The Color Code: A Revolutionary Eating Plan For Optimum Health [Paperback]

James Joseph (Author), Daniel Nadeau (Author), Anne Underwood (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 19, 2003

olor cures! That's the simple premise behind The Color Code. While we all know that healthy eating is the key to a long life, few people understand why the natural pigments that give fruits and vegetables their color can help protect your body too. Combining their expertise in aging and nutrition, a leading scientist and an outstanding physician show readers how to prevent the most common age-related illnesses through a simple multicolored eating plan. For generations, parents have been telling their children to eat their fruits and vegetables--The Color Code finally tells why.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The very pigments that make produce so vibrant are often what make it so beneficial, say the authors to this guide to eating by the color wheel; the red in tomatoes may protect against prostate cancer, for instance, while the yellow in turmeric seems to help ward off colon cancer. Joseph, a lead scientist at the USDA Human Nutrition Center on Aging, and Nadeau, clinical director of a diabetes center and a Tufts assistant professor, have teamed up with Newsweek reporter Underwood to offer readers an encyclopedia of richly hued foods. After a brief overview (e.g., what the authors eat to stay healthy and "What Phytochemicals Mean to You"), the authors plunge into the foods themselves, offering the low-down on everything from apples to yams. Eat 9-10 servings of vegetables a day, keep a color counter and buy organic, the authors suggest; recipes such as Sweet Pepper Vegetarian Chili and Buckwheat Pancakes with Blueberry Sauce (blueberries are a "virtual storehouse of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory compounds") round out the offerings in this accessible and encouraging paperback reprint.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

As scientists learn more about the disease-fighting compounds found in fruits and vegetables, it becomes clear that the more vibrantly colored the food, the more protection it may confer against specific diseases such as cancer, arthritis, and memory and vision loss pigment power, as it is called by the authors (Joseph is a lead scientist at the USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University). They recommend consuming nine to ten servings a day rather than the heavily promoted five-a-day, but the portions are small, and snacks and juices count. Libraries already owning David Heber's What Color Is Your Diet? (Regan Bks: HarperCollins, 2001) may not need to add this title, as both books cover substantially the same topic, with the exception of the nearly 80 recipes included here.

Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Hyperion (March 19, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786886218
• ISBN-13: 978-0786886210
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #324,807 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

51 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing Power of Fruits and Vegetables, August 26, 2002

By 

Cynthia Harriman - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Color Code: A Revolutionary Eating Plan For Optimum Health (Hardcover)

Mom always said to eat your vegetables. But if she failed to convince you, "The Color Code" takes up where Mom left off. This book is a compelling and well-researched argument for the many ways in which vegetables-and fruits-contribute vitally to health.

We should all eat a rainbow of 9-10 brightly-colored fruits and veggies daily, explain co-authors Joseph, Nadeau and Underwood-not just strive for "5 a day" while repeating the same limited repertoire of pale foods. Color matters because many of the most amazing nutrients are in the pigments that color fruits and vegetables.

You may have heard of some of these pigments, without realizing they were actually pigments. Beta-carotene, an antioxidant that helps the body manufacture Vitamin A, is the orange pigment in carrots and sweet potatoes. Lycopene, touted in the media with headlines like "tomato sauce prevents prostate cancer," is the red pigment in watermelon and pink grapefruit as well as in tomatoes. Lutein, which studies recently tagged as key to eyesight, is found in greens like spinach, kale and even parsley. Once the authors explain that each pigment color has different health-giving properties, it's easy to understand why "eating the rainbow" is important.

Most of these pigments are antioxidants. If you've heard this term before but have had trouble understanding what antioxidants are and why so many diseases are linked to oxidative stress in our bodies, read "The Color Code." It caps a very understandable section on antioxidants with the following paragraph:

"If you want to see antioxidants at work, one place to look is your own kitchen. If you've ever sliced an apple and watched it turn brown, you've seen the effects of oxidation. But what if you dip the apple slices in lemon juice first, as many recipes recommend? Then you can boldly let the apple slices sit out and dare them to turn brown. The vitamin C in the lemon juice is a potent antioxidant, and it will intercept the oxygen before it can strike the fruit. [p. 12]"

As this example hints, "The Color Code" is well-structured and engagingly written. The three authors-Jim Joseph, a nutrition researcher at Tufts; Dr. Dan Nadeau, a diabetes specialist; and Anne Underwood, a Newsweek health reporter-introduce themselves early on, giving the text an approachable personality. Tight writing and solid scientific references balance the folksy tone, ensuring that "The Color Code" doesn't read like a fad diet-guru book.

