People often ask me: Is beetroot good for you? Should I eat more berry fruits? I’ve heard that onions contain no nutrition, is that true? Truth is, all fruit and veg is great for you. The key is not focus on specifics but to eat a wide variety of colourful vegetables and fruits every day...

In a previous post ‘Your Healthy Shopping Guide’, I mentioned adding different colour vegetables and fruit to your shopping trolley, so why did I say that?

People often ask me: Is beetroot good for you? Should I eat more berry fruits? I’ve heard that onions contain no nutrition, is that true?

We know we’re supposed to eat more fruits and vegetables. But which kinds? Truth is they are all stars, being high in dietary fibre, vitamins, minerals and full of phytochemicals – biologically active, natural occurring compounds, with antioxidant effects.

The key is not focus on specifics but to eat a wide variety of colourful vegetables and fruits every day to harvest the health benefits. That's because phytochemicals provide the colour, taste and aroma to fruits and vegetables and each colour contains different sets of phytochemicals that provide different health benefits as well as different amounts of vitamins and minerals.

Colour Clues to Getting All the Goodness

Mix it up by having a variety of these different coloured vegetables and fruit every day:

Red: Pink grapefruit, red peppers, tomatoes, watermelon and guavas are loaded with the phytochemical, lycopene.

Dark purple: Black grapes, blueberries, cranberries, prunes, purple plums and cherries are rich in antioxidant anthocyanins.

Green: Spinach, broccoli and Brussel sprouts contain indoles and green leafy veg and salad leaves are loaded with lutein. Cruciferous vegetables (cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, turnips) are high in the phytochemical, sulforaphane.

Orange: Carrots, mangos, pumpkin, butternut and oranges give you a beta-carotene boost and citrus fruits also have the phytochemical, limonene.

White: Cauliflower, mushrooms, banana and onions have anthoxanthins and allicin.