Let’s Go Purple In 2017! Top 10 Purple Food Of The Year
According to experts from Whole Foods, who examined consumer behavior globally across 465 stores, our plates are going to look very colorful this year, with purple foods in particular expected to fly off the shelves.
In an online statement, the health food company described the phenomenon as a “fast growing trend.” They said: ”Richly colored purple foods are popping up everywhere: purple cauliflower, black rice, purple asparagus, elderberries, acai, and so on. The power of purple goes beyond the vibrant color and often indicates nutrient density and antioxidants.”
Matthew Plowman, a Nutrition Adviser at Cardiff Sports Nutrition, agrees that purple foods are full of natural health benefits. He said: "The benefits of antioxidants have long been discussed, but they are known to fight disease, keep you looking younger, reduce inflammation and are good for your heart – basically, why wouldn’t you eat them?"
Essentially, the darker the colour of a food, the higher the contents of antioxidants and nutrients will be, and the healthier the food. In fact, one health and nutrition study found that those who ate purple fruit and vegetables regularly often had a reduced risk of getting high blood pressure and low cholesterol.
TOP10：
1、 Blue berry
Plump, juicy, and sweet, with vibrant colors ranging from deep purple-blue to blue-black and highlighted by a silvery sheen called a bloom, blueberries are one of the most nutrient-dense foods in the world.
Natural medicine has long held that these round purple berries give long-life health benefits that far exceed their tiny size. The ORAC score of blueberries is an incredible 9,621, which makes it one of the highest antioxidant foods in the world. Just one cup of blueberries provides the nutrients including: resveratrol, gallic acid, lutein, zeaxanthin, and several kinds of vitamin.
As the research indicates, gallic acid, one of the nutritional components of the blueberry, is a powerful antifungal/antiviral agent and is an extremely effective antioxidant. They protect our bodies from damage by free radicals, unstable molecules that can damage cellular structures and contribute to aging and disease like cancer.
Due to the rich nutrient, blueberries also protect cholesterol in the blood from becoming damaged, lower blood pressure, help prevent heart disease, help maintain brain function and improve memory, help reduce muscle damage after strenuous exercise, and so on.
To preserve their nutritional content, make every effort to eat blueberries in their fresh, natural form, such as fresh blueberries juice or blueberry pudding. You also could try the RxBar, made with blueberries, egg whites, figs, and almonds, each bar is health in a wrapper.
2、 Acai berry
Acai berry, grown in Brazil’s Amazon rain forest, is one of the most popular superfood in the world. Acai berry fruit comes from acai palm, which is a species present in the genus Euterpe and is usually cultivated for its palms and fruits. Its scientific name is Euterpe oleracea. The name acai palm is derived from the Brazilian Portuguese of the Tupian word wacai, which means the fruit that expels water or cries.
Because of the high nutritional values, the demand of Acai berry has increased during the recent years. A powdered preparation of acai berry fruit contains about 533.9 calories. There are 52.2 g carbohydrates, 32.5 g fat, 8.1 g proteins and 44.2 g of dietary fiber. There is also some vitamin C in acai berries. It also contains 260 mg calcium, 4.4 mg iron and 1002 U of vitamin A. Glutamic acid and aspartic acid are also present in it. The major fat content consists of palmitic acid, oelic acid and linolenic acid. Beta-sitosterol is also a main constituent of acai berries.
This small, dark-purple berry packs a nutrient punch with a whole host of antioxidants, amino acids and essential fatty acids. Dubbed by the Brazilians as the “Beauty Berry”, acai berry truly dose the body good from the inside out, with health benefits such as increased energy levels, stimulated healthy digestion, offered protection against heart disease & diabetes, boosted immune system, improved metabolic function and better hair and skin, even might help control your appetite & boost weight loss.
Not only is this superfood incredibly good for health, but it’s also delicious, it kind of tastes like dark chocolate. One of the most popular ways to eat these berries is in an acai bowl, where puréed acai berries are garnished with a variety of toppings, such as sliced bananas, strawberries and granola. If you do not want to pulp the berries by yourself, you also can choose pulped and flash-frozen berries, produced by Sambazon, one of the most widely available brands. Sambazon provides other kind of food that uses acai berries as main ingredient, for instance, frozen sorbet, energy drink and fresh juices.
3、 Purple sweet potato
Purple sweet potatoes are a type of potato popular in South Purple sweet potatoes are a type of potato popular in South America, with their origins in Peru and Bolivia.
