Colour codes of nature - Nature Cures®

Table of Contents

The “five a day” fruit and vegetables UK government advice has omitted two very important factors. The rainbow of colours of fruit and vegetables is also important and the amount of each that should be consumed. Nature has kindly colour-coded foods for us, and each one has different compounds which the body needs on a regular, and often, daily, basis. There is no point eating five of one colour per day as the vital nutrients of the other colours will be deficient in the diet.

Artificially coloured and genetically modified foods confuse the picture further so should be avoided because they do not tell us what the food contains and are not balanced in nutrition like nature has already provided for us. Plus the artificial additives can cause many health problems especially for children, the elderly or those with allergies or a weakened immune system. See>> E number dangers

Genetically modified food

Foods are being genetically modified to withstand more powerful pesticides, herbicides and fungicides. This means the natural balance in food is being altered and humans are ingesting traces of ever-increasing powerful chemicals that are poisonous.

The balanced food of nature has the right amounts of phytochemicals and minerals already present. Altering this by artificial means is dangerous because it is not yet known exactly what the roles all these chemicals play in the human body and may cause problems with the bacteria, fungi and virus that plants have spent thousands of years developing resistance against or indeed cause superbugs to develop.

There are over 100 minerals and many hundreds of other types of nutrients which work with each other on a molecular level. Exactly what works with what, when and why has not yet been established, therefore, crossing species before knowing this important information is like putting the cart before the horse.

Processed and refined food products

This ignorance about human bodily micro processes is why stripping the necessary nutrients from foods such as grains and sea salt before selling it for humans consumption is a practice that should be ceased. Adding a cheaper or artificial version of those stripped out nutrients afterwards or adding other nutrients that don’t even belong in that food to beguile the consumer into purchasing the product is simply cheating people out of real healthy naturally balanced foods.

For instance, the type of vitamin D that humans can absorb is vitamin D3 but often, it is vitamin D2 which is not easily absorbed, that is added to foods and sold as a supplement. Vitamin K2 is required to direct calcium into the bones and should also be consumed when extra vitamin D is required in the diet, but this s rarely advised by doctors.

Vitamin B2 (riboflavin) is very difficult to add to foods and gets destroyed by light so when cereals say they have added riboflavin it does not necessarily mean that you will be absorbing enough of it on a daily basis from cereals.

Some industries even sell the important compounds they strip from human food products on to other industries to make bigger profits rather than leave them in the food for human consumption such as refined sea salt. Cheap nutrient-free table salt and addictive sugar is added to everything so that the consumer will repeatedly buy and eat it, as are many other artificial chemicals to add colour, taste, shelf life and to hide impurities.

This is an unfair practise which is causing more malnutrition than anything else and leading to illnesses and conditions which would not otherwise exist. Indigenous tribes, who eat only natural foods, do not suffer with allergies, cancer, diabetes and other, often diet induced, diseases, like the citizens of the developed countries do.

The Importance of minerals in the diet

Only traces of many minerals are required by the body but due to today’s farming and food processing techniques much of the mineral content has been lost. Minerals are something many people do not consider as essential as protein or vitamins, but they are absolutely vital for many cellular processes. Although the body can store minerals, it cannot manufacture them so consuming a wide range of coloured natural foods can help replenish stores that are used up or lost.

This is as important for those that are unwell or taking medications as it is for those that do strenuous exercise or sports. Minerals are lost through perspiration, and many drugs (including alcohol) block the absorption and manufacture of the nutrients which help absorption of minerals or cause the body to lose minerals in the urine. Alcohol causes the body to expel zinc in the urine. This may be the reason why healthy and fit athletes also develop cancer.

These minerals are vital for the body to manufacture the messenger proteins that tell abnormal cancer cells to ‘commit suicide’ (apoptosis). If athletes do not replace the minerals they lose through perspiration and use up quickly through intense exercise for a prolonged period of time cancer cells are likely to proliferate.

Consuming one of each colour is vital for optimum health. Some of the nutrients are not only responsible for the colour in natural foods but have important functions in all of the body’s cells.

