What is a Rainbow Diet?

Chris Woollams is a successful entrepreneur who studied Biochemistry at Oxford University specializing in viruses and cancer. He has always had a great interest in health and sports. In the year 2001, his 22-year-old daughter Catherine was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor and was given only 6 months to live. To save his daughter’s life, Chris Woollams put a lot of effort into researching the role of nutrition in fighting cancer. Thanks to his efforts, his daughter is alive and well, and he shared what he has learned in his book called The Rainbow Diet published in 2006.  The rainbow diet is more of an attitude towards food than it is a diet. Besides fighting cancer, this diet can provide humanity with the full-range of health benefits. In this article, we will explain the concepts behind the rainbow diet, scientific evidence that support it, and some guidelines how you can implement the diet into your daily living.

How this diet came to be
As already explained, the rainbow diet is a result of a father’s efforts to save his daughter from cancer. The diet’s aim is to help people across the world use nutrition as a means of preventing and fighting disease. While the role of nutrition in fighting disease is not a new discovery, the rainbow diet has made things easier by setting out simple guidelines. Chris Woollams supports his claim that this type of diet is perfect for fighting cancer with research evidence. The rainbow diet is essentially a Mediterranean type of diet. Recent research has proved that the Mediterranean diet significantly reduces the risks of cardiovascular diseases. This type of diet has a rich plethora of color because it is plentiful in fruits and vegetables. Other aspects of the diet are limiting dairy, eating wholegrain instead of refined grains, eating healthy fats from olive oil and fish and drinking wine moderately.

Plants and our DNA
The principle is simple: we should eat colorful fruits and vegetables every day and make sure we eat the full color spectrum. Modern science knows that the benefits of fruits are not limited to vitamins and minerals. Plant foods contribute to human health in a much more complex way. Woollams states that bioactive compounds in plant-based foods help reverse DNA damage caused by stress, environmental toxins, and poor nutrition. This is supported by the science of epigenetics that has experienced a boom since 2006. The many compounds which give fruit and vegetables their vibrant color help protect the plant and when eaten, protect human health. The compounds at hand are polyphenols, carotenoids, anthocyanins, allicin, indoles, lycophene and many others.

What research has to say?
It is estimated that one-third of all cancer deaths in the U.S. could have been prevented with dietary changes. Furthermore , a higher adherence to the Mediterranean can significantly reduce total mortality rates by preventing cancer and cardiovascular diseases as found in one study on 22 043 adults in Greece. But the range of studies on this topic is huge and all speak in favor of plant-based diets. As far as research on the rainbow diet is concerned, Harvard Medical School stated that the rainbow diet is the best diet available to prevent chronic illnesses so common in the Western World according to Woollams.

How to switch to the rainbow diet?
If you want to switch to the rainbow diet plan, all you have to do is cut down on refined grains, sugars, animal fats, red meat and dairy and boost the amount of colorful fruits and vegetables, fish, olive oil, nuts and seeds, replace refined grains with whole grains and have an occasional glass of wine. The rainbow diet is essentially the Mediterranean diet with a focus on colorful foods. The color of the fruits is an indication of potent photochemical that will protect your heart, your DNA, and make you feel better. The diet can both prevent and reverse diseases. Furthermore, you will enjoy this type of diet as its origins are from cultures that have a long culinary tradition like France, Spain, Italy and Greece. There is no need to think about the calories as these will decline by simply boosting the amount of plant-based foods you eat.

To conclude, the rainbow diet is a concept based on the Mediterranean diet which has shown in a great number of studies to prevent a wide range of diseases and decrease mortality rate. Fruits and vegetables are rich in phytochemicals that are known to have disease-fighting properties in humans. The rainbow diet is based on the idea that we should eat more fruits and vegetables than we are used to eating. Western diets are often poor in nutrition and high in fat and sugar. This may explain the rise in diseases like cancer, diabetes, and heart disease in the West. So next time you have a meal, make sure all the colors of the rainbow are on your plate and make this your everyday practice.

References:
http://www.organicbeautytrends.com.au/health/improve-your-memory-with-these-vegan-foods
http://www.empowher.com/community/share/diet-changes-women-must-make-after-40