Purple potatoes are very similar to the popular Russet potatoes in nutritional value. One-half cup of purple potatoes contains 70 calories, 15 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 2 grams of protein and no fat. One-half cup of Russet potatoes contains 66 calories, 16 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 1 gram of protein and no fat. The one significant difference between purple potatoes and Russet potatoes is the antioxidant content; purple potatoes contain 4 times as much antioxidants as Russet potatoes. Anthocyanin is a pigment that creates the purple color in the potatoes and also acts as an antioxidant.
Purple sweet potatoes are high-antioxidant foods that are eye-catching since the skin and the flesh are both purple, making them a beautiful adornment to any plate. But it’s not just the color that’s appealing. Purple sweet potatoes offer a host of awesome benefits from working as a healthy food-coloring agent to helping regulate blood pressure to aiding athletic performance and more.
4、 Fig
Common figs grow on the ficus tree (ficuscarica), which is a member of the mulberry family. Figs contain many vitamins and minerals hat provide health benefits to a number of bodily systems.Figs provide a huge service to the human body with their antioxidant capabilities. Because oxidation affects almost all body systems, the damage it causes has been linked to many major diseases, aging and cancer — as high-antioxidant foods, figs help stave off these conditions.Because of the fig’s long history, it has been used to treat a wide range of common ailments for thousands of years. More than 40 illnesses connected to the digestive, endocrine, reproductive and respiratory systems have been treated with fig fruit, extracts and components of the fig tree.
5、 Eggplant
Eggplant, a member of the night shade vegetable and Solanaceae plant family, is considered by researchers to be a part of a group of valuable vegetables due to their anthocyanin antioxidant compounds, which can be seen in eggplant’s rich purple colors.
Eggplant is a vegetable with a lot to offer: a high amount of antioxidants, special phytonutrients including phenolic compounds, flavonoids such as nasunin, and numerous vitamins and minerals too. All of these eggplant nutrition benefits come at a low calorie count of only 35 calories per cup, thanks to eggplant’s high fiber and water content.
6、 Purple cabbage
purple cabbage, also known as red cabbage, is a cruciferous vegetable that’s delicious both raw and cooked. It’s often eaten raw in salads, steamed, braised or sauteed with other vegetables. It’s also referenced as red kraut or blue kraut and can provide the much-needed benefits of probiotics in this form due to the fermentation process. In addition, the insoluble fiber from purple cabbage is known to prevent constipation, lower the risk of developing diverticular disease and may help relieve the symptoms of some gastrointestinal conditions, such as IBS symptoms.
7、 Purple asparagus
Purple asparagus was originally developed in Italy by farmers in the Albenga region. They propagated it from seeds from open pollinated female plants. It was first commercialized under the variety name Violettod'Albenga. Purple asparagus' colour comes from the high levels of anthocyanins in the spears. Anthocyanins are potent antioxidant flavonoids that have protective and preventative health benefits, including anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties. It’s also great for skin, hair and nails, as it’s rich in vitamin B.
8、 Purple cauliflower
Purple cauliflower displays vibrant violet hues on the outside florets, its color is naturally occurring，due to the presence of the antioxidant anthocyanin. Purple cauliflower is rich in vitamin C with a half cup of florets providing nearly half of ones daily requirement for vitamin C. It also provides a fair amount of fiber, vitamin A, folate, calcium and potassium as well as selenium, which works with Vitamin C to boost the immune system. Cruciferous vegetables such as cauliflower are known for their high levels of cancer-fighting phytochemicals know as glucosinolates.
9、 Purple corn
Purple corn is in shape and form very similar in appearance to common corn, consisting of a long cob containing numerous edible kernels wrapped tightly in layers of husks. It is unique in that its husks showcase a lime green and dark purple color combination. Its kernels as well can be a combination of white and purple or completely purple depending on specific variety.
Purple corn offers phytonutrients, phenolic acids, and flavonoids. It has been shown to exhibit anti-inflammatory properties and is studied for its ability to help prevent obesity. Deep blue, red, and purple hued produce gets it colors from water soluble pigments known as anthocyanins. These anthocyanins act as antioxidants in the body with Purple corn offering one of the highest anthocyanin levels found in fruits and vegetables. Purple corn is most abundant in the anthocyanin C3G or cyanidin-3-glucoside which is the most common anthocyanin found in nature and is being studied for its superior antioxidant capacity.
10、Black rice
Despite being less popular than brown rice or wild rice, black rice, known as forbidden rice, is an ancient grain that has even more impressive health benefits than most other closely related rice varieties.
Not only is it the type of rice that is richest in powerful disease-fighting antioxidants, but it also contains dietary fiber, anti-inflammatory properties, and has the ability to help stop the development of diabetes, cancer, heart disease and even weight gain.
