Most of us might be used to thinking about the almighty calorie when it comes to food. Or, we might have even gone further, adapted our palates and began a vigilant journey toward a balanced diet. However, how many of us have overlooked one of the most important, essential aspects of eating: colour?

Now, I don’t mean the dazzling array of synthetic colors we see in a handful of M&Ms or a bowl of morning cereal! but the true, honest-to-goodness natural colors found in the vast spectrum of whole foods: the earthy, deep red of a beetroot; the vibrant, sunset-orange of a nectarine; the sunshine brilliance of a pumpkin; the lush green of a bundle of spinach; the regal violet of a plump blueberry.

I have noticed that much of mainstream eating revolves around the merry-go-round of three colors: yellow, white, and brown. Take a moment to think of some popular, traditional food items: Ready-to-eat cereal and milk, waffles, pancakes, bacon, sausage, eggs, pasta, rice, bread… All items are yellow, white and/or brown. This lack of colour diversity effects every facet of our health and wellbeing.

On a scientific level, these natural colours in foods indicate the presence of phytonutrients. We get less than a teaspoon of these plant compounds on a daily basis, but they have a beneficial impact on reducing inflammation, balancing our stress response, and improving our insulin sensitivity. Phytonutrients are essential for the activation of all healthy metabolic functions.

The average Australian gets about 3.6 servings of fruits and vegetables daily, falling substantially short of the recommended nine servings. In fact, knowing this statistic along with the fact that eight out of 10 people fall short in color, I wonder whether we are in a state of “phytonutrient deficiency.” Is one of the reasons for the rapid increase in chronic disease over time due to our lack of color? Perhaps the Mediterranean diet is so successful, and yields such longevity, because it’s wildly colorful with its daily cornucopia of fresh vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, and spices.

On an energetic level, color has everything to do with the vibratory nature of a food. Every color carries with it a unique wavelength, a resonance, or frequency. No one color is better than the other. We may need certain frequencies at certain times more than others. Color is impacted by cooking. When vegetables are overcooked, they become bland. With each shade they release to the water they are cooked in or to the air that oxidizes them, they lose their vibrancy, or their life force. If we go further with toasting, grilling, baking, and frying to the degree that we move from the natural vibrant colors to brown or black, we have lost the vital spectrum of potential. These brown/black compounds have been shown in the scientific literature to be inflammatory and connected to premature aging.

Getting the array of colors is essential to nourishing each system in our body, both physiologically and spiritually. Here are some colours along with some food examples to get more of those precious vibrations through a variety of plant foods:

RED: Root chakra; needed for survival and stability. Red apples, beetroots, red cabbage, cherries, cranberries, pink grapefruit, red grapes, red peppers, pomegranates, red potatoes, radishes, raspberries, rhubarb, strawberries, tomatoes, watermelon.

ORANGE: Sacral chakra; creates flow and fluidity. Apricots, butternut squash, cantaloupe, carrots, grapefruit, mangoes, nectarines, oranges, papayas, peaches, persimmons, pumpkin, sweet potatoes.

YELLOW: Solar plexus chakra; wields the fiery power of transformation. bananas, bell peppers, corn, ginger root, greens, kale, lemon, pineapple, potatoes , star fruit.

GREEN: Heart chakra; allows for expansion into empathy and compassion. Green apples, artichokes, asparagus, avocados, green beans, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, green cabbage, cucumbers, green grapes, kiwi, lettuce, limes, green onions, peas, green peppers, spinach, zucchini.

AQUAMARINE: Throat chakra; enables authenticity and truth to come through our unique voice. Isn’t it interesting that we do not have aquamarine-colored foods?

BLUE-PURPLE: Third eye chakra, endows us with wisdom and intuition. Purple kale, purple cabbage, purple potatoes, eggplant, purple grapes, blueberries, blackberries, boysenberries, marionberries, raisins, figs, plums. And most people are chronically deficient in phytonutrients of this colour!

TAN-WHITE: Crown chakra; connects us to the life force that animates us. Cauliflower, garlic, coconut, onions, pears, shallots.

By getting a sprinkling of the spectrum every day, you feed all parts of you both physically as well as energetically, satisfying your requirement for diversity and balance.

Here is an exciting exercise for the whole family! try writing down everything you eat in a week, and then take colored markers or crayons to mark up your foods with the corresponding color so that at a glance, you can see where you are on the spectrum. Is it a piece of art with a spectrum of all colours? Or is it within the realm of a limited scheme of yellow, brown, and white?

Be your own food artist, embrace nature’s vivid colors, and enjoy the spectrum of vitality in return. Much love to your rhythm culture shakers!