Health Benefits of Pink Foods: The Science Behind Their Color | Dr. Neal Barnard

Chuck Carroll (0:00)

How much could the food on your plate help with the pain that you're feeling? Well, Dr. Michael Greger and I, we are getting into that question during a very special interview, available exclusively to Exam Room VIPs beginning October 16th. That is two full weeks before it is released to anyone else. So Dr. Greger and I, we're going to be talking about his new book, How Not to Hurt and the research on the foods that may help relieve pain across a wide range of conditions. And of course, it's Dr. Greger. So we are doing a deep dive, cannonballing into the deep end of science. And I cannot wait for you to hear this conversation. And becoming an Exam Room VIP is completely free. Just head to pcrm.org/examroomvip to sign up. You'll also receive our newsletter and get opportunities to enjoy special events and interviews like this one with Dr. Greger before anyone else, all because membership has its perks. And most of all, you are helping us make the world a healthier place. So head to pcrm.org/examroomviptoday and learn how not to hurt with Dr. Michael Greger, October 16th. Today on The Exam Room.

Pink foods, healthy things that we should be including in our diet? Or is the pink kind of overhyped?

Neal Barnard (1:22)

Pink is real. Pink foods, for example, watermelon. That pink color isn't just there to make it pretty on the shelf. That's an antioxidant and it's there to protect the fruit in nature, but it'll protect you too. And there are a whole variety of these things. And the more you bring them into your routine, the better off you're going to be.

Chuck Carroll (1:43)

Welcome to The Exam Room Podcast brought to you by the Physicians Committee. Hi, I'm Chuck Carroll, raising health IQs coast to coast and around the world. Hi, to The Exam Roomies listening in Huntsville, Alabama, Helena, Montana and Budapest, Hungary. Wherever you are, we appreciate you helping to make the world a healthier place. This is episode 77 of season 9, number 776 overall.

It is Let's Beat Breast Cancer Month and today we are taking a deep look at pink foods. How can that pink on your plate power your health? Whether it's a strawberry or a slice of watermelon or even going red with a bowl of tomato soup. All of these colors have a story and today on the show, Dr. Neal Barnard is helping us understand what is behind them. Because this is what matters. We are talking about pink and red foods, the pigments that are in the berries, the lycopene in the watermelon and tomatoes, and why your overall eating pattern matters massively. You'll also hear why cooking a tomato can make it even more healthy for a lot of people, whether frozen berries are still a good buy in this case, and why a pink label on a product deserves a closer look. Yeah, we're talking about pink washing, my friend. Plus, we're going beyond the grocery list to talk about the research that's out there on food and physical activity and life after a breast cancer diagnosis. So much to learn today and some really simple ideas to bring into your own kitchen to take your health to that next level. So let's get into everything right now with the president and founder of the Physicians Committee, Dr. Neal Barnard joins us right now as we raise our health IQs here on The Exam Room.

Thanks for being here, my friend.

Neal Barnard (3:34)

Great to be here, Chuck.

Chuck Carroll (3:35)

I wanted to ask you about pink foods in particular, as this is October, it is breast cancer month, but I think that there's a lot of benefits to pink foods that go beyond just the breast cancer conversation, but we're going to get into that today as well. Pink foods, healthy things that we should be including in our diet or is the pink overhyped?

Neal Barnard (3:55)

Pink is real.

Pink foods, for example, watermelon. That pink color isn't just there to make it pretty on the shelf. That's an antioxidant and it's there to protect the fruit in nature, but it'll protect you too. There are a whole variety of these things and the more you bring them into your routine, the better off you're going to be.

Chuck Carroll (4:15)

It's the color of the fruit that really packs the nutrition punch in the same way that you have waxed just beautifully about blueberries in the past on the show.

But it's that blue pigment that gives them the color. The pink pigment here in terms of the fruits that we're talking about today, no different.