Why You Should Eat the Rainbow: The Benefits of Pigments
EAT THE RAINBOW đ
Itâs advertised everywhere. Any Registered Dietitian will tell you to make your plates colorful with an array of fruits and vegetables. But why is âEating the Rainbowâ important? One word: Pigments.
Whether youâre conscious of it or not, color is a major determining factor for the foods you choose to eat. The more vibrant a food is, the more likely you are to select it when youâre out shopping (have you ever seen a soggy, brown piece of fruit and thought âoh yeah that looks delicious!â)?
The color of a particular food (or product in some cases) is what helps you perceive the quality of your choice while itâs still on the shelf (1). But more important than quality, the color of your foods (or pigments, as I will be referring to them throughout this post) play a significant role in how your body uses vegetables and fruits to help fight chronic disease (such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes).
The Pigments
Scientists have classified 4 major groups of pigments, but for the sake of getting to the point we will discuss the 3 that are most researched: carotenoids, anthocyanins, and chlorophyll.
Itâs important to note that one food contains multiple pigments, even if it seems itâs just one solid color. The more of one pigment a food has, the more prominent that color becomes. So in laymanâs terms, the main color that you see is just the dominant pigment group in the food itself.
Each group of pigments have specific chemical structures that, when eaten regularly, work together to prevent chronic disease. I made a list of the dominant colors of the pigment groups we will be discussing below!
Carotenoids: orange/yellow đ„đ
Anthocyanins: red/blue/purple đ đ«đ
Chlorophyll: green đ„
Carotenoids
These pigments mainly present the orange and yellow hue you see in foods. Itâs important to note that the carotenoid is the blanket term for all orange/yellow foods, and have further subcategories such as carotene (which are solely the orange color) and xanthophylls (which are the yellow).
This class of pigments are fat-soluble. This means that if you eat an abundance of them, your body will store them in your fat cells to use them whenever they are needed. Something pretty chill to think about once you learn how important these little guys are.
Health Benefits
The health benefits of consuming carotenoids on a regular basis are amazing. Iâm talking like make me want to eat a whole tomato amazing. Check out the list below to see what Iâm talking about (3):
Acts as an antioxidant that helps fight inflammation
Scientists attribute the development of most chronic diseases to some sort of inflammation.
Assists with vitamin A absorption
Vitamin A helps keep your eyes strong, your immune system strong, and reduces your risk of developing certain cancers.
Protects LDL cholesterol from hardening in your arteries, thus preventing atherosclerosis (learn more about cholesterol here)
Reduces blood pressure (see above bullet point)
Increases insulin sensitivity
This helps your body use the insulin you produce.
The subgroups:
Beta-carotene & Lycopene
Okay, I said I was only gonna discuss the major groups of pigments in this post. BUT these two subgroups of carotenoids have made a significant impact on chronic disease research. So, they need to be discussed.
Beta-carotene
Iâm sure youâve heard of beta-carotene at some point. People love to throw the term around when theyâre discussing carrots and how they help with your eyesight. Which is all correct, but Iâm about to tell you the why (and also list a bunch of other benefits this pigment has to offer). Beta-carotene can be found in foods such as: carrots đ„, oranges đ, kale and spinach đ„Ź (example of how chlorophyll masks carotenoids), and apricots đ (I know thatâs a peach but close enough).
Health Benefits
Breaks down vitamin A (thatâs where your eyesight comes in).
Beta-carotene actually metabolizes (a science word for âbreak downâ) this vitamin. This process and the chemicals it produces afterwards actually encourages the body to use the fat in the bloodstream as energy instead of storing it, thus reducing your risk of obesity. This process is also what factors into the other health benefits listen below. Pretty cool.
Helps increase HDL cholesterol in the bloodstream (going back to the whole ânot storing fat but using itâ theme)
*Itâs important to note that science has only observed these health benefits when consumed through diet and not when taken as a supplement.
Lycopene
This one is for the fellas. Most prominent sources are tomatoes đ , red grapefruit, and watermelon đ.
Reduces risk and/or slows the progression of prostate cancer
This has been widely studied and proven throughout multiple scientific studies!
Reduces LDL cholesterol
Reduces stroke risk
*Lycopene is extremely sensitive to any food processing (like heat!). Heat changes the chemical structure of lycopene, which changes how your body absorbs and uses it (3). This means that to get the maximum benefits of this pigment, itâs best to consume it in its natural state. Now I feel bad for trying to sneak tomatoes in Justinâs food every chance I get.
Anthocynanins
These are my favorite pigments because I think theyâre the prettiest. They present themselves as either red, blue, or purple, and the color they show depends on the pH of the environment theyâre surrounded by!
This is important to note, because the changing of the chemical structure (thus changing of the color) affects how the body uses them to prevent chronic disease. If you have ever boiled a sweet potato and seen the color of the water change, thatâs the pigment leaking out. To maximize the health benefits of the pigments when cooking foods high in anthocynanins, itâs best to eat them raw or roast them.
These pigments are abundant in foods like blueberries đ«, red cabbage, purple sweet potatoes đ , and plums (2).
