The Amazing colours of Nature and WEllbeing

16th October 2025 The Amazing colours of nature That keep us alive and healthy- Professor Bill Lockley

Our world is made entirely from chemicals most of which are either black, white or colourless. So why is our world so full of colour?  Prof Lockley explained why is the sky blue, the sun yellow, the forests green and fruit and flowers all colours of the rainbow. He then went on to explain what makes coloured compounds coloured and why coloured compounds seem to turn up in all the key aspects of biology from vision to photosynthesis to respiration and metabolism?  Colour affects our moods, judgement and decisions: e.g. red=arousal, blue=sadness. It can be used to manipulate subliminal messages and commercial branding. He delineated the special properties they have and how these properties contribute to our wellbeing. By explaining which of these coloured compounds are in our foods and their properties he showed how can we modify our diet to best to maintain a healthy lifestyle in our later years. The talk was wide-ranging touching on the electrochemistry of colour, Coloured compounds are important to photosynthesis, without which, we would not exist, they transport oxygen to our cells. Oxygen burns sugar to make the energy molecule ATP, which powers our muscles and nerves, so equivalent to the rechargeable battery of life, every day the human body uses its own weight in ATP just to move and stay alive, it’s recycled 1000 times per day. Not all compounds make ATP in the body; some must be obtained from diet. Riboflavin, vitamin B2, vitamin B12(essential for blood and nerve cells) Superfoods, antioxidants (often coloured compounds) and health. What antioxidants do we get: carotenoids, flavones and polyphenols; purple -anthocyanins, betalins. Particularly good for the elderly: curcumin (turmeric), peppers and paprika, tea (black and green particularly), dark chocolate. So coloured compounds allow us: to move, breathe, see, think, eat/metabolise, grow, avoid poisoning, cancer, combat infections

Thank goodness for coloured compounds!                            AR