Eat Like a Rainbow ~ Red & Orange ~ Bring on the Carotenoids (Green Tea & Chocolate: The Cancer Slayer Chronicles )

The produce section of the grocery store -- or the stalls at the Farmers' Market -- are such colorful places. A literal rainbow of food choices.

Color matters. Each color represents particular phytonutrients, vitamins & minerals -- each with specific life-saving benefits.

Many of us eat "5 a day" as the FDA recommends, but we eat 5 of the same pale-colored fruits and vegetables. Apples, bananas, celery...

While apples & bananas are very good and rock in the portability department, I've taken up a new challenge lately: to eat the entire rainbow each day: Red, orange, yellow, green, purple. Tomatoes, carrots, pineapple, yellow bell pepper, kale, nori, blue-berries, grapes...

I find the foods on the "warm" side of the color spectrum particularly attractive, and for good reason. Red, orange, yellow/green vegetables are rich carotenoids. Carotenoids are chemical compounds that absorb light and determine the color in fruits and vegetables. In our bodies they make their way to specific tissues and organs, where they have been shown to protect against DNA damage, thereby preventing heart disease and certain cancers.

Pink grapefruits are in season now. And oh so delicious! They are rich in lycopene, which is one of the most potent free radical scavengers in nature. (Free radicals are unstable molecules that damage healthy cells as they travel through the body. They are produced naturally by the body as it uses oxygen to convert digested food into energy. Liver spots, cataracts, cancer, and other degenerative diseases are all the result of free-radical damage.**)

Sweet potatoes are another richly colored food that is in season now. Sweet potatoes are full of alpha-and beta-carotene, which are carotenoids and very effective antioxidents. They protect against cancer by preventing oxidation damage, reducing the multiplication of cancer cells, and eliminating tumors. Plus, they're chock-full of vitamin A, vitamin C, magnesium, and potassium. Wow!

Sweet Potato Pancakes adapted from Pam Stearns

Cancer-fighting powers:

Sweet Potato ~ Bright-colored (orange, red, yellow, green) fruits and vegetables contain vitamin A and lycopene, which have the proven capacity to inhibit the growth of cells of several cancer lines, including brain gliomas. Lycopene stimulates the growth of immune cells and increases their capacity to attack tumor cells. A study that tracked breast cancer patients for six years showed that those who consumed the most foods rich in carotenoids lived longer than those who consumed less. (Ingram, D "Diet and Subsequent Survival in Women with Breast Cancer," British Journal of Cancer 69, no 3 (1994)).

Ginger ~ Ginger root is a powerful antiinflammatory and an antioxidant (more effective than vitamin E) and has protective effects. It acts against certain cancer cells. Moreover, it helps reduce the creation of new blood vessels (needed by cancer cells to survive). *

Cinnamon ~ Like ginger, cinnamon is a powerful antiinflammatory and an antixidant, even more so than blueberries and pomagranate juice. One teaspoon helps to lower blood pressure and LDL cholesterol and may help prevent Type 2 diabetes. Just half a teaspoon a day can help regulate blood sugar. (Penn State (2011, August 11). Antioxidant spices, like turmeric and cinnamon, reduce negative effects of high-fat meal. ScienceDaily)

1/2 cup: all-pupose white flour and whole wheat flour (each)

1 TBSP of your favorite sweetener (agave, honey, maple syrup, sugar...)

1/2 tsp: baking powder and salt (each)

1/4 tsp: baking soda, ground cinnamon, grated nutmeg, and ground ginger (each)

1/2 cup roasted sweet potato puree (approx. 1/4th of a large sweet potato)

1 large egg

3/4 cup milk

Directions:

Roast the sweet potato (wash, place on a cookie sheet in a 350-degree oven for 50-60 min). Slice the sweet potato in half length-wise and scoop the inerds into a measuring cup. Mash with a fork. Set aside.

Combine the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.

In a small bowl, combine the wet ingredients, including the sweet potato puree.

Add the wet to the dry, adding more milk if it seems too stiff. Should not be soupy, but should not be overly thick either.

Heat a skillet over medium heat. Add a pat of butter to greace.

When hot, drop the batter on to the skillet. I like to make "silver dollar" pancakes using 1 TBSP-scoops of batter at a time. A skant 1/4 cup of batter would make a "regular" size pancake.

Flip when bubbles begin to break on the surface, 3-4 minutes.

Cook for only a couple minutes more on the second side.

Adjust your heat if the outside is scorching before the inside is fully cooked. These are dense pancakes.

Enjoy!

*Cancer-fighting nutritional info comes from David Servan-Schreiber, MD, PhD: Anticancer: A New Way of Life.

** Color-related health info comes from What Color is Your Diet? by David Herber, MD, Ph.D.and Susan Bowerman, and The Color Code by James A Joseph, Ph.D., Daniel A Nadeau, MD, and Anne Underwood.