Everyone knows that fruits and vegetables are good for your health. They’re often promoted because of their high fibre, vitamin, and mineral content. But did you know there’s another reason why it’s crucial to eat a variety of plant-based foods? These vibrant foods contain phytonutrients – natural compounds that go beyond basic nutrition to offer remarkable health benefits.
What Are Phytonutrients?
Phytonutrients are compounds found in fruits and vegetables that give them their rich colours, flavours, and protect them against disease. There are thousands of different phytonutrients in plant based foods and although it is not considered essential nutrients like vitamins and minerals, phytonutrients are crucial for protecting your health in other ways. They act as antioxidants, regulate hormones, reduce inflammation, and even support the communication between your gut and brain—often referred to as the gut-brain axis.
Phytonutrients and the Gut-Brain Axis
Recent research has uncovered exciting connections between phytonutrients and your mental health. Many phytonutrients help to nourish the beneficial bacteria in your gut, which then produce substances that reduce inflammation and protect your brain. By eating more fruits and vegetables, you’re not just feeding yourself; you’re feeding your gut microbiome, which plays a crucial role in mood, memory, and overall brain function.
The Science of Colour
Each colour of fruits and vegetables provides unique phytonutrients with specific benefits:
- Red foods (like tomatoes and strawberries) are rich in lycopene, a powerful antioxidant that supports heart health.
- Orange and yellow foods (such as carrots and citrus fruits) are high in beta-carotene, which is converted into vitamin A for eye health.
- Green foods (like spinach and broccoli) are packed with chlorophyll and glucosinolates, which help detoxify the body and support the immune system.
- Blue and purple foods (such as blueberries and eggplants) contain anthocyanins, which are known to improve brain health and memory.
- White foods (like garlic and onions) offer allicin, a compound that has been shown to have antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory effects.
Why Not Just Take Supplements?
It might seem easier to pop a supplement, but eating whole foods offers benefits that isolated vitamins and minerals cannot provide. The combination of fibre, vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients in whole foods works together in ways that a supplement simply cannot replicate. Additionally, the fibre in fruits and vegetables supports digestion and gut health, a factor often missed in supplements.
Practical Tips for Eating the Rainbow
- Add different flavours while cooking: An easy way to increase the variety of nutrients that you consume is to add as many veggies to your cooking as possible. For example; instead of only using 1 white onion, use half a red onion, and half a white onion or you can even add a small piece of spring onion. Add herbs, fresh is best but dried also contain phytonutrients.
- Make Your Plate Colourful: Add something fresh to every single meal even if it is only 5 small berries. It all adds up.
- Experiment with New Veggies: Try adding new, colourful foods like purple cabbage or orange sweet potatoes into your weekly meals.
- Use Phytonutrient-Rich Snacks: Replace processed snacks with fruits and vegetables with a plant based dip like hummus.
Eating the rainbow isn’t just about vitamins, minerals, and fibre—phytonutrients play an essential role in keeping you healthy. From supporting your gut-brain connection to reducing inflammation, these compounds provide benefits that you simply can’t get from a supplement.
Next time you’re at the grocery store, think beyond the basics of fibre and vitamins. Reach for a rainbow of fruits and vegetables to unlock the full health potential of phytonutrients. Your body and brain will thank you!
References:
- Minich DM. A Review of the Science of Colorful, Plant-Based Food and Practical Strategies for “Eating the Rainbow.” J Nutr Metab. 2019;2019:1-19.
- Borges G, Degeneve A, Mullen W, Crozier A. Polyphenols and the human gut: effects on human health and mechanisms of action. Curr Opin Biotechnol. 2018;49:145-154.
