The Many Benefits of Purple Food

Article Written By Dr. Kristen Burris, DAcCHM Dual Doctorate in Acupuncture with a Specialization in Chinese Herbal Medicine and Functional Medicine Practitioner

Functional medicine is rooted in making lifestyle and dietary changes to improve one’s health. Once we get the root cause of your disease or disorder using both TCM Traditional Chinese Medicine diagnostics and Functional Medicine Testing, we can then apply individualized plans to improve your health, even reverse your disease. However, purple foods are good for everyone and should be eaten year-round for the greatest health benefits. From a TCM perspective, purple foods improve blood stagnation. This relates to the blood and the action of the liver to move the blood in a healthy way. We have known this for thousands of years. Conditions where it can be helpful relate to infertility, pain, menstrual problems, arthritis, digestive problems, headaches or even allergies. Blood stasis is evident if you have purple or blue-tinged lips, fingernails or even veins. If your menstrual blood contains clots or you have been diagnosed with polyps, fibroids or endometriosis you have blood stagnation pattern. Headaches often relate to blood stasis, but not always. Your doctor of Chinese Medicine will be able to differentiate your pattern so just ask. 

Newer Functional Medicine further supports this blood stagnation theory by purporting purple food health benefits for: improved heart function, reduced inflammation, improving digestion and gut microbiome, cancer prevention, brain protectant, energy metabolism, eyesight enhancer, and skin optimizer. Many of these aspects of healthy purple foods were covered in a study published in International Journal of Molecular Sciences (Ma Z et al, 2021). 

The key to these royal-hued fruits and veggies is called anthocyanin that have shown in some studies to reduce type 2 diabetes risk, cancer and even Alzheimer’s. 

It’s easy to incorporate these magnificent purple majesty foods into your everyday diet. Just look around in your grocery store. If you don’t see purple, request them from your produce section manager. Or make an exception once a month and go to a co-op or whole foods or farmer’s market and splurge on purple items.

  • Purple Fruits and Veggies Are in Abundance: 

  • Purple Cabbage

  • Purple Radishes

  • Purple Asparagus

  • Purple Potatoes

  • Purple Cauliflower

  • Purple Rice

  • Blackberries

  • Blueberries

  • Purple Carrots

  • Eggplant 

  • Purple Yam

  • Black Beans

  • Purple Grapes

  • Purple Kale

  • Purple Corn

  • Purple Rice

  • Elderberries

  • Purple Onions

  • Beets

  • Plums

  • Even Red Hued Fruits and Veggies Count too

  • Raspberries

  • Strawberries

  • Apples

  • Cranberries

  • Cherries

  • Pomegranate 

Here is a super yummy purple food 

A Tangy Summer Purple Salad 

  • 1 cup sliced almonds (find these in the bulk section of your grocery store)

  • ½ cup pine nuts 

  • 6 cups shredded green cabbage approximately one large head of purple/red cabbage

  • 1 cup thinly matchstick sliced carrots (approximately 2-4 medium carrots)

  • 1 cup thinly sliced purple cauliflower 

  • 3 green onions, trimmed, peeling outer layer and chopped. Hint: use both white and green parts for optimal flavor

  • 2 red bell peppers, cored, sliced and cut into thin sticks

  • 5 purple radishes, thinly sliced use a mandolin if you have one

  • ¾  cup fresh,  chopped parsley; Italian is best but either kind will work

  • ¼  cup chopped fresh dill (omit the thick stem and chop only the fine “hairs”; Note: dried dill will work but has a distinctly different taste and must be significantly reduced to only one teaspoon

  • Sliced Fresh Avocado to Taste

  • Himalayan Pink Sea Salt Freshly Ground

 

 Lime Vinaigrette

  • 2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard

  • 2-3  limes, juiced and to your liking for tartness (can use only 2 limes but be prepared with 3 in case you want more smack)

  • 2 garlic cloves, minced

  • 1/3 cup avocado oil or olive oil  

  • 1 tsp. Paprika 

  • Pink Himalayan salt (approximately 1 teaspoon but each taste is different)

  • ½ tsp. Black pepper

  • 1 packet of Truvia or Monkfruit Sweetener (optional)

How to Make this Cabbage Salad Recipe

This delightfully tangy purple cabbage salad takes approximately 30 minutes when all the washing and chopping is complete. If you have extra time, allow an additional 30 minutes of refrigeration time. The cabbage will soften just a touch as it soaks in the dressing, and the flavors will get even more potent. Add the nuts last right before serving! 

Pro Tip: Don’t skimp here! Toasting almond and pinenuts takes a few minutes but it’s worth the aromatic flavor. 

  • Toasted Almonds:  Lightly spritz a large pan with a thin layer of avocado olive oil and warm the pan over medium heat. Add 3/4 cup of sliced almonds, stirring or shaking constantly until they turn golden, about 7 minutes. Take the pan off the heat and set aside to cool until later. Repeat the process with the pinenuts but no oil needed here. They will darken at a different rate than almonds. 

  • Lime Vinaigrette:  In a small bowl, whisk together 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard, the juice of 2-3 limes, 2-3 minced garlic cloves, 1/3 cup avocado or extra virgin olive oil, 1 tsp paprika, one tsp. salt and ½ tsp. of pepper and one tsp of sweetener of choice. For those with prediabetes or diabetes we suggest Truvia or Monkfruit powdered. 

Make the salad:  In a large serving bowl, combine 6 cups shredded or thinly chopped purple cabbage, 1/2 cup julienned carrots, 3 chopped green onions, 2 thinly sliced red bell pepper, 5 halved and sliced radishes, ½ cup chopped parsley, and 1/4 cup chopped dill plus 3/4 of the toasted almonds. Toss gently to combine well.  Add the pinenuts and the rest of the almonds right at the end before serving. They will not hold their crunch past one meal so don’t overly saturate with pinenuts. 

  • Dress and then if time permitted, refrigerate. Pour the limey vinaigrette all over the purple salad and toss to combine. If you have the time, put in a glass bowl to give the salad 30 minutes  in your refrigerator for the flavors to pop and the cabbage to soften for easier digestion.

  • Serve with any protein:  Give the salad another toss and  garnish with the remaining almonds, pinenuts and a dusting of chopped parsley and dill. This pairs well with grilled shrimp, chicken or beef. 

For The Road
We hope you enjoyed learning about purple food and its role in functional medicine. If you would like to know more about this or anything else along these lines, we are happy to help. Just contact us and we can go over your options and help you find the best path for your health and fertility goals. Schedule a consultation for acupuncture, herbal medicine, functional medicine, supplements or lifestyle modifications, by reaching out to Dr. Burris or our other medical providers HERE. We offer telemedicine for those who are not within driving distance from our office.


Source: Ma Z, Du B, Li J, Yang Y, Zhu F. An Insight into Anti-Inflammatory Activities and Inflammation Related Diseases of Anthocyanins: A Review of Both In Vivo and In Vitro Investigations. Int J Mol Sci. 2021 Oct 14;22(20):11076. doi: 10.3390/ijms222011076. PMID: 34681733; PMCID: PMC8540239.

Colin Eggleston