The Color Code: A Revolutionary Eating Plan for Optimum Health

by James A. Joseph

Book Overview

Color cures. That's the simple premise behind this revolutionary book. While we all know that healthy eating is the key to a long life, few people understand why the natural pigments that make fruits and vegetables so colourful can help protect your body, too.

Combining their expertise in aging and nutrition, a leading scientist and an outstanding physician show readers how to prevent the most common age-related illnesses through a simple...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0786867213
• ISBN13: 9780786867219
• Release Date: March 2002
• Publisher: Hachette Books
• Length: 308 Pages
• Weight: 1.24 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.8" x 9.1"
• Age Range: 17 to 18 years
• Grade Range: Grade 12 to Postsecondary

Customer Reviews

Simple and Effective!

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!

Most incredible and so informative!

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-

Color Code Works!

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.

Amazing Power of Fruits and Vegetables

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

Cutting Edge Nutrition Advice

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.