Red Superfoods

Add these colourful foods to your daily diet to gain health benefits from each

Tomato

Pomegranate

Beetroot

Rosehip

Watermelon

Reds

Tomato

Plant Phytonutrients

Flavonoids (eg. Fisetin), Carotenoids (eg. Lycopene), Vitamin C, Antioxidants

Benefits

Helps in flushing out the free radicals in the body, effective role in reducing inflammatory and metabolic disorder.
Decreases the total plasma cholesterol level, triglycerides, and increases high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol.
Reduction in risk of cardiovascular diseases and cancer, reduces cardiometabolic health and oxidative stress.
Plays vital role in regulating immune system and reducing inflammation.

Source

A. Carr and S. Maggini, “Vitamin C and immune function,”Nutrients, vol. 9, no. 11, p. 1211, 2017.
P. Valderas-Martinez, G. Chiva-Blanch, R. Casas et al.,“Tomato sauce enriched with olive oil exerts greater effects on cardiovascular disease risk factors than raw tomato and tomato sauce: a randomized trial,” Nutrients, vol. 8, no. 3, p. 170, 2016.

Reds

Pomegranate

Plant Phytonutrients

Polyphenols (Hydrolysable Tannins and Anthocyanins), Flavonoids, Fatty acids (Punicalagins and Punicic acid), Alkaloids, Fibres, Proteins, Folate, Potassium, Antioxidants

Benefits

Has demonstrated lowering of inflammation markers by 32% in diabetic people.
Slows cancer cells growth and induces apoptosis.
Has shown significant reduction in blood pressure and cardiovascular health.

Source

Pomegranate: 10 Health and Nutritional Benefits By Lauren Panoff, MPH, RD for Healthline — Medically reviewed by Alissa Palladino, MS, RDN, LD, CPT, Nutrition, Personal Training
Sohrab G, Nasrollahzadeh J, Zand H, Amiri Z, Tohidi M, Kimiagar M. Effects of pomegranate juice consumption on inflammatory markers in patients with type 2 diabetes: A randomized, placebo-controlled trial. J Res Med Sci. 2014 Mar;19(3):215-20.
Sineh Sepehr K, Baradaran B, Mazandarani M, Khori V, Shahneh FZ. Studies on the Cytotoxic Activities of Punica granatum L. var. spinosa (Apple Punice) Extract on Prostate Cell Line by Induction of Apoptosis. ISRN Pharm. 2012;2012:547942.
Shirode AB, Kovvuru P, Chittur SV, Henning SM, Heber D, Reliene R. Antiproliferative effects of pomegranate extract in MCF-7 breast cancer cells are associated with reduced DNA repair gene expression and induction of double strand breaks. Mol Carcinog. 2014 Jun;53(6):458-70.
Stoe CB. The effects of pomegranate juice consumption on blood pressure and cardiovascular health. Complement Ther Clin Pract. 2011 May;17(2):113-5.
Asgary S, Keshvari M, Sahebkar A, Hashemi M, Rafieian-Kopaei M. Clinical investigation of the acute effects of pomegranate juice on blood pressure and endothelial function in hypertensive individuals. ARYA Atheroscler. 2013 Nov;9(6):326-31.

Reds

Beetroot

Plant Phytonutrients

Betalains, Phenolic Acids, Nitrates, Flavonoids, Carotenoids, Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid), Antioxidants

Benefits

Helps prevent various chronic diseases such as inflammation, dyslipidemia, and oxidative stress.
Significant reduction in inflammation in hypersensitive people.
Reduces blood pressure and hypertension.
Improved clinical outcomes in diseases like atherosclerosis, type 2 diabetes and dementia.

Source

P. Rahimi, S. Abedimanesh, S. A. Mesbah-Namin, and A. Ostadrahimi, “Betalains, the nature-inspired pigments, in health and diseases,” Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, 2018, In press.
S. Asgary, M. R. Afshani, A. Sahebkar et al., “Improvement of hypertension, endothelial function and systemic inflammation following short-term supplementation with red beet (Beta vulgaris L.) juice: a randomized crossover pilot study,” Journal of Human Hypertension, vol. 30, no. 10, pp. 627–632, 2016.
Turner JM, Spatz ES. Nutritional Supplements for the Treatment of Hypertension: A Practical Guide for Clinicians. Curr Cardiol Rep. 2016 Dec;18(12):126.

Reds

Rosehip

Plant Phytonutrients

Carotenoids (Lycopene and Beta Carotene), Antioxidants, Vitamin C, Catechins, Quercetin, Ellagic Acid

Benefits

Helps prevent our body from inflammation and oxidative stress.
Helps in improving skin health by enhancing collagen synthesis and also modulates immune health.
Significantly improves the moisture content and elasticity of skin.
Leads to significant reductions in blood pressure, LDL (bad) cholesterol and total cholesterol.

Source

Mármol I, Sánchez-de-Diego C, Jiménez-Moreno N, Ancín-Azpilicueta C, Rodríguez-Yoldi MJ. Therapeutic Applications of Rose Hips from Different Rosa Species. Int J Mol Sci. 2017 May 25;18(6):1137.
Oudemans-van Straaten HM, Spoelstra-de Man AM, de Waard MC. Vitamin C revisited. Crit Care. 2014 Aug 6;18(4):460.
Pullar JM, Carr AC, Vissers MCM. The Roles of Vitamin C in Skin Health. Nutrients. 2017;9(8):866.
Andersson U, Berger K, Högberg A, Landin-Olsson M, Holm C. Effects of rose hip intake on risk markers of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease: a randomized, double-blind, cross-over investigation in obese persons. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2012 May;66(5):585-90.

Reds

Watermelon

Plant Phytonutrients

Lycopene, Beta Carotene, Vitamin C, Citrulline.

Benefits

Important for the maintenance of the immune system; it supports cell growth and differentiation playing a role in the formation and maintenance of the heart, kidney, and other organs.
Helpful in relieving muscle soreness and improves exercise performances, which can be crucial for enhancing sports nutrition.
Important for healthy skin since it helps create and repair skin cells, and is shown to be effective in prevention of ‘psoriasis’ disease, an immune-system skin disorder.

Source

Watermelon as a potential fruit snack by Makaepea M. Maoto,Daniso BeswaORCID Icon & Afam I. O. Jideani
The Top 9 Health Benefits of Watermelon by Medically reviewed by Amy Richter, RD, Nutrition — By Kerri-Ann Jennings, MS, RD and Fatima Hallal, APD