Black Magic

There’s a dark secret hiding in plain sight at your grocery store.

- Cathryne Keller

Leafy greens get all the antioxidant glory, but black-colored foods can also be loaded with health-promoting compounds. Research suggests that anthocyanins (pigments abundant in black, blue, and purple whole foods) may help lower your risk of heart disease and certain types of cancer— and make your skin glow. Here, registered dietitians Stephanie Clarke and Willow Jarosh share five nutritious, deeply delicious ways to blacken your diet.

1. Black Sesame Seeds

They’re nutty and pleasantly bitter, and several black varieties had higher antioxidant activity than their white counterparts in one 2016 study.