Purple sweet potatoes, purple potatoes, purple corn, purple lentils—if you visit a supermarket or a farmer's market now, you'll find that more and more purple foods are appearing around us. These foods that are "red-hot" are not just for their beautiful appearance; in the eyes of nutrition experts, purple is the color most lacking on the Chinese dining table, and these foods contain super anti-aging components.
The reason purple foods can be cloaked in a "romantic" purple hue is that they are rich in a natural pigment—anthocyanins. Nutrition experts point out that anthocyanins belong to the flavonoid family, and their antioxidant capacity is comparable to that of vitamins C and E. They can effectively eliminate harmful free radicals in the body, help the body resist oxidation, and delay aging.
In addition, purple foods are also rich in the essential trace element selenium, which is closely related to human health. Selenium not only has a strong antioxidant effect, but its most prominent feature is its ability to effectively enhance the human immune system. Moreover, its efficacy in preventing and fighting cancer is even more significant.
The nutritional value of vegetables and fruits, especially the content of vitamins and antioxidants, increases as their color deepens. For the same variety of food, the deeper the color, the higher the nutritional value. For example, with eggplants, the one that is "so dark it's almost black" is better than the one that is "red-purple." Similarly, with sweet potatoes, purple sweet potatoes are more nutritious than red sweet potatoes.