Most of the child nutritionists say that kids need to eat a variety of colorful fruits and vegetables every day. In a seminar in a preschool in Cerritos Ca where anxious parents asked about the ideal diet for the children, the nutritionist answered that no single fruit or vegetable provides all the needed nutrition in an adequate amount. By using a rainbow as a guide, parents can ensure that children benefit from a wide range of vitamins and minerals. When you provide colorful rainbow fruits and vegetables, it makes children interested to eat them because color always attracts them. Eating red, green, orange, purple, yellow fruits make eating a funny and happy experience.

Because of the presence of phytonutrients, plants and vegetables are so colorful. Plants foods contain thousands of natural chemicals which are called as phytonutrients or phytochemicals. These phytochemicals are responsible to give plant foods their unique color. For example, tomato is red or spinach is green for the presence of these phytochemicals or phytonutrients. Eating colorful fruits and vegetables helps protect kids from cancer and other chronic diseases. Within each different color, different disease-fighting chemicals are present and regular intake of it makes children strong and healthy.

There are more than 25000 phytonutrients identified in different types of fruits and vegetables. It is not easy to keep in the mind the name of the all nutrients. So, to make it easy to understand, some of the main nutrients are divided into five color categories along with a few of their health benefits. The main five food groups are Red food group, orange and yellow food group, purple and blue food group, green food group, and white food group.

A dietician in a preschool in Cerritos CA gives some information to parents about different food groups.

Nutritionists think that red group food lowers the risk of prostate cancer and may help reduce DNA damage to the cells because of the presence of two phytonutrients – Lycopene and Ellagic acid.

Red apples, cranberries, tomatoes, watermelon, pomegranate, etc. fruit belong to this group.

Because of the presence of phytonutrients anthocyanidins and resveratrol blue and purple fruits and vegetables help and support brain development. It also helps to increase verbal memory performance in children with some mild challenges. Apart from it, these phytonutrients have antioxidant properties. Eggplants, beets, plums, blue and blackberries, grapes, etc, belong to this group.

Green fruits and vegetables like lettuce, spinach, broccoli, beans, etc. improve the health of the cells, lungs, hearts, and eyesight of a child.

White foods like cauliflower, garlic, onions, and mushrooms help to maintain the healthy bones of children.

Yellow and orange fruits and vegetables like orange, pineapple, lemon, carrot, papaya, contain powerful antioxidants and a very important vitamin – vitamin A. Encourage your children to eat orange food regularly. It helps to boost the immune system.

Nutrition cum dietician in a preschool in Cerritos CA says that to get an adequate amount of nutrients they recommend eating fresh and raw fruits as much as possible because not all phytonutrients survive heat and processing.