🌈 August Spotlight: Eat the Rainbow!

We’ve talked about how colorful fruits and vegetables are packed with different vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. But there are even more reasons to make your plate colorful!

🌈 Think of the rainbow as your disease-fighting strategy.

💚 Green foods support your body's natural detoxification systems.
Leafy greens and cruciferous vegetables contain compounds that help your body process and eliminate potentially harmful substances. Your liver has a major job—and colorful vegetables help give it the nutrients it needs.

❤️ Red and pink foods may help protect your heart.
Foods such as tomatoes, watermelon and red peppers contain plant compounds associated with cardiovascular protection. Building meals around a variety of produce can support the long-term health of your heart and blood vessels.

💜 Blue and purple foods support healthy aging.
Berries, purple cabbage, eggplant and other deeply colored foods contain polyphenols that help protect cells from oxidative stress—a process associated with aging and many chronic diseases.

🧡 Orange foods support healthy immune defenses.
Carrots, sweet potatoes, oranges and other orange produce provide nutrients involved in maintaining healthy immune function and protecting cells from damage.

💛 A colorful diet can help your gut microbiome thrive.
Different plants provide different types of fiber and plant compounds. Feeding your gut with a wide variety of plants helps support the diverse community of beneficial bacteria that plays a role in digestion, immune function and overall health.

🌈 Variety may be just as important as quantity.
Instead of eating the same two or three vegetables every week, challenge yourself to add something new. The greater the variety of plants you eat, the wider the range of beneficial nutrients and plant compounds you're giving your body.