To get the most out of your meal, eat a variety of fruits and vegetables.

This video was originally published on NutritionFacts.org and republished with permission. NutritionFacts.org

When we look at the variety of fruits and vegetables that people eat in the United States, we see that there is little in the way of diversity. The majority of the plants people eat, regardless of quantity, come from a handful of sources. This should change, because as we already know strawberries aren’t the same a blueberries, their beneficial compounds aren’t the same. To put it simply, it is best for us to eat a variety of fruits and vegetables.

The reason behind this is simple and might even seem like common sense. Cells in our bodies have receptors that interact with specific chemicals that different foods make. These chemicals, called phytonutrients, are different from fruit to fruit or vegetable to vegetable. This is why eating a variety of fruits and vegetables is key – getting many different types of phytonutrients allows your body to do more than getting an overabundance of a few.

There is an old adage that you should always eat the colors of the rainbow, and the studies investigated in this video only prove grandma’s old saying. Not only is it more visually striking and appealing, adding color to your plate is legitimately proven to help your body do what it already knows how to do naturally.