Do what? What the heck have colours got to do with food?

This is a great one and something that I have really tried to design into my allotment, I told you I was a tad OCD in the design.  Basically each food has a specific colour and each colour imparts different beneficial main types of pigment.

These chemicals are called Phytochemicals, they help the body deal with substances called free radicals.  Now I know we have all heard about free radicals,  these little fellows are formed from a natural process called oxidation.  They can damage body cells and tissues as well as DNA. Damage caused by oxidation may lead to the onset of health problems such as cancer, heart disease, cataracts, and arthritis, and a myriad of other diseases.

Fortunately, antioxidant vitamins and many phytochemicals help to “neutralise” free radicals before they can do damage the tissue cells and may even help undo some of the damage already done to cells.  These antioxidants such as beta-carotene and vitamins E and C are readily available in colourful vegetables.

Firstly we have carotenoids, which give orange and yellow vegetables their colours; flavonoids, which provide blue, red and cream colours; and chlorophyll, which makes greens green. These colourful compounds also provide health and nutrition benefits.

Eating in a healthy manner is more simple when you know what the colours of vegetables indicate about their nutritional value.  It is for this reason that as you go around the allotment you will see a whole range of different colours amongst each of the different types of fruits and vegetables you will recognise.