All fruits and veggies contain antioxidants which are mini warriors that protect our bodies. Despite there being thousands of different antioxidants they each have different roles. Purple fruits and vegetables contain an antioxidant called Anthocyanin which is increasingly being studied for its benefits to our health. Some available research is exploring potential associations between anthocyanin-rich foods and general health and wellbeing.
I myself got a bit stumped when I was trying to think of purple foods and couldn't name more than 2, but in fact, there's so many that we can incorporate into our diets. Here are the purple foods and their additional benefits as well as the power of Anthocyanins.
Key points
- Purple pigment, real benefit. Purple fruits and vegetables contain anthocyanin, an antioxidant increasingly being studied for its benefits to our health.
- More purple than you think. Blueberries, beetroot, eggplant, plums, blackberries and many more are easy to add to your diet.
- Extra nutrients too. Each purple food brings its own vitamins and minerals, from vitamin C and fibre to iron and potassium.
- Balance is key. Add pops of colour to your diet rather than switching to an all-purple diet.
- Short on time. Greens powders such as Clean Greens deliver purple food extracts when you can't prepare fresh.
Purple foods and their benefits
- Blueberries: also provide a great deal of Vitamin C and contain soluble fibre.
- Pomegranate: maybe between red and purple but still included in the purple family. It also has vitamin A, C, E and iron.
- Purple sweet potato: although there are some studies in the Japanese population showing benefits for brain health and longevity there is limited research in the western population.
- Beetroot: has so many different health benefits. It contains a range of vitamins and minerals, including iron, manganese and potassium. They are also high in nitrates.
- Purple Cauliflower: vitamin C, fibre and potassium
- Purple Asparagus: tastes like regular asparagus but is loaded with vitamin C and has high antioxidant levels
- Purple Grapes: high levels of Vitamin K, potassium, Vitamin B and C
- Eggplant: high antioxidant levels
- Plums: Vitamin A and C supporting our immune system
- Blackberries: loaded with fibre, micronutrients, folate, potassium and manganese
- Passionfruit: contains an additional antioxidant called Piceatannol, which is being studied for its potential role in skin appearance.
- Purple Cabbage: fibre, Vitamin A and C and high antioxidant levels
You can see how easy it would be to incorporate some of these foods into your diet but remember balance is key. But adding pops of colour to your diet will always be of benefit.
Important: This doesn't mean go on an all-purple diet!
Supplements with purple food extracts
Do you want some supplements which are full of Purple Food extracts for when you just don't have enough time to prepare, please see below. A staff favorite is the clean greens!
Greens+
Clean Greens is a comprehensive, all-in-one greens powder that delivers a potent boost of wholefood sourced nutrients, providing the strong foundations you need for optimal wellbeing and vitality.
- 78 different high nutrient super foods and ingredients
- No Artificial Colours, Flavours & Sweeteners
- Non-GMO
- Gluten and Wheat Free
Clean Greens is a delicious tasting, nutrient dense supplement that can be taken daily to help your body perform at its best.
see the greens range
Greens powders
A greens powder is typically a combination of concentrated wholefoods rich in polyphenols, anti-oxidants, minerals and vitamins to help support your daily nutrient requirements.
- Aids Digestion
- Supports general energy levels
- May support post-exercise general wellbeing
Switch has created the most effective, nutrient rich, healthiest and BEST TASTING REVITALISING GREENS POWDER possible! with the addition of 2000mg of highly bioavailable deep sea marine collagen and L-Glutamine, plus digestive enzymes and a patented probiotic blend, Vitality Switch may help support your general digestive wellbeing as part of a daily routine.
see the greens range
Super Greens is a nutritious superfood blend of 7 potent sprouts, grasses and algae to support general health and wellbeing. Created with antioxidant rich spirulina and chlorella, and gut-health friendly digestive enzymes, this natural supplement is a simple and effective way to up your daily dose of greens.
- May help support general energy and vitality
- Antioxidant Rich
- Digestive Enzymes
- Organic and GMO Free
Whether you're an athlete or simply looking to support your general health and wellbeing, PranaOn Super Greens is a convenient way to add more greens to your daily routine.
ORDER HERE!
Feel free to send us a message with any other purple foods or questions!
What are anthocyanins actually doing?
Anthocyanins are the pigments that make blueberries, blackberries, red cabbage, purple carrots and eggplant the colour they are. They belong to the flavonoid family and are the reason purple foods get singled out.
The honest position: they are genuinely interesting, and the evidence is mostly observational. Diets rich in anthocyanin-containing foods are associated with better cardiovascular markers in population studies. Isolating the anthocyanins and demonstrating the same effect from a supplement is a different and much harder problem, and it has not been convincingly done.
Eat the purple foods. Be sceptical of the extract.
Is "superfood" a real category?
No. It is a marketing term with no regulatory or scientific definition, and it is worth knowing that before spending money on the basis of it.
What the term reliably indicates is a higher price. Blueberries are excellent; so are the frozen ones at a third of the cost, which are picked riper and lose very little. Purple carrots are good; so are orange carrots.
Variety across the whole spectrum of coloured plants does more than concentrating on any single colour, because different pigment families bring different compounds.
Which purple foods are worth eating?
- Blueberries and blackberries. The most studied.
- Red cabbage. One of the highest anthocyanin foods by weight, and among the cheapest.
- Purple carrots and sweet potato.
- Eggplant, where the pigment is in the skin, so do not peel it.
- Blackcurrants and plums.
- Purple grapes, skin included.
Red cabbage is the one people overlook. It is inexpensive, keeps for weeks, and delivers more anthocyanin per dollar than any berry.
Can you have too much?
From food, no. Anthocyanins from fruit and vegetables have no established upper limit and are consumed safely in ordinary diets.
Concentrated extracts are a different question, simply because doses can far exceed what food provides and the long-term data is limited. That is a reason for mild caution about capsules rather than about eating blueberries.
Does any food tighten skin?
No single food does, and this is worth answering directly because it is a common search.
Skin firmness comes from collagen and elastin in the dermis. What genuinely affects them is well established and unglamorous: sun protection above all, not smoking, adequate protein, and vitamin C, which your body cannot synthesise collagen without.
A diet rich in colourful plants supports skin health as part of that picture. It does not tighten skin, and no food does.
More on this in how skin actually works.
Where supplements fit
Below food, for this one in particular.
A greens or antioxidant supplement is a reasonable top-up if your vegetable intake is genuinely low, and most Australian adults fall short of the recommended serves. What it is not is a replacement for the fibre, water and mixed compounds that come with eating the actual plant.
If you want one, Greens+ is our house-brand option and the greens range has the alternatives. Eating a red cabbage is cheaper.
