Taste a Rainbow of Foods

Cinzia Cuneo October 25, 2011 Cancer, Eat Well, Fruit, Health, Recipes

Red Fruits and Vegetables

Fruits and vegetables come in many colours, each type providing different vitamins, minerals, and other healthy phytonutrients that are essential to our health. Red fruits and vegetables owe their colour to natural plant pigments such as “lycopene“, “anthocyanins“, and “betalains“.

Lycopene is an antioxidant in the carotene family that may reduce the risk of several types of cancer, especially prostate cancer. It is mostly present in tomatoes, watermelon, pink and red grapefruit. Since lycopene is better absorbed when mixed with a small amount of lipids, lycopene from foods that contain tomatoes cooked with oil, such as spaghetti sauce, is more effective than lycopene from raw tomatoes.

Anthocyanins and betalains are powerful antioxidants that protect cells from damage and also keep our hearth healthy. They are mostly present in berries such as, strawberries, raspberries, and cranberries, as well as in fruits such as red grapes, and in vegetables such as red cabbage and beets.

A few of our recipes that feature red fruits and vegetables:

• Beet Soup
• Cranberry Sauce
• My Mother’s Tomato Sauce
• Sunny Salad with Hearts of Palm
• Watermelon and Arugula Salad with Goat-Cheese

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Author

Cinzia Cuneo

Cinzia Cuneo, founder of SOSCuisine.com, never wanted to neglect the quality of her food. She shares her special expertise to make good food quickly and without complications!