Do we really even know what is a Superfood?!
Ask anyone to name 3 superfoods and they will probably be able to list even more just off the top of their heads. Now, ask them what IS a superfood and they probably aren’t able to give you a definitive description. But they know that if you eat them, they contribute to health, life longevity and warding off certain diseases.
Thing is, there is no such thing as a superfood – nutritionally. It’s a huge marketing scam. Kinda.
No one is disputing the fact that some foods are much more nutrient dense than others or that some fruits and vegetables may contain more antioxidants than others. But each year a ‘new’ superfood list is broadcast across the airwaves and newsfeeds combined with scintillating photographs in print media to encourage the consumer to get on that train and purchase a food they might never even have heard of.
It’s all MARKETING.
It is all designed to get you to focus on the next big thing, drive sales of a product up and fuel food trends (which might not be all in itself a terrible thing), except, a superfood like Matcha, whilst being good for you as a tea, will probably not have any positive health effect in that double swirl ice cream cone with a lashing of caramel (uhh, yumm!). Consumers are always on the hunt for the next new ‘thing’. They grow bored quickly and retailers and manufacturers understand this and are constantly in research and development mode. Combined with financial backing for advertising and marketing and next year is all about sarsasparilla tea , plantain waffles, jackfruit tacos, sea moss coffee and you will buy it!
One of the reasons why major health agencies in the US and Europe have not advocated for the use of the word ‘superfood’ is because of the inherent danger it could pose. For example, even without being endorsed, kale, being listed as a superfood, encouraged some people to eat and drink the dark green leaf to an unhealthy level. And ended up being malnourished! That is the root of the problem – people will OVERDO – and not focus on having a healthy balanced diet.
If you notice, all of the ‘superfoods’ are fruits, vegetables, spices, grains, herbs, or wild meats/fish. That basically spells out your diet for you. Every year there will be a different superfood, because there are just so gosh darn many foods and all of them contribute in one way or another to aiding the body grow and combat diseases.
In the Western world, we are now catching up to indigenous peoples and those who live in ‘third world’ countries whose diets are simple, grow their own food, forage off the land and have little or no access to processed foods. They don’t have the term ‘superfood’. Instead they have tales, medicines and delicious dishes passed down from forbearers. Sometimes Westerners see other people from other nationalities and tribes and we assume that poverty means ill health, when sometimes it is just the opposite.
At some point we are going to bend like suckers when new products come out on the market, because we can’t help it, so the best advice is to try and maintain a super diet that is well balanced with grains, fruit and vegetables.
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