Customer Reviews

The Color Code: A Revolutionary Eating Plan For Optimum Health

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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."

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-

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.

A friend told me about this book and how much the concepts when applied, had helped her feel so much better - and healthier! I have been following the ideas for around 4 weeks now and couldn't agree more. Even though my goal was not to lose weight, I've lost 10 pounds just by eating better - according to color! And believe it or not, I feel better as well. Buy this book and a bright highlighter. You'll soon be marking your favorite brightly colored foods - and then filling your grocery cart with them. Well written, easy to understand and chock full of references - it simply makes sense.

It is now 5 months later since I first reviewed this book and I've loaned out my copy to several people - all are experiencing similar results as I have. I continue to eat "by color", my weight has stayed off, I can't remember when I was last sick and what was merely a good book has become a terrific reference book. If you forget what particular benefits a certain color food has - simply look it up - layed out clearly in the book - by color of course!

NOTE: It is now January 2007 and I continue to eat according to "colors". My weight has stayed off, I was not sick even one day in 2006 and every week I fill up a plastic container (for work snacks) filled with vegetable color!

I see Dr. Nadeau for assistance in my weight loss & I use his book as my guide when he is not available for answering my questions. It is an awesome book. I am losing weight with excersizes he has recommended for me & the diet he has worked out for me personally. You will not be disappointed in purchasing this book.

I found the information in this book to be thought provoking enough to actually begin to implement the recommendations. We have always known that eating fruits and vegetables are good for us but the information provided here drives the point home. The scientific evidence presented is good and the authors seem to be pretty careful not to make unsubstantiated claims. They distinguish between studies that provide a degree of evidence and inferences that do not have clear cut support. The writing is clear, not sensationalistic but not patronizing either. The bibliography is appreciated and strengthens the value of their writing. Recommended if the subject interests you.

If you want to eat in a healthy manner, buy this book. It will tell you everything your Mother and Grandmother told you, and we always knew they were right, anyway. This book makes it very easy, simple and economic to buy the proper foods for the best nutrition. I am amazed at the concise manner in which this material has been presented; everyone can read and enjoy this book, as well as benefit from its contents. And you will be healthier, and you will feel better for it.

This book has been a great help to me! It's taught me the right way to eat-more fruits and vegetables-without being hungry or bored. I've lost 12 pounds, have more energy and my mind seems sharper!

This book is wonderful and exciting to read, it has changed the way I look at my plate. It has started me on a hhuge blueberry kick that has improved my health. If you are into a healthy life style you need this book.

Book The color Code is closer to the truth about human dietition, but in few ways still far of it, because the author is still being considered an official medical guidelines - medical science is as a seudo recognised "science" processed with errors in at least 95%.

In this confused doctors' scientific world The Color Code is a good guide, which might led you quite to the real life science - if you have your own desire for it. I highly recommend it.

Alois Kolar, Practitoner of Natural Health
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