Bright, vibrant, sunny colours evoke feelings of joy, happiness, attraction. Red, yellow, magenta, vermillion and orange, how lucky we are, to inhabit such a magical planet full of natural wonders. And delicious fruit.
One of the great things about living in the tropics is the shining sun but also the rich colour palette constantly under my eyes here. Particularly when compared to a grey English winter afternoon. Lush jungle, bright blue sky, hundreds of colourful bird species and teal, sapphire to dark navy blue ocean.
Mango and papaya are tropical fruits most people are familiar with. Jackfruit and rambutan are somewhat more esoteric or unknown in the West but in bright yellow and red, commonly wonderful for me here.
Red, orange and yellow fruit is rich in beta carotene, a vitamin A like compound which is important for glowing skin, shining hair, good vision and to protect our DNA. Mango, papaya, pineapple also contain a plethora of enzymes like papain and bromelain, minerals and vitamins. Lycopene in tomatoes, resveratrol in red grapes and a lot of vitamin C, magnesium, potassium, and copper.
Are you one for bright colours or prefer black, brown, beige, 100 shades of grey?
The colours of fire, sunset and sunrise are generally energising, passionate, and positive. They can evoke romantic feelings of belonging, connection with others, and bring out the Soul a bit. Colours have a powerful influence on our subconscious and researchers discovered that brown and olive green are significantly less preferred than orange or yellow indeed. Colour has strong resonance and rules our choices in everything from the food we eat and the clothes we wear to the cars we buy. A brown Ferrari? No thanks.
When female baboons ovulate, their butts swell and go red, making it clear to available males that they are fertile. The swollen red bottom of a female baboon must be irresistible to male specimens. Rosy, glowing cheeks signals high oestradiol in human ladies, which promotes fertility. Red lips and shiny blonde hair have the ability to capture attention more than gold. And gold… the colour of success, achievement and triumph is yellow with just a tinge of copper brown.
Cooler shades include green, blue, and purple and are often more subdued than warm colors. I actually love green apples but I know, when it comes to fruit, it is no kid’s first choice.Yellow grapes are traditionally much sweeter than dark grapes (before industry made all grapes taste like candy). Cool colors remind us of night, water and are usually calming, relaxing, and somewhat reserved but still packed with health promoting goodies, think of blackberries and anthocyanins rich blueberries.
With colours comes an enticing scent a sweet taste no one can really resist! Fruit is luscious and what’s nicer on the brain than sweety sweet. Cherries are a natural food source of melatonin, bananas carry muscle relaxing potassium and magnesium.
The kind of natural sugar contained in fruit is mostly fructose and works very differently on the body if compared to glucose from starch, most people main carb intake. Fructose is metabolised by the liver and not immediately used as fuel source like glucose is. It is normally used to replenish glucose stores in the body (glycogen) and when in excess it can be turned into fat, and often visceral fat, the worse type, so balance is key. If your daily calorie intake is moderate, you’ll see no issue with fructose and whole fruit is highly recommended, on a daily basis, for the micronutrients it carries and high quality fibre too. A balanced diet will contain whole fruit (not juiced) to bring nourishment without the empty calories of food low in nutrients and high in calories like white grain products, processed meat and dairy.
Does shape matter? Mangos are plump and smooth, promising soft, juicy flesh under the yellow skin. Pineapples are much rugged, yet so interesting to look at the way they raise up from the plant. Aren’t figs, bananas and coconuts beautiful? Durian doesn’t look so pretty from the outside but crack it open and look at the rich, golden flash…. Mmm… irresistible. An extremely thick, ugly and spiky skin made to protect a mouthwatering core.
Durian is possibly Nature’s best dessert as it’s the only single food I can think of which is sweet and fat at the same time, like a delicious cake, just much healthier. The King of fruit packs around 6% of mostly mono-unsaturated fat and quite a bit of sugar.
Developing the fat theme further, olives and avocado are awesome enough and very high in healthy lipids but no sugar while most others are sweet and very low fat. As an Italian, what would I say about olives? The symbol of the olive tree has very deep roots in Greek and latin tradition; it symbolises wealth, health, beauty, wisdom and abundance. And no wonder, olive oil being recognised as one of the healthiest oils is a real gift of Nature, like avocado, the other notoriously healthy fatty fruit.
Have some fruit now and lots of fresh whole fruit all the time! The fruit category includes peppers, aubergines and even courgettes and pumpkin. I am not saying you should go Fruitarian, a rather interesting if a bit quirky small group of people who propose a diet exclusively based on fruit. With due respect and still keeping an open mind, I like balance and variety. A healthy measure of all macronutrients need to be represented in my plate. Fruit have tiny amounts of protein I am afraid, and way too much fructose for it to be the only food group in anyone’s meals.
With all the love of the world for healthy, balanced nutrition, I can only say fruit is really awesome, a true gift of God. Healthy, beautifully shaped, colourful and sweet. What more can anyone desire?