Living in a SAD Beige World
Whenever I watch the Biggest Loser and they show the former diet of the contestants, I'm always struck by the colours of the food. Almost everything they ate is beige, brown and anaemic yellow in colour, broken up with the black of the cokes they drank (usually diet, clearly that worked) and a few fluorescent coloured sweets and cakes.
Burger buns, bread, pizza, chips, fries, crisps, popcorn, pastries, cakes, biscuits, sugary milky coffee – it’s all virtually the same colour. It seems utterly depressing eating beige foods the entire time; it must start turn your World, well, beige after a while.
Contrast that with a healthy Paleo or Primal diet where virtually every colour seems to be represented. Certain colours are actually attributed to certain properties – for example the vibrant orange foods like Carrots and Capsicum provide Beta Carotene and dark green vegetables are rich in Vitamin K. It’s not just pretty, eating lots of different colours really is essential for a good nutrient intake.
How colourful is your diet? Could you live in a beige world?
Why Colour Matters in a Healthy Paleo Diet
One of the most striking visual differences between the Standard Australian (or American) Diet — often abbreviated as the SAD diet — and a nutrient-rich Paleo lifestyle is exactly that: colour. The SAD diet is dominated by processed carbohydrates, seed oils, and added sugars. These foods are not only nutrient-poor but visually dull, often coming in shades of beige, white, or faded brown. Sausage rolls. White toast. Muffins. Chicken nuggets. They all blend into the same lifeless palette.
By contrast, a real food Paleo diet is filled with vibrant colour — deep green spinach, bold orange pumpkin, ruby-red beetroot, golden yolks from pasture-raised eggs, and the rich purples and blues of seasonal berries. These aren’t just pretty to look at. The pigments in these foods represent phytochemicals, antioxidants, and vitamins that play crucial roles in everything from cellular repair to hormone function and immune health.
The Rainbow Rule
If your plate looks like a rainbow, you’re almost guaranteed to be feeding your body a wide array of nutrients. Different colours often indicate different health-promoting compounds:
Red (tomatoes, strawberries, capsicum): Lycopene and anthocyanins — heart and skin support
Orange/Yellow (carrots, sweet potatoes, turmeric): Beta-carotene, lutein — vision and immune support
Green (spinach, kale, broccoli): Chlorophyll, folate, Vitamin K — detoxification and bone health
Blue/Purple (blueberries, eggplant, purple cabbage): Anthocyanins — cognitive and cardiovascular support
White/Brown (garlic, cauliflower, mushrooms): Allicin and selenium — anti-inflammatory and immune function
When was the last time a sausage roll provided that kind of nutritional support?
Beige Foods: A Warning Sign
When meals come from boxes and bags, they often have one thing in common — their beige appearance. It’s not just a visual cue; it’s a red flag. Ultra-processed foods have often had the nutrients stripped out during manufacturing and rely on additives, refined grains, and industrial oils for flavour and shelf life. Their uniform blandness is symbolic of their lack of diversity and life-enhancing qualities.
While there’s no denying that beige foods are convenient, they don’t nourish. Over time, a beige diet may contribute to fatigue, hormonal imbalance, inflammation, and a growing list of modern health issues.
Eating With Your Eyes (And Gut)
When your plate is colourful, you’re not only boosting your health — you’re also changing your relationship with food. Colourful meals feel more alive, more satisfying, and more inspiring to eat. You begin to look forward to your next meal, not because you’re chasing a sugar hit or the dopamine spike from processed snacks, but because you genuinely enjoy the textures, colours, and flavours of real food.
If you ever find your Paleo meals becoming repetitive or uninspiring, ask yourself: what colour is missing from your plate?
Add shredded beetroot or purple cabbage to your salad
Top your roasted veggies with pomegranate seeds or fresh herbs
Swap white potatoes for golden pumpkin or deep-orange kumara
Try new vegetables from the farmers market you’ve never cooked before
Breaking Free from the Beige
Many people come to Paleo for weight loss or digestive health — but they stay for how good it feels to be well-nourished. A colourful plate is an easy and powerful way to track your nutrient variety without counting anything.
So next time you’re tempted by something bland and beige, remember what it represents — and how different your body feels when you eat food that’s full of life and colour.
How colourful is your plate today? What are your go-to vegetables or fruits to brighten up your meals? Share your favourites — and your tips to avoid falling back into beige — in the comments below.
Let’s build a world that’s vibrant on the plate and in how we feel.