Red Food is Good Food

Everyone knows that beige food is not only boring but bad for you. So with this in mind why not paint your diet RED because red food is good food

Why? Well red fruits and vegetable contain anthocyanins (as do blue, pink and purple ones) and anthocyanins are known to protect the human body against a wide variety of diseases.

Anthocyanins are part of a group of phytochemicals (plant based compounds that may affect health), called flavonoids. It is these that give the food the red colour. There are hundreds of types of anthocyanin - petunidin, malvidin, delphinidin, peonidin, cyanidin and pelargonidin are a few of the main ones. They have excellent anti-oxidant properties and are anti-inflammatory in nature. These flavonoids have been reported to improve cognitive function and protect against Parkinson’s disease in the elderly as well as many other health benefits such as diabetes and cancer prevention. Because they seldom, if ever act individually and generally depend on interaction with other components it is very difficult to define exactly what and how anthocyanins protect against certain human conditions. Better then to look at the individual effects of foods containing the compound.

Fruits

• Raspberries
• Cranberries
• Cherries
• Red Grapes
• Red Plums
• Guava
• Red fleshed Peaches (Big Red)
• Pomegranates
• Strawberries
• Loganberries
• Lingonberries
• Tomatoes
• Red apples
• Watermelon
• Lychees
• Blood Oranges
• Ruby Grapefruit
• Dragon Fruit

• Red Cabbage
• Red Kidney Beans
• Red Onions
• Red Peppers (Bell Peppers)
• Beetroot
• Red Chilli Peppers
• Pink Daicon (Japanese Vegetable)
• Radishes
• Red fleshed Potatoes
• Radicchio (Red Chicory)
• Rhubarb (Yes, it is a vegetable!)
• Swiss chard
• Red Corn
• Hibiscus flowers

Fruit

Blood Oranges
Cancer, diabetes, heart disease, cholesterol accumulation prevention and reduction
Cherries
Arthritis, fibromyalgia, gout and musculo-skeletal pain prevention. Cancer, diabetes, insomnia, headache prevention.
Cranberries
Protection from urinary tract infection, tooth cavities, cancer, diabetes, inflammation, cholesterol, bacterial infection and possibly ulcers caused by the Helicobacter bacteria.
Dragon Fruit
Reportedly lowers blood glucose, cholesterol and blood pressure, boosts the metabolism and improves the memory
Guava
Treats diarrhoea, anti-ageing properties, cancer prevention
Lingonberries
Improve blood pressure, digestive problems including gastric ulcers, boost good cholesterol levels, and alleviate rheumatic pain
Loganberries
Good for constipation, prevent several cancers – breast, prostate, lung, skin and stomach. Protect against colds and flu and cure gout and improve autoimmune disorders. They have also been reported to help with depression and anxiety.
Lychees
Anti-cancer properties, improved cardiovascular function, reduction in fatigue, immune system strengthening, pain relief, helps prevent optical and nerve damage in diabetic patients and improves skin health.

Pomegranates

Lower the incidence of breast and prostate cancers, heart disease, blood pressure and reduce bad cholesterol. Useful in weight control and good at fighting cell damage. Some studies have shown encouraging results in slowing the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.

Raspberries

Useful for weight management. Prevention of cervical, prostate, breast and oesophageal cancers, diabetes, blood pressure and atherosclerosis.

Red Apples

Blood sugar control, prevention of lung cancer and asthma, inflammation (especially of the cardiovascular system), macular degeneration and slowing of the progression of Alzheimer’s disease

Red fleshed Peaches

Virtually the same benefits as Red Plums; see below

Red Plums

Mood stabilising, plums also help to prevent lung and mouth cancers and improve vision

Red Grapes

Helps cure and prevent high blood pressure, bad cholesterol, and cardiovascular diseases. Red grapes have antibacterial properties, cancer prevention and blood sugar regulating benefits.

Ruby Grapefruit

Prevents bad cholesterol, kidney stones, protects against prostate, lung and colon cancer

Strawberries

Good for diabetes, cancer prevention, cardiac health and inflammation, cognitive function, Crohn’s disease and macular degeneration.

Tomatoes

Tomatoes have been long held to be good for many health conditions including lowering bad cholesterol, fighting wrinkles, prostate cancer, stomach cancer, protection of bones, liver and kidneys. Recent research shows that tomatoes may be useful in preventing some neurological disorders.

Watermelon

In addition to most of the same health giving properties as tomatoes, watermelon is a diuretic and can help kidney function. It can help diabetes, arthritis and muscle and nerve function.

Beetroot

Lowers blood pressure, helps fight heart disease, improves blood flow and fights the progression of dementia. It can also improve stamina during exercise.

Hibiscus

Neither a fruit nor a vegetable; hibiscus flowers have excellent health giving properties. The flowers can be dried and made into tea or added fresh to salads. Hibiscus is useful for colds, fluid retention, diuretic, circulatory function and has laxative properties.

Pink Daikon

Detoxifying and cleansing properties, thought to remove gallstones and kidney stones. Used in Ayurvedic medicine.

Radicchio

Low in calories, radicchio is an effective painkiller and sedative. It has anti-malarial properties and is thought to aid the limiting of neural damage to the brain thus making it useful for Alzheimer’s patients

Radishes

Treats rashes and skin eruptions, fights various cancers like mouth, kidney, stomach and colon, is a diuretic and good for kidney and gallbladder function and sometimes used to treat jaundice.

Red Cabbage

Anti-ageing effects, good for eye health and boosts the immune system; also useful in fighting and preventing stomach ulcers. Red cabbage has cancer fighting properties and can reduce the risk of oestrogen led breast cancers. It can lower the risk of Alzheimer’s disease.

Red Chillies

Good for burning off fat, reducing cholesterol levels, strengthening immune system and preventing and treating peptic ulcers

Red Corn

High fibre and lowers risk of colon cancer, blood sugar control in diabetics, HIV inhibiting

Red fleshed potatoes

Lowers blood pressure, offers protection against colon cancer, reduces fat storage and is thought to help with insulin resistance.

Red Kidney Beans

Decrease the risk of coronary heart disease, certain types of cancer and diabetes. They lower cholesterol and regulate blood sugar.

Red Onions

Prevents heart disease, regulate blood sugar levels, lowers incidence of stomach and colon cancers. Red onions lower blood pressure and improve cardiovascular health as well as regulating cholesterol levels. Useful also for colds and flu.

Red Peppers

Collagen building, blood pressure lowering, anxiety reducing and good for PMT. Bell peppers are also good for the eyesight and cancer preventative.

Rhubarb

Rhubarb has cancer fighting properties, cholesterol lowering and is heart healthy.

Swiss Chard

Blood sugar regulating, also promotes bone health and helps arthritis sufferers

So armed with this information there is every reason to include some or all of the above in your diet. Go red!

© Susan Bailey 2013 All Rights Reserved