Add Colour to Your Health with Phytonutrients

Our supermarkets and gardens are filled with substances that sound intriguing: Astaxanthin, Quercetin, and Lycopene. Aside from their somewhat challenging names, these substances share a common feature: they all belong to the group of phytonutrients. There are more than 5,000 different phytonutrients, and not all of them are even known yet, so we'll spare you an impossibly long list. Instead, here's a brief overview of these fascinating compounds, why you should include them in your diet, and what you can add to your daily meals to do so.

Colour Givers

Phytonutrients are compounds in the body that have health-promoting effects, although there is no established need for them. Essentially, the body can function without these substances. Phytonutrients are classified as bioactive compounds, which help activate various processes in our bodies. Phytonutrients are part of plants. For instance, astaxanthin is found in algae, quercetin is found in the flowers of the honey locust tree, and lycopene is what gives tomatoes their red colour. Caffeine is also a phytonutrient, so you're consuming a dose of these compounds with your daily cup of coffee.

Soil Depletion

Because there are so many different types of phytonutrients, you will unknowingly consume a lot of these bioactive compounds. However, the amount of phytonutrients in our food has significantly declined over the past 20 years. Factors such as soil depletion, seed distribution, and the use of pesticides, as well as harvesting before ripeness and longer storage times, have contributed to this decline.

Effects on the Body

Why should you be aware of the amount of phytonutrients in your diet? Increasing scientific research points to the health benefits of these compounds. Phytonutrients, such as the flavonoid group, have antioxidant properties. We know that antioxidants protect our bodies from free radicals. Free radicals are released during our metabolism, but also from smoking, drinking alcohol, being overweight, consuming fatty and sugary foods, and stress. Free radicals cause oxidative damage to our cells, while antioxidants 'capture' these free radicals.

What Foods Should I Eat?

Do you want to consciously try to increase your intake of phytonutrients? Eating a rainbow of fruits and vegetables ensures you get a wide range of these compounds. Carotenoids are a large group of phytonutrients that give vegetables their colourful appearance. A red, orange, or pink hue is all caused by the pigment astaxanthin. Flamingos, salmon, trout, crabs, and lobsters owe their red/pink colour to this compound as they regularly consume algae and plankton. In the body, carotenoids also serve as provitamins (substances that are converted into vitamins in the body) and antioxidants. Examples include: carotene, α-carotene, lycopene, lutein, and cryptoxanthin. In terms of food, it's a good idea to consume tomato (juice), spinach, beets, carrots, and broccoli. Want to know which foods are richest in which phytonutrient? Check the chart below.

'Phyto' comes from the Greek 'Phyto', meaning plant.

Did You Know:

• 'Phyto' comes from the Greek 'Phyto', meaning plant.
• Flavonols from cocoa help maintain the elasticity of blood vessels, contributing to normal blood circulation.
• Beta-carotene – a carotenoid – protects the skin against UV radiation. It gives carrots their orange colour and is converted by the body into vitamin A.
• Canthaxanthin is a natural red dye mixed into chicken feed to colour egg yolks orange-yellow.
• Phytoestrogens are plant-based oestrogens (the female sex hormones) that are found abundantly in soy.

Author: Myrthe Woest