Superfood or Super Fraud?
What makes superfoods the superheroes of the food world?
Superfoods are sought after because they're calorie-sparse and nutrient-dense. They're also rich sources of many antioxidants and nutrients that our bodies can't make on their own.
But like any runaway food trend, the initial integrity of a superfood can get lost in a sea of rushed-to-market, highly processed products that cash in on buzzwords without delivering a meaningful health payoff. And when that happens, who loses? You.
Anyone remember oat bran? As Michael Pollan says in In Defense of Food, 1988 was "The Year of Eating Oat Bran." It became an ingredient in almost every processed food available, regardless of the overall health profile of the product. Case in point: oat bran doughnuts and beer.
Unless you choose wisely, the only thing "super" about the item may be the sticker shock you encounter when you bring it to the register.
The bad news: you don't always get what you pay for.
The good news: you can get the benefits of "champagne" superfoods on a club soda budget. And here's how.
1) Look Askance at Acai Juice
Acai (pronounced "Ah-Sigh-EE"), is a Brazilian palm fruit known for its anthocyanins , polyphenols, beta-sitosterol, fiber, and amino acids. Those who call it a superfood claim that it can reduce heart disease and cancer risk, and lower blood cholesterol levels. There are studies that show the amazing properties of the acai berry, but not the acai juice, which is more widely marketed and consumed.
When researchers studied various other juices on the market, many more affordable drinks such as red wine, blueberry juice, and grape juice were found to have higher antioxidant potency, as well as a better ability to block the oxidation of LDL cholesterol. These drinks also have more heart disease- and cancer-reducing polyphenols than acai juice.
2. Maca? Save Your Moola.
Maca is the boner pill of the superfood world-it's touted as an aphrodisiac and performance enhancer, although studies are inconclusive on this point . It's more reliably sold as an energy booster, as it's rich in iodine, iron, protein, starch and sugars . If you are looking for energy, it's just as easy - and a lot more affordable - to make a smoothie with bananas, milk, nut butter, and antioxidant-rich unsweetened cacao powder. The natural sugars and fiber in bananas deliver instant energy, the milk contains iodine, and the healthy fat in nut butter helps the energy last longer.
3. Chemically Mangled Mangosteen (Juice)
The mangosteen fruit is chock-full of vitamins and Xanthones, cardiovascular health-benefiting antioxidants. But when was the last time you bit into a mangosteen fruit? More likely, you were presented with a beverage containing the super-fruit.
Tragically, when most mangosteen drinks are processed, they lose almost all the health benefits of the unprocessed fruit. Even more tragically, benzoic acid or benzoate are often added to prevent spoilage in the hot bottled liquid-and when you combine vitamin C with those additives, a chemical reaction occurs that produces toxic levels of the carcinogen benzene. That's about as far from a benefit as you can get.
Pure mangosteen juice is available, but it's pricey. Instead, choose pomegranate-the fruit or the juice. Studies on rats show that the juice slows plaque progression, and drinking the juice improves cardiac blood flow and decreased carotid artery thickness.
And to help you steer clear of other oat-bran-ified, bogus superfoods...
Go to the source: seek out the fruit, instead of drinking the juice. A true superfood is a whole food.
Read labels on anything superfood-infused that comes in a box, bottle, or can-and if it contains preservatives, sweeteners, or things you don't recognize, put it back on the shelf.
Be consistent: a daily practice of eating reasonably priced organic fruit will pay off more than infrequent superfood binges.
Here are some MyHealingKitchen.com recipes that incorporate truly super foods:
Tropical Salmon Salad with Pomegranate Seeds and Brazil Nuts
Tangerine Green Tea Smoothie
Seared Mahi with Blueberry Jalapeno Sauce and Candied Orange Peel Bon Appetit!
