Color diet: how it works and which foods to choose

The color diet is a simple, visual and immediate way to categorize foods by hue. Just a trend without scientific basis?

Not really: in truth, in fact, the color of each food is often determined by a main nutrient it contains. So it makes sense to assume that foods of the same color contain approximately the same nutritional elements and, therefore, can be good for certain deficiencies or needs of the body.

Let's see in detail what the "shades" and characteristics of the color diet are!

How the chromo diet works

In practice, to undertake this lively food plan, you should follow a color for each day of the week: red Monday, yellow-orange Tuesday, blue-purple Wednesday, green Thursday and white Friday, mixing the colors only on the weekend.

This would bring a benefit because, with such a stringent categorization, it would be easier to introduce all the micronutrients, rather than consuming them randomly and risking eating only red or only green foods, for example.

It is actually a very simple diet to follow, because it does not exclude any food, it simply groups them by "Pantone". It is also very fun and colourful, soeven children might like it, who often struggle a bit with some types of vegetables. Explaining to them that it's a game and that you have to eat all the colors to be healthy is an excellent idea to convince them that even broccoli has its reasons!

It is essentially a plant-based diet because, generally, this clustering of foods mainly concerns the plant world, therefore fruits, vegetables, sprouts, seeds and legumes.

The food categories of the color diet

The color diet or chromodieta divides foods into 5 macro-categories, based on their color and, therefore, on the micronutrients contained therein.

• Red is the category of all those foods containing carotenoids and antioxidants such as the precious lycopene, excellent for combating free radicals and even with the potential to prevent cancer. A perfect example is tomatoes, but also strawberries, peppers or pomegranates.

• Yellow-orange is the group that includes all foods that contain vitamins A, B 2 C, beta-carotene and flavonoids, useful for immune defenses, for the well-being of the skin and vision. Citrus fruits, carrots, pumpkin, melon, apricots and many other orange vegetables are rich in it!

• Blue-purple is a particular nuance that indicates the presence of anthocyanins and resveratol, antioxidants useful for circulation, with an anti-aging and purifying function. Some foods of this color are blueberries and berries in general, grapes and plums, and also açai berries.

• Green is the color of foods rich in chlorophyll, folic acid and iron, always precious but above all, for example, during pregnancy, for their anti-anemic action. Broccoli, spinach, cucumbers, kiwis, courgettes are rich in it... in case of deficiencies, it is possible to integrate with natural and organic products rich in chlorophyll such as matcha tea and the spirulina.

• White, typical of fennel, onions, garlic, cauliflower, but also apples, potatoes and bananas, is the color of those vegetables that contain polyphenols, flavonoids and sulfur compounds, from which a pungent odor often derives - just think of garlic and onion, in fact. They are very useful for blood circulation and as natural pressure regulators.

How to consume vegetables in the color diet

It is important to remember that these micronutrients are very delicate: it would be better to try to consume these foods in purity, raw or briefly cooked, in order to preserve their benefits. On the contrary, long boiling and prolonged cooking or excess of acidic and fatty seasonings could reduce its beneficial effectiveness.

Another fundamental aspect is seasonality: it is always good to choose fresh, seasonal products rather than stubbornly consuming strawberries in December or oranges in summer.

In conclusion, it is a nice and intuitive way of introducing the famous “5 portions of fruit and vegetables daily” that should keep the doctor away!