Most of us have heard of the phrase ‘eat the rainbow’ but what does it really mean and what are the benefits? Essentially, eating the rainbow involves incorporating different coloured foods into your daily diet to fill your plate with colour.

By eating a wide range of foods, especially fruit and veg, you are providing your body with an array of vitamins and minerals, essential to keep our bodies healthy. A diet rich in both fruit and vegetables has been shown to have positive health benefits for our brain and our heart.

However, it is not just about eating more fruit and vegetables but more so about focusing on eating a variety of colours. By eating a range of different colours you are providing your body with the best opportunity to have an increased intake of different nutrients. Each colour indicates different levels of nutrients and health benefits!

Eating lots of colour may lower your risk of missing out on some vital nutrients. Most colourful fruits and vegetables have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects that benefit different aspects of your health.

Some of the benefits of each colour

Red - Red foods contain phytonutrients like lycopene, flavonoids and anthocyanins, offering antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Due to these properties they can lower the risk of heart disease and some cancers.

Orange - Orange foods obtain their colour from the carotenoid pigment. They contain beta-carotene, an antioxidant that is converted to Vitamin A in the body. Orange foods can maintain eye health and can improve immune function.

Yellow - Flavones provide yellow foods with their colour and may reduce the risk of heart disease. Similarly to orange foods, yellow foods help maintain eye health while also having antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.

Green- Green veg get their colour from chlorophyll which is packed full of antioxidants that have the ability to scavenge harmful free radicals in the body. Green foods contain phytonutrients, have anti-inflammatory properties and are a good source of fibre.

Blue/ Purple - The blue/purple hue is attributed to the pigment anthocyanin, an antioxidant. Blue/purple foods have anti-inflammatory properties, they can reduce the risk of heart disease, some cancers and have been linked to anti-aging properties.

Tips to achieve a colourful diet

• Try adding a range of different vegetables to your meals. To get started, why not aim to make one rainbow meal a week. Fill your plate with every colour of the rainbow. (If you have kids they will love this!)

• If you're having fruit for breakfast or as a snack, try to have a mix of different fruits - a handful of blueberries, raspberries, slices of apple, pineapple etc.
• Incorporate salads into your meals or eat them as a side. Our superfood salad is the perfect side to help you eat the rainbow. It is packed full of little gems like pomegranate as well as a substantial serving of veg from salad leaves, broccoli, butternut squash, red onion and beetroot.

Here’s a list of some colourful fruit and veg to get you started!

Red - Tomatoes, Red Pepper, Raspberries, Strawberries, Apples

Orange - Carrots, Oranges, Sweet Potato

Yellow - Yellow Pepper, Pineapple, Lemon

Green - Spinach, Salad leaves, Peas, Cucumber, Broccoli

Blue/ Indigo - Blueberries, Blackberries, Blackcurrants

Purple - Beetroot, Purple Cabbage, Grapes

Eating the rainbow allows you to provide your body with a range of nutrients that will promote good health. Remember to start slow, there's no rush. Try to include two/three different coloured fruits and vegetables at each meal and one/two with each snack and you will be well on your way to eating the full rainbow! 

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