Can Superfoods Make You Superhuman?
Have you ever flipped on the T.V. to tune into your favorite talk-show, or scrolled past a social media post preaching about the new plant-based product that you need to be eating more of this year? Perhaps you’ve seen typical or even crazy foods that have been stamped as a “superfood” because of the vitamins and minerals and that you can benefit from for the rest of your life?
“Superfood talk” seems to be all the rage in the media lately.
Almost every year I hear about vegetables, fruits, seeds, and even funny-colored powders that people start to obsess over, like kale smoothies that the whole country can’t seem to get enough of.
Superfoods get their label because they are very nutrient-dense, and those nutrients may have long-term benefits for your health and well-being.
However, there are misconceptions on how to eat superfoods and what they can actually do. Superfoods are not magical and will not alter your genetic code. This is why it’s important to get a variety of fruits and vegetables that are also nutrient-dense in your diet every day.
Tons of people think that if they eat some “magical food” they will feel powerful and can easily opt out of eating anything else and will still live forever, which just isn’t the case. However, if you maintain a healthy diet full of color, you won’t exactly live forever, but you’ll definitely feel the benefits.
A perception about superfoods is that once they are discovered, the previous superfoods in the media become old news. The problem with that is, like acai berries, these new superfoods have not been around long enough in our diet to scientifically show us how much we should be eating and if they are safe to consume long-term.
With that being said, there is not a published list with set superfood items. But some of the popular superfoods that have been recurring are:
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Kale
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Flax Seeds
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Chia Seeds
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Hemp Seeds
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Berries
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Avocados
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Turmeric
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Garlic
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Cacao Powder
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Citrus
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Ginger
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Goji berries
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Coconut oil
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Date
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Aloe
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Maca
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Bee Pollen, etc.
One year, a professor told me to make a list of 5 of our own superfoods, so a general rule of thumb I like to follow when I go grocery shopping is: All of my favorite foods are superfoods! Beans, carrots, peanut butter, oranges, you name it. Refer to our National Nutrition Month post about what to look for when shopping this month, and don’t forget this first step in buying superfoods: Any food can be a superfood.
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