The ‘Superfood’ brand.
Eight years ago, I remember telling my then 3 year old an imaginary tale about the super food broccoli making superman strong when he ate it, in a desperate attempt to get that one broccoli floret into his mouth. Thankfully, that worked and I did not have to do that again. And broccoli sort of became an avenger of foods in my kid’s mind.
But, what is this concept of super food, that the world is obsessed about?
‘Super foods’ is a common term that we hear all the time, and gives us a good feeling about our eating habit whenever we consume one of those foods. It is a term loosely used to describe the nutrient dense foods that are in vogue. It is not surprising that super foods list actually changes every year. And the list is exhausting, because nature always has too many nutritious blessings for us.
For 2020, the top 10 included blackberries, hemp hearts, goji berries, arugula, sardines, elderberry, bone broth, sesame, nutritional yeast and miso.
The 2019 superfoods included, fermented foods, avocado, ancient grains, chia, flax, acacia, goji berries, blue berries, nuts, coconut, non dairy milks.
Did you know , that the term ‘super food’ doesn’t exist in science? Historically, in the early 20th century around World War I, the term ‘super food’ was used as a part of a food marketing strategy, initially for bananas. Then on, the term was loosely used to tag the foods with abundant nutrients and health benefits. That doesn’t mean these foods can be eaten in limit less quantities or by everybody without taking their existing health into consideration. It is in fact, a simple marketing strategy. Of note, Europe banned labeling of foods as super foods in 2007, unless backed by science.
Although the term ‘super foods’ was coined in 20th century, some of the today’s so called super foods were used for their health benefits for ages. For example, garlic , one of the ancient super foods was respected for its health benefits worldwide and it’s health benefits were inscribed long time ago on the pyramids of Giza. In ancient Greece, athletes used to take garlic before competing in a sport.
Turmeric, referred to as the golden spice with roots in India has been revered worldwide for ages. Quinoa, was referred to as the mother grain and was offered to the Sun god by the Incans. Chia seeds were carried by Mayans for long marches, as their sole source of nutrition.
History of many healthy foods in today’s world, that are now rebranded as ‘superfoods’ will fascinate you. These are all actually ingredients used for ages, abundant in nature with varied nutrition profiles. Internet has multiple exhaustive lists of 100 superfoods to eat in your lifetime.
One fact-” No superfood alone makes your diet complete. A balanced clean diet/lifestyle is more important than eating superfoods”.
Planning to reap the benefits of the wholesome so called ‘superfoods’, then you need them in balance with lots of other natural ingredients for optimal health.
The super simple concept that truly makes a difference to your health – ‘super plate’!
It is the ‘super plate‘ that will sustain your health for life. Balance of whole grains, healthy fats, protein (plant based preferred), and lots of vegetable, fresh fruit , with adequate amount of water is the key structure of a super plate. Follow the link below to educate yourself about healthy plate structure.
https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/healthy-eating-plate/
So, the next time you are indulging in superfoods, do pay attention to the composition of foods in your plate and make sure you have the ‘power plate while including super foods’. Because, that is the true secret to your optimum health.