YYou’ve probably heard the term “eating the rainbow,” and for good reason. The compounds that give plant foods their color also have unique health benefits, so eating a variety of colors means you’re getting a wide range of nutrients. But I’m a registered dietitian, and this dictum, like so much “conventional wisdom” in the field of nutrition, drives me crazy.
It’s true that most Americans could benefit from eating more fruits and vegetables. Currently only about 10 percent of adults get your five a day. But who says they have to be the colors of the rainbow? Not everything you eat, for health reasons or otherwise, has to be vibrant. Accepting only the nutritional value of colorful foods leads to white, beige, and brown foods being unnecessarily overlooked (and even demonized). In fact, it paints a limited view of what healthy eating can look like. Here’s why beige isn’t boring, bland, or “bad” for your nutrition, and more importantly, how to focus solely on eating the rainbow at a time villains many cultural foods Y whiten nutrition.
White fruits and vegetables also contain compounds that help health
While colorful pigments seem to get all the health credit (chlorophyll in dark green vegetables, lycopene in bright red tomatoes, anthocyanins in blueberries), white pigments also offer unique health benefits . For example: anthoxanthins, the pigments that give plants a white or creamy yellow color, are a type of antioxidant with powerful anti-inflammatory properties. Think cauliflower, parsnips, daikon radishes, and jicama. A cup of cooked cauliflower will provide you with more than to half of your daily vitamin C goal, and a cup of raw parsnips it contains nearly a quarter of the folate that most adults need in a day.
Even starchy white vegetables, which are sometimes battered, are nutrient-dense. “White potatoes are loaded with fiber. and potassium that we need on a daily basis,” says registered dietitian Elizabeth Barnes, MS, RD, holder of Neutral Weight Wellness. FiberFound in all plant-based foods, it helps keep your digestive system moving, reduces your risk of high blood pressure and high cholesterol, and may even support your immune system by feeding probiotic bacteria in your gut. Y potassium, also found in bananas, is crucial for nerve and muscle function and heart health.
…and they are not the only ones
Although white fruits and vegetables don’t often take center stage in the conversation about healthy eating, most people know that they are nutritious. After all, they are still fruits and vegetables. Other white plant-based foods, such as nuts and seeds, are also acclaimed by wellness devotees.
The real problem with the “eat the rainbow” ethos is that it excludes the more starchy white and brown foods: rice, bread, tortillas, grits, corn, and other carbohydrates that many eat. people mistakenly believe that it should not be a staple in a healthy diet. madalyn vasquez, MS, RD, CDCES, a dietitian and diabetes educator, explains that white starchy foods play an important role in health. “Carbohydrates are our body’s preferred source of energy. and they provide other nutrients such as fiber, vitamins and minerals,” he says. All carbohydrates, whether they come from a sweet potato or a flour tortilla, provide the body with energy and important nutrients.
Carbohydrates like beans, whole grains, and starchy vegetables are further high in fiber That fiber aids digestion, helps prevent constipation and may reduce the risk of certain chronic diseases, Vasquez says. But processed carbohydrates like cereals and packaged bread products are not bad. They are a source of energy and are often fortified with certain essential vitamins and minerals that many people might otherwise be lacking. Also, we usually eat these foods along with other things as part of a meal: bread in a sandwich, rice with vegetables and meat, cereal with fruit and milk, etc., which means we’re getting a variety of nutrients overall.
Creamy and cheesy foods White foods aren’t inherently bad either. Sure, a steady diet of crème brûlée and white cheese with tortilla chips isn’t nutritious. But eating these things sometimes, as part of an overall varied diet, is fine. They are usually a great source of calcium, which is essential for bone health, as well as for the functioning of the heart, nerves, and muscles. And some creamy foods, like yogurt and skyr, are extremely nutritious, high in protein, vitamins, minerals, and health-promoting probiotic bacteria.
