古人说“食色性也”，是说饮食和男女并列为人类的最大本能，也是最大兴致所在。今人爱说“秀色可餐”，是说美丽的脸蛋会让人产生本能的兴奋之情，甚至于把吃饭的本能都忘掉。歪曲一下这两句话的意思，道理一样可以成立：喜欢吃颜色漂亮的食物，是人的一种天性。好的颜色，常常会带来好的胃口，甚而是好的健康效果。
在消费者对超市中花花绿绿的加工食品产生怀疑的同时，研究者们却对天然食品中的丰富色彩越来越有兴趣。理由其实很简单：加工食品中的颜色，往往是来自于各种合成色素，而天然食品当中的颜色，却往往与其健康性质相联系。
在2007年的一项报道当中，美国研究者测定了33种豆子的抗氧化特性，以及它们的种皮颜色、子叶颜色、总多酚、总黄酮、总缩合单宁等项目，探索豆子的颜色与其中所含的保健成分之间的关系，以及与抗氧化特性的关系。结果证明，在同种豆子当中，颜色越深，多酚类物质就越多，抗氧化的性质就越强。比如说，在大豆类当中，黑豆的抗氧化指标达到黄豆的几倍到十几倍之高。在其他豆子当中也一样，白色豆子最低，颜色深浅相间的花豆略高一些，深红色和黑色的豆子最高。
其实，这种性质并不仅限于豆子。天然的植物本来就是品种繁多，色彩斑斓的，而颜色最深的品种通常都是营养价值最高、保健特性最强的品种。比如说，黑米的营养价值和抗氧化能力大大高于白米，黑小米高于黄小米，黑芝麻高于白芝麻；等等。在蔬菜当中，深绿色的蔬菜往往会比浅色蔬菜健康价值更高，比如绿菜花高于白菜花，深绿色的白菜叶高于浅黄色的白菜叶，紫茄子高于浅绿茄子，紫洋葱高于白洋葱。水果也是一样，紫葡萄高于浅绿葡萄，黄桃高于白桃，黄杏高于白杏，红樱桃高于黄樱桃。
这是因为，植物中的各种色素都具有相当出色的健康价值，特别是强大的抗氧化作用。而色素较高的植物，其抗病性往往更强，营养成分也更为出色。
人们热爱鲜艳浓重颜色的特性，很可能正是来自一种追求健康的遗传本能。也就是说，在科学不发达的时代当中，食物的感官特性，实际上就代表了食物的健康特性。美丽的颜色证明它的新鲜，以及它的抗氧化性等性质；美好的味道，昭示着食品中丰富的营养成分。遗憾的是，由于天然色素容易褪色，难以长期保存，在现代社会当中，越来越多稳定、着色性好的食品用合成色素代替了天然色素。它们在给人类带来感官享受的同时，并不能带来相应的健康好处。
所以，在选择天然食物的时候，我们完全有理由大呼“好色有理”，越浓烈，越鲜艳，越健康。只是，在选择加工食品的时候，我们不妨少点好色心情，选择那些颜色更为朴素的产品，也许更符合健康的需要。
资料来源：
Xu BJ，Yuan SH，Chang SKC. Comparative analyses of phenolic composition, antioxidant capacity, and color of cool season legumes and other selected food legume. Journal of Food Science. 2007;72:s167-177
译文:
Natural food, reasonable "lust"
The ancient says "It is person's nature to love beauty." It means the food and sex are the natrue of human beings, which are also the most interest of human beings.Today, people love to say " beautiful sight as a dish", which means beautiful faces will cause man's nature of excited, and even make them forget the nature of eating. To distort the meanings of those two sentences, the reason is found too: loving to eat the coloury food is also a nature of human. Brightly coloured food brings a good appetite.
As concur as consumers suspect the coloury processed food in supermarket, and reseachers are more and more interested with the riched colour of nature food. The reason is simple: the colour in,processed food often come from various synthetic dyestuff, but the colour of nature food relate to the healthy characteristics.
In a report in 2007, the US. reseacheers assay the oxidation resisting of 33 kinds of beans, and the colour of their seed capsule, cotyledon,and the Total polyphenols,Total flavone, Total condensed tannin,etc. , to explore beans in the relationship between the colour and its healthy compositions, and the relationship to the oxidation resisting. The result proves, in the same kind of beans, that the darker the colour , the more the polyphenols, and the stronger the oxidation resisting. For example, among the type of soybeans, the oxidation index of black beans are several times to ten times higher than the yellow beans. And it is the same to the other beans, white beans are lowest, then the colour depth grain-beans, and the deep red and black beans are the higheat.
In fact, this character is not merely belong to beans. Nature food are varieties and colorful, and the deepest colour one always has the highest nutritive value, the strongest healthy protections. For instance, those characteristics of black rice are much higher than white rice, black millet higher than yellow millet, sesame higher than white sesame, and so on. It is the same to the vegetables, bottle green vegetables are more healthy than the pale green, such as green cauliflowers are higher than white cauliflowers; dark green cabbages are higher than light green cabbages; purple eggplants are higher than light green eggplants; purple onions are higher than white onions. It is all the same to fruits, purple grapes are higher than the light green grapes; yellow peach higher than the white peach; yellow apricot higher than white apricot; red cherry higher than yellow cherry.
It is because variety pigments in all plants have terrific health values, especial the strong effect of oxidation resisting. while the higher pigments index plants always have stronger disease resistance and more wonderful nutritional ingredient.
People love bright colour probably is a kind of pursuit of health from genetic instincts. Namely, in the age of underdeveloped science, the sensory characteristics of food, in fact, represents the health characteristics of food. Beautiful color prove it's fresh, and oxidation resistance, etc; Good taste represents rich nutrients in food. Unfortunately, because of natural pigments fade easily and are difficult to take a long-term persevation. In modern society, more and more stable, excellent pigmentability food use synthetic deystuff to instead of the natural pigment. They bring in gratification, can not bring the corresponding health benefits
So, in the choice of natural food, we have the reason to say " it is reasonable to lust" completely. More heavey, more bright, more healthy. But, in the choice of processed foods, we might as well less lewd mood, the color is more simple product, perhaps more health needs.