Superfoods or superhype?
Acai berries, chia seeds, kale, quinoa, salmon, green tea, turmeric…
These ‘miraculous’ foods with a high price tag need the marketing hype separated from the actual science. There’s a lot of claims and not a lot of evidence!
Marketing tool
The word ‘superfood’ is largely a marketing tool with no root in academic research. It’s not a scientific or technical term, with little meaning in the medical and research world. Google ‘superfoods’ and you’ll get millions of hits, but they’ll mostly be from online news, nutrition blogs, magazines or sales pitches.
Health claims
Often the health claims are based on cell and animal studies which cannot reliably be translated to humans AND the concentrations used in the studies are generally much higher than would ever be consumed through food. Just because a super high dose of a component of a superfood kills cancer cells in a lab dish, doesn’t mean that eating loads of a food containing that component will prevent you from getting cancer. Often the high antioxidant content is the selling point, however there may be more antioxidants in apples than the ‘super’ juices of goji berries. Furthermore, there isn’t strong evidence to suggest antioxidants alone protect against disease, but there is abundant research to suggest diets rich in a variety of common fruits and veges confer significant protection against chronic diseases. These exotic ‘superfoods’ may be healthy but are unlikely to be any more healthy than other local fruits and veges. Foods like oranges and brussel sprouts are just as good for you and far cheaper.
More harm than good?
Superfoods may actually be doing more harm than good by giving a false sense of security. Trying to get your nutrition from a bulk dose of superfoods will not compensate for eating poorly throughout the rest of the week, and in fact the excessive amount in one sitting will be likely be excreted by the body anyway.
Bottom line
Don’t break the bank for the latest health trend. Focus on a super plate not just on a handful of foods claimed to be super. No single food or even top ten superfoods hold the key to good health or disease prevention (nor will they alone make you a superhuman!). The best way to ensure optimal nutrition is to consistently consume a wide variety of fruits and veges and avoid excessive consumption of refined and heavily processed foods. If anything, use superfoods to supplement a healthy balanced diet.