Demonizing white foods isn’t just a misunderstanding of nutrition science, it’s also culturally insensitive
dalina soto, MA, RD, LDN, dietician and owner of Your latin nutritionist, says many of her Latino clients come to her believing they need to stop eating rice, beans, tortillas, yucca and other cultural staples to be healthy. Some nutrition professionals and other health care providers, he says, dismiss these traditional Latinx staples like rice, plantains, tostones and tortillas as too much carbs, especially for people with type 2 diabetes. They recommend restricting or eliminating them instead of taking the time to explain how our bodies process carbohydrates and ways to include them as part of a healthy diet. Sometimes, Soto says, this has to do with the language barrier: An English-speaking provider can’t explain the nuances of healthy eating to a Spanish-speaking patient. Without a translator in the room, the only way to get the information across might be to say something overly simplified like “avoid white foods” or with a brochure listing white foods as the ones to avoid.
This stereotype demonizes foods that have not only been a part of Latino cultures for centuries, but are also inexpensive and quick to prepare. (As opposed to, say, a grain bowl with more than six different vegetables, vegan meat, and homemade dressing.) And this has consequences. Soto shares that some people give up on being healthy: “They feel like, what’s the point if they can’t enjoy familiar foods?”
Instead of giving blanket advice that is doomed to fail, Soto takes a much more individualized approach. “Everyone is so different,” she says. “Even if I’m working with someone who has type 2 diabetes, I talk to them about what’s really going on when they eat these high-carb foods.” (And, he notes, not all blood sugar levels react to all carbs the same way, so an individualized approach really is key.) carbohydrates, proteins and vegetables along with white and beige foods rich in carbohydrates.
Andrew Akhaphon, MS, RD, LD, a registered dietitian at Mackenthun Grocery Stores, says that in her family’s Lao culture, which is heavily influenced by Theravada Buddhism, meals are traditionally built around the balance of taste (sweet, spicy, acid and umami) versus nutrition or aesthetics. “It is believed [in Buddhism that] having a balance of these restores the ‘hot and cold forces,’” he explains. While colorful vegetables and herbs abound in Lao cuisine, foods like rice and noodles are also important. And in this context, white foods actually provide nutritional balance.
Making good nutrition more accessible means including white and brown foods
Soto, who rarely shares photos of food with her more than 62,000 Instagram followers, believes social media fuels the fire of people who believe healthy eating should be seen a certain way. “There’s all these reds and greens and purples,” he says. “Everything is so incredibly colorful, and the photography makes it look amazing.” This can also often mean intimidating and unapproachable.
In fact, colorful foods are visually vibrant, while whites and browns don’t exactly stand out in your diet, especially when they have to compete with cerulean spirulina, pumpkin spice lattes, and bright purple acai bowls. “We tell you to eat the rainbow because many of these colors contain different vitamins and nutrients,” says Soto. “But you don’t have to add something green to everything you eat.” It’s okay if some meals and snacks lack color, because less vibrant foods also provide nutrients.
Aesthetics just aren’t a great standard against which to measure nutrition. In fact, a diet of just kale salads and smoothie bowls isn’t healthy at all. As someone who helps adults overcome disordered eating behaviors, I see too often that what starts out as a fairly innocent resolution to “prioritize colorful foods” can quickly morph into a decidedly unhealthy obsession with eating copious amounts of fruit and vegetables. vegetables and little else.
There’s no question that eating colorful produce promotes good health, but that’s no reason to exclude other foods from the conversation. White, beige, and brown foods—from cauliflower and chickpeas to rice, bananas, lentils, yams, tofu, and more—have a place in a healthy diet. They are nutritious and energizing in their own right, and are staples in traditional kitchens that are profoundly significant in ways that transcend their vitamin and mineral composition. Instead of trying to avoid these less colorful foods, think of them as another shade in your rainbow of healthy eating, with their own unique texture, flavor and nutritional benefits.
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