Natures colours give strong clues which we seem to ignore. For instance, beetroots possess betacyanin which gives them their deep red colour and provides the essential ingredient which can assist the body with recovery from many ailments.

How betacyanin pigments can help the body

Stops the spread of cancer tumours
Prevents diseases of liver, kidney and pancreas
Treats ulcers in the stomach
Strengthens the lungs and the immune system
Improves the vision and is good for eye redness treatment
Reduces pain after intense physical training and menstrual pain
Eliminates hard stools and positively affects the colon
Regulates high blood pressure
Improves bad breath which occurs due to indigestion of food, h
Helps treat acne and creates healthy skin

Therefore, if foods of a particular colour are avoided there are many great health benefits that are missed out on and many essential organic nutrients and minerals.

Some vegetables have more than one colour for instance spring onions have green leaves and white roots. This means there are the nutrients of both these colours present so the whole of the plant should be eaten which will provide the nutrients of the green and white categories below. The same goes for beetroot and beetroot leaves.

Some vegetables, fruits and nuts contain different healthy nutrients in both their flesh and skins so both should be consumed. Apples, aubergines. potatoes and sweet potatoes are examples. Orange, lime and lemon peel has powerful antioxidant properties, is nourishing for the heart and should be included in the diet.

Skins should only ever be discarded if they are completely inedible such as bananas, Swede, watermelons, pumpkins etc. Just ripe bananas contain slightly different phytonutrients than very ripe black bananas. Both are good for different reasons.

Choose at least one small serving of each of the six colour categories per day. Make two of them fruit and four of them vegetables.

1. GREEN foods

Examples: Apples, alfalfa, artichoke, ashitaba, asparagus, avocado, basil, bell peppers, broad beans, broccoli, Brussel sprouts, cabbage, celery, chilli peppers, chives, collard greens, cress, courgettes, drumstick, green grapes, green olives, green beans, herb leaves, kale, kiwi fruit, lettuce, lime and peel, mung beans, okra, oregano, parsley, peas, pumpkin seeds, rocket, seaweed, spinach, spring onions, sprouted seeds, grains, nuts and legumes and winged beans.

Chlorophyll is the nutrient which gives the green colour. Chlorophyll can mask some of the colours of other nutrients in foods.

2. YELLOW/ORANGE foods

Examples: Apricots, bell peppers, butternut squash, carrots, chickpeas, chilli peppers, corn, ginger, lemons, lentils, mango, oranges, papaya, peaches, pineapple, prickly pear, pumpkin, Swede, sweet potato, tangerines, turmeric, the peel of yellow and orange citrus fruits and whole grains.

Curcumin gives turmeric its yellow colour and anthoxanthins, beta-xanthins, carotenoids and/or chalcones are the compounds which give the yellow/orange colour and curcumin gives turmeric its yellow colour. To absorb fat-soluble carotenoids the foods containing them must be consumed with a little oil such as coconut, hemp seed, nut, olive, rapeseed, rice bran, sesame, fish or nut oils or other fatty foods like avocado or oily fish.

For more information about why these components are necessary in the diet follow the links below:

3. RED foods

Examples: Apples, asparagus, bell peppers, cabbage (red), cherries, chilli peppers, cranberries, goji berries, grapefruit (pink), grapes (red and black), guava, oranges (blood), pears (red), mung beans, parsley, persimmons, pinto beans, prickly pear, radishes, raspberries, rhubarb, red chokeberry, red kidney beans, red onions, pomegranates, raspberries, rhubarb, rose hips, saw palmetto berries, strawberries, sumac, Swiss chard and tomatoes and watermelon.

Beta-carotene, betacyanins and lycopene are the nutrients which give the red colour. To absorb fat-soluble carotenoids, the foods containing them must be consumed with a little oil such as coconut, hemp seed, nut, olive, rapeseed, rice bran, sesame, fish or nut oils or other fatty foods like avocado or oily fish.

Astaxanthin is the most powerful antioxidant known to man and causes the pink and red colour in seafood such as lobster, prawns, salmon, and shrimp. The highest concentration of this antioxidant is found in krill oil.

