Have you thought about the many colors of our foods?  They catch our eye and add so much to the appeal of our meals – particularly fruits and vegetables.  Research shows that the colors of our foods may also be related to the health benefits they provide.

The pigments that give plant foods their vibrant colors are of value to the plants themselves, as well as to those who consume them.  These colorful fruit and vegetable pigments also serve to attract feeding animals who later help distribute the plants’ seeds.

Plant pigments have long been of interest to food chemists who have studied their contributions to the visual appeal of foods.  In recent years, there also has been an explosion of interest in the health potentials of the pigments that are responsible for food colors.

There are several types of pigments in foods.  One group is the “anthocyanins”, a term…