“Eat your Colors” is a phrase used by the 5-A-Day produce marketing program that promotes the consumption of fruits and vegetables for their health benefits. This is a deeply interesting topic to me as a physician, consumer and an organic vegetable and fruit grower.

• As a family physician, I regularly see people struggling with real-life consequences of poor dietary choices as well as other unhealthy habits, ie: smoking and lack of exercise. People I care about are struggling with heart disease, cancer, stroke and complications of diabetes including blindness, kidney failure, amputations – in addition to the daily needlesticks, hundreds of dollars on medications, and frequent trips to the doctor. An ounce of prevention is worth more than a pound of cure!
• As a consumer, I am interested in information that will help me make healthy choices for my family. I am frustrated by the proliferation and promotion of unhealthy food products and the scarcity and cost of truly nutritious foods in many grocery stores and restaurants. I am looking for value.
• As an organic farmer, I am seeking to provide my customer with value—the highest quality, most nutritious products and accurate information regarding their health benefits.

“Eat your Colors” is a reflection of the exciting and on-going research revealing the tremendous health benefits derived from consuming a diet rich in fruits and vegetables. Much of this research has seemed to indicate that the benefits are due not only to vitamin, mineral and fiber content but also to the phytochemicals and anti-oxidants found in fruits and vegetables. Phytochemicals are plant compounds, often associated with color, that appear to provide significant benefits towards health maintenance. Anti-oxidants are plant substances that neutralize free-radicals in the body. Free-radicals are unstable oxygen molecules that cause cellular damage leading to aging and diseases such as coronary artery disease and cancer.

One study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, showed a 31% decreased risk of ischemic stroke (same mechanism as a heart attack) in women consuming 5-8 servings of fruit/ vegetables per day. The lowest risk was associated with the highest consumption of cruciferous vegetables (cabbage family). Another study found a decreased risk of cardiovascular disease with greater vegetable consumption. Studies have also linked increased fruit and vegetable intake with decreased risk of certain cancers. Much research has also been done on specific types of produce. One example is the apparent benefit of cherries on osteoarthritis. A great deal of information is available on the Web as well as through various produce associations.

Why should this interest farmers?
1. For our own health and well-being!
2. We should be at least as aware as consumers of the health benefits of our products. Ideally, producers will lead the way in educational efforts.
3. Some research is indicating that, despite their popularity, supplements do not provide the same benefits as does the actual consumption of fruits and vegetables. To quote Doug Wiley, president of The Colorado Organic Producers‚ Association, “Health comes from the farm, not the pharmacy.”
4. Public educational efforts should lead to increased markets, i.e. schools, as awareness and demand increases.
5. Growers can use this information directly with their buyers to increase sales recognizing that healthy customers live longer to buy more produce and that healthy farmers live longer to produce more!

Utilizing this information:
1. Use it on signage and recipes. Pass out information to your customers. Use this information as promotion for your farmers’ markets.
2. Incorporate this in your school tours and other educational activities.
3. Provide recipes that include as many colors as possible and gear them toward your customers. Working moms are looking for different types of ideas than “foodies.” Recipes don’t need to be elaborate – even the verbal suggestion of sautéed Italian zucchini and peppers added to spaghetti sauce adds great flavor along with significantly increased nutrition.
4. Consider letting this information influence your product line. For instance, grow a dark green zucchini instead of a lighter green – the darker is associated with higher lutein levels to help preserve eyesight-and tell your customers. Consider growing multiple colors of beans, zucchini, peppers, onions, cauliflower and cabbage. Multiple colors also make beautiful displays and increase sales.
5. Consider having a consistent message with what you offer. If you are stressing the healthfulness of your product line should you be selling candy, pop and chips? Consider using only healthful ingredients in your value-added products (ie: avoiding hydrogenated fats, white flour, sugar etc).
6. Don’t overstate the research but do stay current on the research for your products. Bear in mind that most diseases are a result of many factors of which nutrition is only one. A special word of caution to organic growers: while intuition leads us to believe that healthier soils produce healthier crops and there is some tantalizing research in that direction, to date there is no solid basis to state this as fact. It may turn out that higher nutrient levels are also multi-factorial including climactic variations. It is reasonable to say that organic production appears safer for the environment (water, beneficials etc.).

Resources:
•The 5 a Day program is a public/private organization dedicated to increasing public awareness. Web sites: www.5aday.com and www.5aday.gov. Also, www.aboutproduce.com
•Your state land-grant university and cooperative extension are also great resources. Lots of research has been done at these universities.

Claudia Ferrell, is a family practice doctor and the co-owner with her husband, Tim Ferrell, of Berry Patch Farm in Brighton, Colorado.