Health Benefits
Prevents Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus
These pigments protect the insulin cells from becoming damaged during times of inflammation or stress.
Helps stabilize blood sugar levels after a meal
They do this by preventing the enzyme (alpha-glycosidase) from breaking down carbohydrates quickly and releasing them into the bloodstream.
Prevents cataract formation
Also enzyme related, the anthocynanins help stop the enzyme (aldosterone reductase) that is responsible for forming cataracts, which is a common complication of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus
Helps prevent stiffening of the arteries
Increases blood flow (by increasing capillary permeability, which are tiny blood cells that are responsible for things like oxygen exchange) (11).
Chlorophyll
Chlorophyll, the green pigment. I feel like this one gets all of the media attention and glory, which is whack because it is the least studied pigment to date (12).
Another crazy thing is that even though this is the most abundant pigment in nature, humans canât actually digest this pigment in its natural form. So all of the benefits from the âeat your greens movementâ (and yes you should eat your greens!!!!) come from the combination of pigments that I discussed earlier.
Thatâs because our stomach acid destroys the pigment (and all of its chemical properties) during digestion. And itâs kinda hard to use something after you destroy it. But, since humans donât like to be defeated, we have developed derivatives of the natural chlorophyll that can be taken, digested, and used for health benefits (12).
Health benefits
Initiates apoptosis (cell death) in some cancer cells.
May protect against osteoporosis.
This is thought to be because most chlorophyll-dense foods are also high in calcium!
So in conclusion, eating the rainbow is much more than a creative tactic to get you to eat fruits and vegetables. Each pigment plays a role in how your body functions chemically to keep you as healthy as possible.
Let me help you eat the rainbow! Check out my meal planning services below. All specifically tailored to your nutritional needs, taste bud wants, and lifestyle! Thanks for reading!
Sources
1. Whelsted R, Acree T, Decker E, Penner M, Reid D, Schwartz S, Shoemaker C, Smith D, Sporns, P. Pigments and Colorants. Handbook of Food Analytical Chemistry: Pigments, Colorants, Flavors, Textures, and Bioactive Food Compounds.2005. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/store/10.1002/0471709085.part6/asset/part6.pdf;jsessionid=6800662B7FF3BB7C663E39F5EF733448.f04t03?v=1&t=j22n1azm&s=5b4bd51bef713ff3ecb9696875f52d0b07b11170
2. Rodriguez-Amaya D. Natural food pigments and colorants. J. Food Sci. 2016; 7, 20-26. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cofs.2015.08.004
3. McWilliams M. Foods Experimental Perspective Eighth Edition. Los Angeles, CA; 2017.
4. Graziano K, Nicolantonio D. Carotenoids: potential allies of cardiovascular health? J. Food Sci Nutr. 2015; 59(1). http://dx.doi.org/10.3402/fnr.v59.26762
5. Cervantes-Paz B, Yahia E, Ornelas-Paz J, Victoria-Campos C, Ibarra-Junquera V, Perez-Martinez J, Escalante-Minakata P. Antioxidant activity and content of chlorophylls and carotenoids in raw and heat-processed Jalapeño peppers at intermediate stages of ripening. J Food Chem. 2013; 146, 188-196. http://www.elhadiyahia.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/8.pdf
6. Ricoioni G, DâOrazio N, Speranza L, Di Ilio E, Glade M, Bucciarelli V, Scotti L, Martini F, Pennelli A, Bucciarelli T. CAROTENOIDS AND ASYMPTOMATIC CAROTID ATHEROSCLEROSIS. J of Bio Regulators. 2014; 24(4) 447-452. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Luca_Scotti2/publication/49649542_Carotenoids_and_asymptomatic_carotid_atherosclerosis/links/09e4150c1be7a75f12000000.pdf
7. Woodside J, McGarth A, Lyner N, McKinley M. Carotenoids and health in older people. Maturitas. 2015; 80(1) 63-65. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.maturitas.2014.10.012
8. Giovannucci E, Rimm E, Liu Y, Stampfer M, Willett W. A Prospective Study of Tomato Products, Lycopene, and Prostate Cancer Risk. Jour of Natl Cancer Ins. 2002; 94(5): 391-398. https://doi.org/10.1093/jnci/94.5.391
9. Kong J, Chia L, Goh N, Chia T, Brouillard R. Analysis and biological activities of anthocyanins. J of Phytochem.2003; 64(5): 932-933. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0031-9422(03)00438-2
10. Pascual-Teresa S. Molecular mechanisms involved in the cardiovascular and neuroprotective effects of anthocyanins. ABB. 2014; 559(1): 68-79. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.abb.2014.04.012
11. Ghosh D, Konishi T. Anthocyanins and anthocyanin-rich extracts: role in diabetes and eye function. Asia Pac J Clin Nutr 2007;16 (2):200-208. http://apjcn.org/update%5Cpdf%5C2007%5C2%5C200-208%5C200.pdf
Ferruzzi M, Blakeslee J. Digestion, absorption, and cancer preventative activity of dietary chlorophyll derivatives.Nutr Research. 2007; 27(1). DOI: 10.1016/j.nutres.2006.12.003
