A List of Healthy Food to Lower Your Risk of Disease and Improve Your Life

Following this list of healthy food will allow your body to perform at optimal strength. The more varied and colorful the foods you eat, the longer and more satisfying your life will become!

I won't dive into the extremely complex world of why blueberries, or any other specific foods, are so good for you. This information is not well understood and extremely complex, and I don't feel it is very important, either. It is enough to know that because of the different wavelengths of the sun's rays that are being reflected, different colored fruits and vegetables contain different types of antioxidants. This is why blueberries are often praised as being a superfood, they are the only blue fruit OR vegetable under the sun.

Getting nutrients from supplements is inadequate. There are so many different compounds in fruits and vegetables that aid in health, you cannot possibly reap the benefits from isolated nutrients without their digestive enzymes. It is best to consume as wide of a variety as possible of colorful raw {organic} fruits and vegetables.¹ It is no accident that we humans can see in color while most animals cannot! Use it to your advantage!

Besides fruits and vegetables, this list of healthy food includes legumes (beans), nuts, seeds, and grains. These foods are not nearly as healthy or essential as fruits and vegetables (note the colors), but, when sprouted, their nutritional values go up 300-1200%! Because of the huge nutritional and caloric gain from sprouting legumes, nuts, seeds, and grains, consuming lots of sprouts is the cheapest way to eat healthy besides growing your own organic fruits and vegetables.

What this list of healthy food does not contain is animal products. Due to their lack of nutrients to calories to fat ratio, and the huge correlation between animal protein consumption and disease, they have no place in a healthy food list. If you want omega-3, flax seed has more than 9 times as much omega-3 as fish.

When deciding what foods to add to your grocery list, it's good practice to buy at least one thing you have never tried before! Your only risk is a few dollars. Who knows, maybe an item from this healthy list of food will become your new favorite! (I have bolded my favorite foods based on living in Southern California. Foods taste best closest to where they originate; tropical fruits like papaya are amazing in Central and South America, but can taste quite bland in the States).

Fruits

• Red - apples, cherries, cranberries, grapes, guavas, grapefruits, pomegranates, raspberries, strawberries, tomatoes, watermelons.
  
  
• Orange - apricots, cape gooseberries, cantaloupes (melons), clementines, grapefruits, mandarin oranges, oranges, papayas, peaches, persimmons, nectarines, tangerines, tangelos.
  
  
• Yellow - apples, bananas, figs, lemons, golden kiwis, mangos, pears, pineapples, tomatoes.
  
  
• Green - apples, avocados, cucumbers, grapes, green peas, honeydews, kiwis, limes, olives, pears.
  
  
• Blue - blueberries.
  
  
• Purple - black curants, blackberries, elderberries, grapes, plums.
  
  
• Brown - dates, figs, olives, (bosc) pears.
  
  
• White - nectarines, peaches.
  
  

Vegetables

• Red - beets, bell peppers, rainbow chard, onions, potatoes, radishes, rhubarb.
  
  
• Orange - bell peppers, butternut squash, carrots, pumpkins, sweet potatoes.
  
  
• Yellow - beets, bell peppers, corn, onions, potatoes, rainbow chard, squashes, rutabaga (yellow turnip).
  
  
• Green - artichokes, asparagus, bell peppers, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, celery, chards, collard greens, kale, kelp, leeks, lettuce, mustard greens, nori, onions, okra, pees, snow peas, spinach, sugar snap peas, wakame, watercress, zucchini.
  
  
• Blue - no blue veggies!
  
  
• Purple - asparagus, cabbage, carrots, dulse, eggplant, hijiki, potatoes, peppers, turnips.
  
  
• Brown - alaria, arame,Jerusalem artichokes, mushrooms, potatoes.
  
  
• White - cauliflower, corn, garlic, ginger, jicama, kohlrabi, onions, parsnips.
  
  

Legumes

• Black beans
• Black-eyed peas
• Broad beans (fava beans)
• Chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
• Edamame (soybeans)
• Great Northern beans
• Kidney beans
• Lima beans
• Lentils
• Mung beans
• Navy beans
• Pinto beans
• Peas
• Peanuts (not a nut!)

Nuts and Seeds

• Acorns
• Almonds
• Brazilnuts
• Cashews
• Chestnuts
• Coconuts
• Filberts
• Hazelnuts
• Macadamia nuts
• Pistachios
• Flax seeds
• Sunflower seeds
• Pumpkin seeds

Grains

• Amaranth
• Barley
• Brown rice
• Buckwheat*
• Bulgur (cracked wheat)
• Flax seeds
• Millet
• Oats
• Quinoa*
• Rye
• Spelt
• Wheat
• Wheat berries*
• Wild rice

Cooking Oils, Sweeteners, and Salt.

• Virgin cold-pressed coconut oil (the healthiest, especially for cooking)
• Virgin cold-pressed olive oil
• Raw unfiltered honey
• Celtic sea salt

Click here for practical Healthy Eating Guidelines.

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1. Cousens G, MD. "The Rainbow Diet."