- Lycopene and beta carotene give pink grapefruit its red color.
- Plant chemicals called anthocyanins give rhubarb stalks their red hue. Rhubarb also contains the pigments lutein and zeaxanthin.
- According to the American Institute for Cancer Research and the Linus Pauling Institute, carotenoids--plant chemicals that include lycopene, beta carotene, lutein and zeaxanthin--and flavonoids (which include anthocyanins) may protect you against some types of cancer and possibly other chronic diseases.
- There's a reason besides flavor to combine strawberries and rhubarb in a pie. Because anthocyanins are sensitive to heat, cooking strawberries tends to leach the color out of them. The acid in the rhubarb stabilizes the anthocyanins so the strawberries stay redder.
- Only rhubarb stalks are edible. The leaves and roots can be poisonous. Also, eating grapefruit, red or otherwise, can interfere with some medications.
Pink Grapefruit
Rhubarb
See Red for Health
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