The colors of vitality: antioxidants and phytonutrients in foods and herbs

New Life Journal, June-July, 2004 by Lisa Ganora

Mother Nature's foods and herbs bloom with the colors of vitality. Her rainbow spectrum of purple, blue, green, yellow, orange and red bears not only the richness of beauty, but nutrition and antioxidant power as well. The same colors that reward our senses can give us clues about important phytonutrients (phyto means plant) in common foods and healing herbs.

It all begins with the sun. Although sunlight seems to have a golden glow, it's really made up of all the colors of the rainbow. Plants appear to be green because they reflect the green rays, while absorbing the reds and blues. The color green tells us that chlorophyll, literally green leaf, is present. The darker green a plant, the more chlorophyll it contains. This is one reason why we're advised to eat our dark leafy green vegetables and drink our wheat grass juice: abundant, nourishing chlorophyll. Curiously, an important part of the chlorophyll molecule is almost identical to a part of hemoglobin, which carries oxygen through our bloodstreams. This is one bit of science supporting the traditional wisdom that dark greens (including the nutritious herb nettles) are good for building the blood.

Dark green also announces the presence of an important companion of chlorophyll, folic acid or folate. The very word folic comes from the word for leaves, foliage. Folic acid is critical for the proper development of the nervous system, and pregnant women are advised to get plenty of this nutrient for their growing baby's health. Folic acid also builds the blood. It encourages the development of oxygen-bearing red blood cells and helps prevent anemia and fatigue.

In one of the greatest miracles of Nature, chlorophyll and its companions transform pure solar energy into food and medicine. When sunlight combines with chlorophyll, it sparks a series of energetic reactions, which ultimately lead to the production of the simple sugar glucose. This vital molecule, which is the parent, or precursor, of all other phytonutrients, just happens to be the same molecule we call blood sugar. Plants and people have a lot more in common than we might have realized. The thousands of enzymes that organize the physiology inside a plant's body turn glucose into all kinds of vitamins, antioxidants, and medicinal molecules; the thousands of biochemical reactions inside our bodies use glucose as their fundamental source of energy!

Chlorophyll can't work alone. Being a complicated molecule, it's also quite delicate. It needs protection from the harsh UV rays in the sun's energy spectrum. Too much ultraviolet, and photosynthesis begins to release an excess of damaging free radicals. You may have heard of free radicals in relationship to antioxidant vitamins and supplements. For humans, free radicals contribute to premature aging, the development of degenerative diseases like arthritis and cancer, and cardiovascular problems. Antioxidants such as Vitamins C and E help neutralize the free radicals and prevent tissue damage.

The free radicals generated by strong UV light could destroy the sensitive chlorophyll, but they don't; the plant has its own built-in antioxidants! Inside a sunbathed leaf, hidden by the dark green of the chlorophyll, the yellow and orange molecules are at work quelling free radicals and protecting the energy-generating source of life on Earth. Warmly colored antioxidants, known as carotenoids, are named after the familiar orange garden carrot. When leaves display their brilliant fall colors, we're seeing carotenoids at work.

It just so happens that these very same carotenoids are busy protecting our cell membranes, keeping the linings of our blood vessels smooth, and making sure our cholesterol and blood lipids aren't damaged by oxidation. These molecules include the familiar nutrients beta-carotene, lycopene, and lutein. Many naturally yellow, orange, or red vegetables will be rich in antioxidant carotenoids, including sweet potatoes, carrots, squash, pumpkin, citrus fruits, sweet and hot peppers, and tomatoes. Even leafy vegetables have carotenoids; we just can't see them underneath all that green.

Another nutrient that finds its way into our diets is the molecule that gives curry its bright orange color: the curcumin found in turmeric. This potent phytonutrient is a supreme antioxidant, an effective anti-inflammatory, and a reliable tonic for the liver. Curcumin has been used since ancient days in the practice of Ayurvedic medicine and is one of the most highly regarded remedies in modern phytotherapy. Along with its companion molecules (a phytonutrient never works alone), it's used in formulas to treat and prevent many inflammatory, diseases including allergies, arthritis, and cancer.

In the reddest part of the phytonutrient rainbow, we find two different tribes of molecules: the orangish-red xanthophylls and the purplish-red anthocyanins. Xanthophyll means yellow leaf, referring to autumn colors, and anthocyanin means cyan-colored flower, coming from the fact that a flower's color is often the work of these molecules. Of course, xanthophylls aren't only yellow and anthocyanins aren't only cyan. As usual, Nature creates many variations on a theme.