For more information about why these components are beneficial in the diet follow the links below:

Astaxanthin
Beta-carotene
Betacyanins
Flavonoids
Lycopene

4. BLUE/VIOLET/PURPLE/BLACK foods

Examples: Amaranth, acai berry, aubergine, beetroot, bilberries, black bananas, black beans, blackberries, black chokeberry, black currants, black tea, blueberries, broccoli (purple variety), cherries, chokeberries, cranberries, dates, elderberry, figs, black grapes, black olives, kidney beans, maqui berries, mulberries, onions (red), navy beans, plums, poppy seeds, potatoes (red skinned), prickly pear, prunes, purple broccoli tops, radishes, raisins, sweet potato (skins), Swiss chard and winged beans.

Anthocyanins or betacyanins are the nutrients that give the red/blue to purple and black colours and are often most concentrated in the skins and stems of food crops.

For more information about why these components are beneficial in the diet follow the links below:

Anthocyanins
Betacyanins
Flavonoids

5. WHITE/CREAM foods

Examples: Aubergine, just ripe bananas, Brazil nuts, butter beans, butter nut squash, cauliflower, celery, chestnuts, coconut, garlic, Jerusalem artichoke, leeks, macadamia nuts, mung beans, mushrooms, navy beans, onions, parsnip, peanuts, pecans, pine nuts, pistachios, potatoes, radishes, soya beans, spring onions and turnips.

Anthoxanthins are the nutrients which give the white/cream colour.

6. BROWN/GOLD foods

Examples: Brown rice, cocoa beans, dates, mushrooms, nuts, potatoes skins, seeds and whole grains.

Brown and gold foods can contain a variety of the above pigment nutrients.

One way to incorporate the above colours into a meal that can be made once a week, and consumed over two to three days, is to try the Nature Cures Rainbow Health Bake recipe

Blending and juicing

To make it easier to consume a wider selection of foods, and hence a wider range of nutrients without the bulk, purchase a powerful juicer. The best to use, to get the most nutrients from fruit and vegetables, are the slow juicers of at least 900 watts.

A blender also helps to reduce bulk. Puree your selection of different coloured fruit, steamed vegetables, legumes, herbs and spices in a blender as potage soups and ‘smoothies’. Add organic probiotic live yoghurt for a creamy effect.

When vegetables and fruits are first chopped, they should be left aside for 10 minutes for beneficial chemical reactions to take place. Then they should eaten raw or steamed and consumed straight away because they begin to lose nutritional value after this. Pre-packed chopped fruit and vegetables have very little nutritional value compared to freshly prepared natural food and often have synthetic chemicals added for preservation. See>> E number dangers

Brine pickling

Brine pickles are a great way to preserve vegetables and help to restore the intestinal flora. See>> Brine pickling for health

Prebiotics and probiotics

These foods are necessary to take care of the intestinal flora that produce many nutrients and help the body digest and absorb others. See>> Feed your friendly bacteria

Micro-diet sprouting

To gain a wide selection of essential nutrients in small portions of sprouts try growing your own in a large jar with just a daily rinse of water. To find out how to grow legumes, nuts, seeds and whole grains and legumes see>> Sprouting greens

Make herbal and spiced teas

Nutrients from seeds, fresh or dried herbs, leaves and roots can be ingested easily without the bulk by making them into teas. Simply pour hot (but not quite boiling) water over them leave for 20 minutes then strain and sip the juice. Try experimenting and making unusual teas by mixing different herbs, spices and adding honey and fruit juices such as lemon. Drink three cups a day warm or cold with ice.

Cleansing the body of toxins

Through stools, urine, tears and sweat the body rids itself of toxins that would otherwise build up and lead to sickness and disease. Fevers and skin eruptions are actually a natural part of the cleansing process and shouldn’t be suppressed. Headaches can also occur, but this is because toxins are being released and will be eliminated if plenty of water is consumed.

Cleansing allows the body to restore balance and occurs when imbalance is too great and threatens health and life. Ingesting live organic natural plant foods encourages this process. Natural foods that can help to do this can be found via the following links:

Related subjects