Optimize Your Diet With Multi-colored Foods As Well As Whole Grains

By Susan S Wilson

The foods that are found in nature that are the most multi-colored also provide the highest nutritional value for our bodies. There are very few "white" foods that offer much nutrition, cauliflower and jicama are the only extraordinary exceptions. Orange, red, purple, green and even brown foods offer the highest nutritional value. White flours and white rice are extremely void of nutrients.

Many years ago, in an attempt to preserve foods for a longer phase of time, white flour was invented. The traditional whole grain flour, which tends to be a range of shades of brown, comprises all of the very healthful and fiber-rich parts of the seed counting the outside bran layer and the germ. However, whole grain flour has a propensity to rot faster and it also attracts weevils.

So in order to maintain foods for a longer period of time, flour made from only the endosperm of the seed was developed. This flour was fluffy and white and often even bleached with chemicals in order to make it white and appealing. It is interesting to note that while whole grain flour will draw weevils, white flour is actually a natural insecticide because insects cannot survive on a food intake of pure white flour, as there is not enough nutritional value.

White flour became a huge hit. Many people enjoyed the pretty white bread that it made and the weightlessness of the baked goods. However, not long afterward it was discovered that this pretty white flour no longer provided any dietetic value. At that point, the flour was enriched with 4 vitamins and minerals. However, in the processing 15 vitamins and minerals had been lost along with all of the roughage. None of the roughage was put back in.

Sorry to say, these days many of the breads and other foods made from flour that we find on our store shelves are made from this nutritionally empty flour. Many so-called "wheat" breads are in reality made from enriched flour rather than whole grain flour. In order to reach the maximum nourishment we need to make sure that the first factor listed on the label is "whole" meaning that the flour is made from a whole grain whether it is wheat, rye, oatmeal or any other type of grain.

The more processed a food is the less healthful it tends to be. White foods are inclined to be lacking in all of the most important nutrients. White rice is similar to white flour in its dietary value. Whole grain foods, with all of the inbuilt fiber and nutrients, are the most wholesome and these foods are never white but always hues of brown.

All of the colorful foods are crucial when it comes to food. Orange fruits and vegetables include beta-carotene, purple vegetables and fruits contain anthocyanins and resveratrol and the green fruits and vegetables impart an assortment or other essential antioxidants and vital vitamins and minerals. The most multicolored diets are the most healthy.

So in order to make the most of your nutrition eradicate the white foods, except for cauliflower and jicama, of course, improve your eating of the colorful fruits and vegetables and add in lean proteins of either lean meats, fish or poultry, or beans and legumes if you are a vegetarian. And make sure that the bread you eat is made from whole grain flour and not enriched. - 17268

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Blueberries, cranberries and grapes are all superior in antioxidants but it is being proven that the acai berry has more antioxidants activity than all of the others.