(This article was original published for the Glencoe Community Garden, August 2013.)
The tomatoes in the garden are not yet ready to harvest, but their lovely red color is the inspiration for today’s blog.
I love color. In fact, I have been working with colors for the past 25 years as a professional artist. I love mixing it, blending it, painting it on my canvas - but more than anything I like eating it. Wait, what? Eating it? No, I am not referring to paint colors here, but the beautiful palette of food that you can find in the produce department of your grocery store.
Each one of these colorful fruits and vegetables are small packages of goodness for our health, each with their own special combination of nutrients to offer. We discussed the goodness of yellow last week (link to last week), but what about all those wonderful red fruits and vegetables? What can they offer us?
Some of these, like tomatoes, red peppers, and watermelon may be familiar to us. Some are less common, like guavas or persimmons. But I encourage you to expand your horizons and try them all for the unique health benefits each possess.
Read on for list of some of these fruits and vegetables and their health benefits.
Lycopene
Each of the produce listed below have one thing in common, they all contain a very powerful antioxidant called lycopene that gives them their distinctive red color. Lycopene is considered the most powerful antioxidant found in food. 1 And that’s a good thing because antioxidants block the action of free radicals in our bodies that can damage our cells.
We get so many health benefits from this one color! It has been reported to protect against cancers of the lungs, stomach, bladder, cervix, skin and, especially, the prostate. It is also said to lower LDL, or “bad” cholesterol; strengthen the body’s immune system; and protect useful enzymes and DNA from damage. Lycopene protects us from heart disease; macular degeneration, a disease that can lead to blindness; and damage to fat cells that can lead to inflammation and chronic illness.
Red Fruits and their Benefits
Tomatoes are an excellent source of lycopene. Sun-dried tomatoes, that contain more lycopene than raw tomatoes, provide the most lycopene, gram for gram than any other food! 2
Unlike other phytonutrients, lycopene is more available to us after a tomato is cooked. So enjoy that tomato sauce, paste, or soup! In addition to lycopene, tomatoes provide a rich source of vitamins A and C, as well as potassium which plays a major role in regulating heart rate and blood pressure.
Watermelon is more than just a refreshing sweet summertime fruit. It is full of lycopene; the darker in color the flesh, the more lycopene it contains. In addition to lycopene, watermelon is high in vitamins C and A, potassium and magnesium. Magnesium in our diets helps prevent irritability, tension, sleep disorders, and muscular cramping.
Did you know there is such a thing as a red grapefruit, a darker variety of the more familiar pink grapefruit? Both contain lycopene, as well as vitamins C and A. Grapefruits have been shown to help reduce harmful cholesterol levels.
Guavas are rich in lycopene and vitamin C. They are a good source of soluble fiber that helps reduce constipation and maintain good health of the colon as well as assist in the transport of cancer-causing toxins from the body.
Additional lycopene rich produce include:
Vegetable: red pepper, beets, and red onion, red cabbage, chili pepper, dried parsley and basil, asparagus
Fruit: Papaya, persimmon, apricot, pomegranate
So now that you know the benefits of color in your foods, isn’t it time you took this palette to your palate?
Looking for ways to use some of these red foods? Try using some of the recipes on my website.
Or try this delicious soup:
Creamy Roasted Tomato, Garlic, & Onion Coconut Soup
or this wonderful way to use both watermelon and tomatoes!
Tomato Watermelon Gazpacho Soup (or Cocktail?)
Enjoy! As always, if you have questions or I can help support your goals of healthy eating, please let me know!
Yours in Health,
Evey
Photo credit: eVo photo on Flickr
(1) Mascio PD, Kaiser S, Sies H. Lycopene as the most efficient biological carotenoid singlet oxygen quencher. Biochemistry and Biophysics Volume 274, Issue 2, 1 November 1989, Pages 532-538.
