Purple vegetable: list, special properties, benefits for the body

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

The fruits of garden crops contain just a huge amount of various vitamins and minerals. Also, the composition of the pulp of vegetables includes phytonutrients that are very useful for human he alth. The combination of these substances, among other things, determines the color of the fruits of a garden plant. In garden vegetables, for example, anthocyanins, which belong to the group of glycosides, are responsible for the purple hue.

What is useful

A feature of anthocyanins is that they can have any color. The shade of these substances depends primarily on the acidity of the environment in which they are located. Alkali makes anthocyanins yellow-green. In an acidic environment, they turn red, and in a neutral environment, they turn purple. Intermediate options can also give all shades of pink.

Anthocyanins can bring enormous benefits to the human body. These substances slow down aging, are distinguished by antitumor activity, and are able to prevent vascular and heart diseases. Also, eating blue and purple vegetables has a positive effect on immunity and brain activity.

The benefits of anthocyanins for the bodyhuman is so great that breeders even bothered to breed unusual purple varieties of vegetables for which this color is uncharacteristic. For example, today you can grow cabbage, carrots, onions of this shade in the garden. The names of purple vegetables are widely known and most gardeners know about them.

Eggplant

It is this type of garden crop with purple fruits that is currently the most popular among summer residents. Farmers grow eggplants almost as often as potatoes, tomatoes and peppers.

This purple vegetable belongs to the Solanaceae family and is cultivated by gardeners in most cases by seedlings. In addition to purple anthocyanins, eggplant contains substances that are beneficial to the human body, such as:

• vitamins C, K, B6;
• niacin and thiamine;
• copper, phosphorus;
• folic acid;
• manganese, potassium.

Eggplants are valued in dietary nutrition, among other things, for the fact that they do not contain cholesterol, as well as saturated fats.

Purple potatoes

In this representative of the Solanaceae family, the main value is not the fruits, but the tubers. Varieties of potatoes with a skin that has a purple hue have been grown by summer residents for several decades. For example, the popular early potato Sineglazka has this color.

However, in recent years, seed material has also appeared on salepotatoes, saturated with a purple hue, which differs not only in the peel, but also in the flesh. Such varieties were bred by crossing domestic varieties with wild tubers from South America. This bright purple vegetable is not genetically modified. The pulp of such tubers does not lose its purple color even after heat treatment.

The composition of the pulp of such potatoes, among other things, includes vitamins C, E and carotenoids. It is useful to eat it, for example, for people with impaired vision and suffering from atherosclerosis.

Beets

This root vegetable also has a rich purple hue. Most gardeners grow it on their plots. Beetroot can be he althy because it contains substances such as:

• fiber;
• vitamins C, A, B6, B9;

• antioxidants.

Eating beets is good for almost everyone. But in particular, a good decision to include this root crop in your diet will be for people who lead an active lifestyle and athletes. Beet-based dishes contribute to the rapid recovery of strength after physical exertion.

Purple bow

There are many varieties of this vegetable with heads of this color. In addition to anthocyanins, onion pulp contains vitamins B, C, E, as well as such useful trace elements as potassium, calcium, phosphorus, chlorine, magnesium, and sodium. Also, this purple vegetable contains a large amount of sulfur, which makes it simply irreplaceable.product for dieters.

Fresh onion juice can be used to treat, for example, diseases such as colds, gastritis, onychomycosis, atherosclerosis, high or low cholesterol levels. A decoction of this vegetable is useful for delays in the menstrual cycle, inflammation of the oral cavity, etc.

To the pluses of purple onions, summer residents, among other things, include the fact that it is stored better than usual. Of course, such a vegetable looks more attractive in various kinds of dishes.

Red cabbage

This vegetable is also quite popular with gardeners. Of course, more often gardeners still grow white cabbage. But you can also see the red head in vegetable gardens in Russia quite often. The shade of the leaves of such cabbage is exactly saturated purple.

Heads of this variety, in addition to anthocyanins, contain:

• potassium, magnesium, iron;
• iodine, copper;
• vitamins B, K, E.

Like ordinary, red cabbage can be used in the preparation of second courses, first courses, in various preparations.

Purple Carrot

Russian gardeners began to grow such a vegetable in their suburban areas relatively recently. Many gardeners consider it an innovation. However, researchers have found that purple varieties of carrots were grown by the ancient Egyptians. Moreover, the orange roots of thisvarieties were bred relatively recently - in the 17th century. n. e. in the Ottoman Empire.

Like other purple vegetables, this carrot contains many vitamins and minerals. For example, it contains such rare substances as vanadium, aluminum, molybdenum, lithium.

Fruits and berries

Of course, Russian gardeners grow not only purple vegetables in their suburban areas. And fruits of this color, as well as berries, are very popular with domestic gardeners. For example, in summer cottages you can often see:

• blueberries;
• plum;
• irgu;
• blackberries, etc.

Fruits and berries of this color are also, of course, very he althy. With their help, you can prevent the development of many diseases. They are also often used for treatment in traditional medicine.