The Hard Facts About “Superfoods”
Avocados, acai berries, salmon, kale… we are always hearing about the nutritional benefits of these foods. If fact, we commonly see them labeled as “superfoods.” And although a lot of people have an idea about what these foods bring to the table, I believe these attention-grabbing foods receive way more credit than they deserve by creating unrealistic expectations for perfect health and vitality.
The concept of the “superfood” is popular in the world of health, wellness, and nutrition. The media is full of reports on the various health benefits of particular foods, making claims that align with the latest scientific evidence, assuring us that consuming these foods will allow our bodies to ward off disease and slowdown the aging process. However, the word does not actually have a scientifically based or regulated definition.
What is a “Superfood”
In general, superfoods refer to foods whose nutrient content bestows upon the consumer a health benefit above that of other foods. The fact that it’s included in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary demonstrates the attention the word has received, which defines the word as “a food (such as salmon, broccoli, or blueberries) that is rich in compounds (such as antioxidants, fiber, or fatty acids) considered beneficial to a person’s health.” Many, if not most of the foods that have gained superfood status are those found to be excellent sources of antioxidants such as vitamins A, C, E, beta-carotene, and omega-3 fatty acids. Antioxidants are molecules that protect the body's cells from free radicals. Free radicals are molecules that cause damage to your body's cells and come from sources such as cigarette smoke, alcohol, and which are naturally produced in every cell during metabolism. Too many free radicals can cause oxidative stress which can lead to age-related diseases, such as cancer, heart disease, and diabetes. Now, I’m not here to create fear that if we don’t eat these foods labeled as “superfoods” you’ll kick the bucket sooner than those who don’t consume these foods. Not at all. I’m actually going to describe why this term is wrong in so many ways. But first, here’s a little history lesson on the popular term.
Brief History Lesson on the “Superfood”
The first recorded use of the word “superfood” might have been in the early 20th century used to market the banana! The United Fruit Company started an advertising campaign to promote its import of bananas. Informational pamphlets were published and included topics such as The Banana: A Food of Exceptional Value and The Nutritional Value of the Banana. The company started off advertising the practicality of bananas in the daily diet, being inexpensive, easily digestible, highly available, nutritious, etc. As an advertising tactic to get people to eat more of the fruit, they also suggested that banana be added in cereal, salads, and fried with meat so it could be included in all three meals of the day. The term “superfood” became even more popular after being endorsed in medical journals where doctors published their discoveries of a banana diet to treat medical conditions such as diabetes and celiac disease. This illustrates how the term “superfood” was originally used as a marketing gimmick and exploits widespread scientific illiteracy. I believe this still stands true today. I think that’s enough history for one day. Now, why does the term “superfood” suck?
“Superfoods” are Bogus
I’m not going to lie; the notion of superfoods is quite appealing because many of us want to trust that consuming a single food item containing a certain antioxidant or fatty acid will zap our damaged or diseased cells. One of the issues with believing this is that most of the available evidence is derived from cell culture or animal models. Within these studies, the chemicals and extracts that are tested are in very high concentrations, not actually found in any single food. Even when these studies are conducted in humans, the high concentrations that are used are over short durations. This does not in any way reflect a standard, balanced diet. For example, garlic contains a nutrient that allegedly helps to lower cholesterol and improve blood pressure. However, in order to match the doses used in the lab, you would have to eat 28 cloves of garlic every day!
Another major reason why “superfoods” are bogus, is that no single food can make us healthy or unhealthy because no one food can provide all the nutrients and energy you need to live and thrive. For example, imagine that you were stranded on a desert island and you could only bring one food. If you had the choice to eat either gummy bears or spinach, which would you choose? I’m guessing many of you chose the spinach because you figure it would be healthier therefore, you’d live longer. However, if you lived exclusively on spinach, your blood sugars would plummet way sooner than if you were living off the gummy bears. You would essentially wither away and die much sooner. The gummy bears would actually provide you with more calories and sugar, and would sustain you much longer. But obviously, I’m not suggesting anyone to eat any single one food only. This is the problem with calling a food superfood. It creates a sense that we can live and thrive off of these select “superfoods,” and that that would suffice, but that’s just not the case.
There is no doubt that what we consume in our diet plays a role in our health, but there is concern that focusing on any one food may actually encourage unhealthy eating. Yep, I said it! Eating too much of one food, even if it has been called a “superfood” can contribute to a diet that is imbalanced and “unhealthy.” Superfoods tend to give people a false sense of security, causing them to believe that their less healthy habits are somehow balanced out. Furthermore, focusing on a single food may distract people from the benefits of other foods in our diets that often provide nutrients just as beneficial as those found in superfoods.
Gentle Nutrition
Rather than participating in diet culture and believing in the notion of the “superfood,” try implementing intuitive eating principle 10: Gentle Nutrition. Gentle nutrition entails a lot of the basic concepts you already know about food and nutrition. However, a major part of gentle nutrition also involves a shift in mindset and how nutrition is viewed.
Mainstream nutrition is jam packed full of strict food rules about what to eat, when to eat, and how much to eat. If someone has a goal to stick to these rules, it requires an enormous amount of planning to go along with it. This creates unrealistic standards that makes nutrition seem very taxing and, in the end, unsustainable. Gentle nutrition is individualized and is all about self-care. It is about using nutrition in a positive way to take care of your body rather than punish it. It's about enjoying the food you choose to consume, while having a healthy relationship with food (which should be established first prior to digging into this principle during the intuitive eating process). It looks different for everyone, which depends on your needs, preferences, lifestyle, and access to food.
Gentle nutrition doesn’t look a particular way, and it’s impossible to tell whether someone is practicing it just by observing their food choices. And this is because it’s just as much about the mindset on how you approach nutrition as it is about what and how you’re choosing to eat. There are no “right” or “wrong” choices with gentle nutrition. There is rather, a variety of options, some which may fit your needs better, depending on the time and place. Gentle nutrition focuses on what foods you can add to your diet, rather than foods to eat less of. For example, rather than telling yourself you can’t eat white bread or pasta, gentle nutrition recommends including whole grains where you can. Rather than telling yourself not to eat processed foods, gentle nutrition encourages you to eat more whole foods. It’s this simple mindset shift that eliminates the feelings of deprivation and allows the process to be way more welcoming.
The term “superfood” is widely used in today’s diet culture. It’s a concept that won’t be going away anytime soon, so I advise to take caution and be aware of superfood marketing. For one, the amount of a single food you would need to eat to obtain the benefits established by most claims is outrageous. And for another, no single food can make us “healthy.” Rather, focusing on any one food may actually encourage unbalanced eating. So, instead of feeding into the concept of the “superfood,” practice gentle nutrition which encompasses a self-care approach to eating that includes variety and balance and involves having a healthy relationship with food.
If you want to unlearn diet culture and instead learn to take an approach that involves gentle nutrition catered to your needs, check out my group coaching program, Freedom From Dieting.
