A healthy diet is a colorful diet.
Each one of these colors represents, in general, a specific vitamin, mineral, or antioxidant.
Here is a list of purple foods you may want to try if you aren’t eating them already.
They are really incredible for health.
Why purple?
Purple or blue fruits and veggies are high in several powerful antioxidants.
Antioxidants are substances that help the body fight against damaging, unstable molecules calledfree radicals.
Purple foods are particularly high in powerful antioxidants.
Take a look at your diet, are you including any of these purple foods?
Beets
The deep purple color of beets is responsible for their amazing health benefits.
Beets are high in several vitamins including A, C, and B6.
One of the nutrients in beets,called betaine, has beenlinked to a lower risk of chronic disease.
Beets can helpcontrol blood pressureand may helpward off dementia.
The bottom line is this purple vegetable is incredible for your health.
This helps caramelize the sugar in the beets making them taste amazing.
Blueberries
These tiny blue-ish purple fruits are chock-full ofantioxidants called anthocyanins,responsible for their color.
One study even showed that blueberries were able todecrease the growth of cancer cells by 50 percent.
These summer treats are also incredibly delicious and can be eaten fresh or added to several recipes.
Cruciferous vegetables are high in anthocyanins, flavonoids, carotenoids, and other antioxidants.
Blackberries
Blackberries are another incredible fruit with health benefits almost matching those of blueberries.
Theyrank as one of the highest rated fruitsfor helping neutralize free radicals based on their antioxidant capacity.
They have been shown to help slow the growth oflung,breast, colon, and prostate cancers.
Talk about one incredible tiny berry.
This benefit may be related to two specific antioxidants called cyanidin 3-glucoside and ellagic acid.
They may also be beneficial forhelping maintain brain health.
Blackberries taste amazing on their own and they can also be added tosmoothies, salads, or even desserts.
The important thing is that you eat them.
Just like its white counterpart it is low in calories, yet high in fiber.
It also has a significant amount of vitamins C, K, B6, and folate.
Purple cauliflower can be prepared and consumed in a similar way as white cauliflower.
You may also consider freezing it and adding it into a smoothie for some extra fiber.
Onestudy foundthat it significantly helped reduce cholesterol and improved blood sugar control in overweight subjects.
The puree can also be added to smoothies for an extra antioxidant boost.
But, since they are incredibly high in nutrients, you may want to consider giving them a shot.
If you want to try eggplant, consider adding it to a tomato sauce to serve over pasta.
Buy locally grown, if possible, to maximize the nutrients they contain.
Also, eat the ones you like.
This list is by no means extensive of all the purple fruits and veggies out there.
Even rice has a purple variety with similar health benefits.
Challenge yourself and see where you could add a pop of purple into your diet.
