Eat a Rainbow of Phytonutrients
Food is more than nutrition. We believe it’s essential to have optimal amounts of these nutrients and to be
nourished through the power of yum, joy of cooking and eating, and the courage to be creative while increasing
control of our food supply and meal preparation.
6 STEPS TO GETTING MORE PHYTONUTRIENTS
1 Aim for 9-13 Servings of Plant Foods Everyday
We need about 9-13 servings of whole plant foods if we want to prevent chronic disease. A typical serving
is only half a cup of cooked vegetables, one cup of raw leafy vegetable, or a medium-sized piece of fruit. It
would be best to aim for every meal of the day to have about 3-4 servings of plant foods so that at three
general meals per day (not including snacks), you would make your serving requirement on a daily basis.
2 Know Your Phytonutrient Sources
Phytonutrient-rich eats are limitless, making it fun to experiment with new varieties and colors even within
one category of food. Here are some sources of phytonutrients to get you started: any and all plant foods,
including fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts, seeds, and even herbs and spices.
3 Eat the Rainbow of Colors
Instead of getting the full rainbow of color, you may be eating the standard processed food colors of brown,
yellow, and white. For example, think of the typical breakfast menu – waffles, pancakes, ready-to-eat cereal,
sausage, and eggs – which does not necessarily provide much color early in the day. However, if you had a
fruit smoothie with blueberries, peaches, and raspberries, you’d have three colors of the seven colors of the
rainbow first thing in the morning! Make it your goal to get the full seven colors every day with a variety
of foods.
4 Vary Your Choices
There are thousands of phytonutrients in nature. If we eat the same foods over and over again, even if they
are colorful, we may be missing the universe of important phytonutrients in foods. One helpful hint is to try
a new food every week to ensure that you are getting different foods to try!
5 Maximize Combinations
When we put certain foods together, we may achieve a better effect than if we just had the foods by
themselves. Sometimes, there can be a “synergistic” result from combining certain foods. For example,
putting turmeric with black pepper together with olive oil could enhance the phytonutrient effects of all
three foods on your health. Adding lemon juice to spinach could help the iron become more absorbed by
your body. Try putting plant foods together for an enhanced health benefit.
6 Be Creative with Substitutions
One way to get more plant foods would be to think of foods that are commonly eaten that may not
be as nutrient dense and replace with nutrient-dense options. Some plant foods clearly give us more
phytonutrients than others! For example, you could substitute mashed potatoes with mashed purple
potatoes or sweet potatoes.You could substitute white rice with purple, brown, or black rice.
© 2015 The Institute for Functional Medicine
