but it also has an incredible 470% more antioxidants thanks to its red colouring.
Red cabbage gets it colour from the same compounds, anthocyanins, that also make blueberries blue however cabbage has 29% more of these super charged antioxidants.
So the next time you’re at the grocery store choose a selection of rich red fruits and vegetables and opt for red cabbage rather than green. You can also buy sauerkraut made from red cabbage, I like Living Goodness Heartbeet Sauerkraut which also has beetroot. Or you can make your own with this recipe.
One of my favourite winter salads is Cabbage, Pear and Walnut which can be made with red cabbage.
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