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In Defense of Superfoods

Superfoods sometimes get a bad rap – as with the recent BBC article ‘Are you fooled by superfoods?” Google “superfoods” and you’ll be faced with a confusing collection of articles that run the gamut from ‘The Myth of the Superfood’ to ‘Superfoods you need now’.

 

So what gives?

 

There’s no doubt that “Superfood” is a popular (and some would say overused) term in the health food industry, although no one quite agrees on the legal, medical, or technical definition. In 2007 the EU banned the use of the term on labels unless accompanied by an authorised health claim explaining why the food is good for our health.

The Oxford English dictionary describes a superfood as “a nutrient-rich food considered to be especially beneficial for health and well-being”, while the Merriam-Webster dictionary defines it as “a super nutrient-dense food, loaded with vitamins, minerals, fibre, antioxidants, and/or phytonutrients”.

Others are outright disparaging. According to Wikipedia, “Superfood is a marketing term used to describe foods with supposed health benefits”. The group Cancer Research UK goes further; “the term ‘superfood’ is really just a marketing tool, with little scientific basis to it”.

 

Marketing ploy?

 

We all know that certain foods are better for us than others, but the idea that some are ‘ultra-healthy is very appealing, because if we eat these foods then we can be healthier right? Yet all the hype about superfoods can be bewildering, not to mention expensive, if we rush out to buy every “next big superfood” we’re told we need. That’s where The Clever Kitchen comes in.

We wouldn’t be extolling their benefits and promoting their use if we believed that “superfood” was simply a marketing ploy popularized in the media. We’ve learned that the key to using them to our advantage is to know exactly how they work with our body and how they can be used to improve certain aspects of our physical and emotional health, as well as potentially reducing the risk of disease. Our workshops, webinars and blogs aim to do just that – by giving you nutritionist supported advice so you can make informed decisions.

 

So what’s a superfood?

 

Superfoods could be described as any food that’s “high in nutrients and low in calories”, but that would be over-simplifying, since superfoods are widely appreciated for their ability to increase energy levels, strengthen the immune system, reduce inflammation and generally promote health.

It’s more accurate to describe them as “a food with high nutrient or phytochemical content that confers health benefits, with no negative properties, such as being high in saturated fats or artificial ingredients, food additives or contaminants”.

Some are everyday foods whose nutritional value is widely recognized and which are normally consumed in significant quantities – like avocado, broccoli, kale and berries. The lesser known, more ‘exotic’ superfoods are more concentrated and usually consumed in much smaller amounts – like hemp powder, maca powder, spirulina, wheatgrass and chia seeds (just to name a few).

 

So why the superfood bashing?

 

Reliable research to support specific health claims exists, but is sometimes not of the quality needed to satisfy government policy. This is due partly to the fact that studies are poorly funded (you can’t patent superfoods!) and partly because the conditions under which foods are studied in the lab are often very different to the way these foods are normally consumed by people in their everyday lives, making it hard to apply the results of these studies to real life.

Some critics feel that the media’s labeling of some foods as ‘super’ may also give some people the impression that other foods in our diets are not as healthy when, in reality, many fruits, vegetables and grains often provide nutrients just as valuable as those found in superfoods.

The media’s often sensationalist reporting of the research doesn’t help, nor the confusing and contradictory reports declaring the same food healthy one day and harmful the next. “Will red wine and chocolate will save my life or kill me?”

 

The Bottom Line

 

There’s no question that a diet based on a variety of nutritious foods, including plenty of fruits and vegetables (many of which are considered “superfoods” themselves), remains the best way to ensure a balanced nutrient intake for optimal health. However, the less familiar super foods (maca, hemp, chia, cacao, chlorella, spirulina, coconut oil, matcha, mulberries etc) can be a good way to boost one’s health and take advantage of their specific functional benefits. After all, many of these superfoods have been a staple in the diet of indigenous peoples for thousands of years. Just because there isn’t “compelling evidence” doesn’t mean they’re re not good for us and can contribute to better health.

PS: We’ll be giving our take on the “super foods” mentioned in the BBC article in the coming days – stay tuned!