Orange

We know that there are many active compounds in the foods we eat, particularly fruits and vegetables. We are familiar with the "classic" micronutrients that have been identified over the past 100 years: vitamins A, B, C, and so on, and minerals like iron, selenium, zinc, and iodine. However, we now know that there are thousands of other micronutrient compounds that play a part in the smooth functioning of the body. In this book, we call them "background" micronutrients. For example, there is the family of carotenoids, of which there are over 600. They give the color to carrots, oranges, tomatoes, and melons. There is the phenol family with over 5,000 members. They too are present in all fruits and vegetables, and strongly present in tea, coffee, and wine. And there are the 7,000 terpene compounds, which are omnipresent in all plant foods, particularly in spices and aromatic herbs. We must not forget the thousands of bioflavonoids, yet another vast range of compounds that are essential to health.

in 1942, the USDA issued a new food guide that reduced the number of food groups to what they called the "Basic Seven." These were: green and yellow vegetables; oranges, tomatoes, and grapefruit; potatoes and other vegetables and fruit; milk and milk products; meat, poultry, fish, eggs, and dried peas and beans; bread, flour, and cereals; and butter and fortified margarine.

In 1956, the "Basic Seven" groups were condensed to the "Basic Four": milk and milk products; meat, fish, poultry, eggs, dry beans, and nuts; fruits and vegetables; and grains. This time the "green and yellow vegetables" group has disappeared. "Butter and fortified margarine" has been dropped. "Oranges, tomatoes, and grapefruit" are lumped into the catch-all category "fruits and vegetables."