After the introductions and overview are chapters on each of the four pigment-color groups: red, orange-yellow, green, and blue-purple. Within each of these chapters are separate entries for 8-14 different fruits or vegetables. Each entry lists the food's pigments, its other phytonutrients, and its vitamins, then proceeds with a sales pitch including everything from scientific research to cooking tips-whatever the authors think will convince you to Eat This Now. Who knew that blueberries could reverse the effects of aging in rats, or that lemon-zest may prevent skin cancer?

While the book recommends a "semi-vegetarian" diet, its authors readily admit that you should eat more than just fruits and vegetables. A general chapter on nutrition advises that whole grains should cover half your plate at mealtime, with vegetables making up another 30-40% and the remaining 10-20% given to healthy proteins (legumes, fish or poultry). Sensible advice on essential fats, portion control and exercise rounds out this chapter, which ends with a sample 7-day meal plan.

Since it's easy for good intentions to slip away from us, "The Color Code" includes a scoring system to help reinforce new "rainbow eating" habits. The goal is to score 100 Color Points every day. You get 10 points for every serving (serving sizes are roughly 1/2 cup). But, since variety is important and some foods are healthier than others, you get 5 bonus points for a) eating something from the authors' Top Ten list b) covering all four color-groups in one day c) drinking two cups of tea or d) eating a fruit or veggie you haven't had in the previous year. It's a catchy system that may appeal to some folks, but others may prefer the simplicity of just remembering to eat lots of different brightly-colored fruits and vegetables.

The book concludes with about 75 recipes and a bibliography detailing the many research studies referred to in the color chapters. My few minor criticisms of The Color Code stem from these two sections. The recipes are simple and easy, reproduced from other sources in most cases (appropriate, since the authors aren't dieticians or cooks). But I'm surprised to see white rice-even high-glycemic sushi rice-included several times despite the authors' earlier exhortations to eat whole grains. The recipes are sometimes a bit hard-core satfat phobic, too, calling for egg substitutes and no-fat salad dressings, where I'd be inclined to use a real egg and a dash of olive oil. As for the bibliography, it's useful but actual footnotes or page references might be even more helpful, allowing those intrigued by the text to more readily research the original study.

I highly recommend "The Color Code." While its authors readily admit that some of the research cited is preliminary-scientists are just beginning to learn about plant pigments and phytonutrients-I'll happily eat more fruits and veggies now, rather than waiting for long-term double-blind studies to be completed.

The authors say it best: "...if greengrocers had the marketing muscle of drug companies, we would all be racing to try this miracle regimen. Patients would demand that their doctors prescribe it. Consumers would flock to the produce aisles to snap up these lifesaving foods....Again and again, the same bottom line emerges: whole foods-colorful foods-deliver protection against a broad range of ailments."

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Most incredible and so informative!, September 11, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The Color Code: A Revolutionary Eating Plan For Optimum Health (Hardcover)

This book is so simple to read and once you start you don't want to put it down. The first few pages make you want to run out to the grocery store and hit the produce isle. It honestly makes you change your entire way of thinking when it comes to eating. You'll want that fruit salad rather than the candy bar. It's just such' a GREAT and easy to read and so easy to absorb book! Everyone is getting one for christmas!

Happy eating-

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cutting Edge Nutrition Advice, July 10, 2002

By 

K. B. Loss "emeraldbaybooks" (Laguna Beach, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Color Code: A Revolutionary Eating Plan For Optimum Health (Hardcover)

I've always known it's important to eat my fruits and veggies...but I usually stuck with a few favorites such as carrots, tomatoes, and apples UNTIL I read Joseph and Nadeau's very exciting and well-written book, The Color Code. Their work at Tufts University is on the cutting edge of studying the benefits of the many phytochemicals in colorful fruits and veggies. Their research and citations are impressive -- these are no diet quacks out to make a buck -- and their message is clearly and persuasively written: Eat a rainbow of deep colored fruits and veggies everyday to take advantage of the virtual pharmacopia of substances provided by them, enhance your health, and help prevent age-related diseases. My children and I have had lots of fun in the produce aisle looking for deep colored new vegetables to try since reading this cutting edge addition to the nutritional field.