Health watch: Are you eating the right colours?

Are you balancing your carbohydrates with the calories and the fibre with the protein?

Now, how about paying close attention to the colours of your diet? Surprised? Read on.

While having a balanced diet is important to keep a body nourished, you may also want to learn how colours can play an important role in the integration of your diet to your day-to-day life.

Colours act as visual and physical cues and can affect your daily mood, behaviour and goals.

How do food colours affect you?

Colours are nothing but frequencies. Each frequency has a different effect, physically and emotionally. Knowing the properties of colours can help you plan your meals accordingly. Incorporate these in your diet to help suit your personality, mood and goals.

For instance, eating something red as part of your meal each day can add to the digestive capability of your body. An apple or tomato salad would do the trick. The colour red acts as a cue for higher metabolism and activity.

On the other hand, greens in your food replenish natural health and vitality.

Including a dose of beans or spinach or peas in your daily meal can ensure you stay hydrated (from a colour perspective) and healthy.

If you are on a weight loss program, it would help to drink plenty of yellow fruit juices (eg: sweet lime or pineapple). The colour yellow enhances physical activity and energy and helps burn the extra calories.

If you want to add on a few kilos, make sure you include adequate blue in your diet. This could be in the form of blueberries or healthy smoothies made of other blue fruits. And while blue may be tougher to find, you could include blue cheese (Roquefort) or blue cabbage in your salads.

Purple is a colour for stress relief and it helps relax the body. Purple cabbages, beetroot and brinjals can bring their calming purple influences to your hi-stress power lunches and dinners.

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White food and drink act as cleansing agents. You can use white foods to help you get through tough times in your relationships or to help overcome negative issues. Choosing to include plenty of milk, cauliflowers and white mushrooms in your diet keeps you cleansed and happy.

Quick tips

A colour-balanced healthy meal in 10 minutes

Pastas come in different colours. Throw together coloured pasta of your choice with fresh vegetables and olive oil. Garnish for a quick and healthy colour balanced meal in just 10 minutes.

Colour your cocktail party

At your next cocktail party, try and use as many different coloured fruits and ingredients to colour your margaritas and long island ice teas. Label each drink with its characteristic colour property.

For instance, name your yellow mango margarita 'fitness freak' and your coconut pina-colada the 'cleansing potion'. Watch people choose their drinks. There may be a story behind their choice.

(The author is an alternative therapist, meditation instructor and art and decor enthusiast)

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