YOU AND YOUR HEALTH - A "Rainbow Diet"- It is Good for You

 Dieticians are urging Australians to eat a "rainbow" diet to boost nutrition, and new colourful breeds of vegetables are becoming available to make that task easier. 

Healthy eating does apply to everyone. 

Dietician Simone Austin said eating a variety of colours increased the amount of nutrients the human body can absorb. 

"Any colours in vegetables, but particularly the purples and dark greens show that they've got lots of antioxidants in them and antioxidants are particularly good for us," she said.

Antioxidants are substances that can prevent or slow damage to cells caused by the body processing food and reacting to the environment.

"Antioxidants can reduce inflammation in our body ... lots of the diseases and chronic conditions, like diabetes or heart disease, are often linked to that inflammation in our body over a long time," Ms Austin said.

But don't just purchase all purple foods; we want to eat a rainbow."

Ms Austin said there were thousands of different types of antioxidants found in different coloured fruit and vegetables that played distinct roles."By having a good variety you'll also be getting more fibre, and different types of fibre," she said.

"But we also eat with our eyes first, and most people don't eat enough vegetables.

"If we can make veggies look good to start with, we're much more likely to eat more of them and that's good for everyone."

BOLD AND BEAUTIFUL. 

Having bright, colourful, food can also encourage children to be more adventurous with their diets, Ms Austin said.

"It's fun for kids, to get them growing things," she said.

"Getting children at an early age, to start feeling their vegetables, smelling them - it's all about textures and getting them to love different foods.

The purple colour helps to protect plants from environmental damage, Ms Austin said.

"It can also help to attract bees and butterflies," she said.

"A bit like how flowers attract them, that beautiful rich purple colour tends to attract pollinators to the vegetable plants as well."

Key points:

• Purple, orange and green cauliflowers are being trialled
• Dieticians are encouraging people to have a wider variety of colours in their diets
• Naturally purple foods are high in antioxidants

Credit: ABC Rural, Jane McNaughton, WLNS, MomJunction